Another game went by. Holgorsen pleaded with Sills, explaining how much the team needed him. The freshman quarterback relented, and he agreed to make the switch. The Mountaineers were preparing to go on the road to take on Baylor that Saturday in a Big 12 matchup.

Sills' family was in the stands when he caught two passes, including a 35-yard touchdown against the Bears. Douglas noted that the score came against future NFL starter Xavien Howard. His family was also in the stands later that season when he caught the game-winning touchdown in the team's bowl game, a 43-42 shootout in the Cactus Bowl against Arizona State, coincidentally the team that ended Kiffin's tenure at USC that sent Sills' career into a spiral.

Sills experienced success as a true freshman, but something was missing.

"If you told me in seventh grade that I was going to be playing wide receiver at West Virginia, I would've never believed you," Sills told Bleacher Report. "I'm not going to lie, it hurt."

After the season, Sills saw the writing on the wall. The coaching staff there liked him on the outside catching touchdowns, but he was groomed for as long as he could remember to throw them. He went to Holgorsen and told him that he loved his teammates and his coaches, but that ultimately he couldn't continue without giving himself an opportunity to play quarterback.

"All his life, he was training to be a quarterback. He still wanted to play, he wanted to figure it out," Smallwood said.

"Quarterback was his dream," Douglas added. "Sometimes you have that dream, and even if you can't do it, you have to go and try it. That was David with being a quarterback."

Another teammate, Eagles receiver Shelton Gibson, saw that same fire.

"He and I lived in the same building on campus," Gibson said, "and I remember going outside every single day before he transferred. He would just throw me balls every single day, even though he was playing receiver. He was trying to get his throwing motion back. He really wanted to play quarterback."

Sills transferred out of West Virginia and played close to where his dreams nearly took him initially. El Camino College is about a half hour south of the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where USC plays. In 10 games for El Camino, Sills threw for over 1,600 yards and 15 touchdowns, but no big programs came calling. At least not with any scholarship offers.

Now entering his junior year of college eligibility, Sills' future wasn't all that bright. Could he keep up the dream of playing college quarterback and try to walk on somewhere? Would he play football at all? Then, his phone rang.

It was Holgorsen.

The West Virginia coach had been paying attention from afar, and he knew Sills didn't have any offers. He asked Sills if he was ready to come back and give wide receiver a chance. Holgorsen thought he could be an NFL wideout.

Sills moved back east for the 2017 season. Smallwood was now with the Eagles in the NFL, but Sills still had friends in Morgantown. He put all of his attention toward improving at wide receiver, and it paid off.

Sills was a first-team All-Big 12 selection, an All-American by multiple outlets, and a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, finishing tied for the lead nationally with 18 touchdown catches in his junior season. That was enough to pique the interest of scouts and evaluators. He followed it up with a strong senior campaign that was nearly identical in terms of production.

"I watch him all the time," Smallwood said of his childhood friend. "When he first started at receiver, it was all raw talent. It was just him being able to beat people up, run past them after they underestimated his speed. Now? This guy can run routes. He can catch the most difficult passes. He can get open. He's dedicated to his craft, and this past offseason, I told him how important those next few months would be for him before his final year. He learned some new little tweaks, some tricks to the trade to help improve his game. He's only been playing receiver for a couple of years now. He's definitely going to keep getting better."

"His success doesn't surprise me at all," Gibson added. "One thing about David that you need to know; a lot of people play this game for a lot of reasons. He does it because he loves football. I've been to his beach house. His family is not struggling. He's not doing this for the money. He loves the game of football, and he's loved it since he was a little kid."

"Everything he's been through," Smallwood said, "he's fought through so much since he was just 13 years old. His story shows how hard of a worker he is, to go to a different position and dominate the way he has. It's insane."

Will Sills be a first-round pick? Probably not.

Will he be hailed as the savior of his future NFL team upon arrival? That's unlikely.

But when you look at the scope of his journey, it's really unlike any that we've seen in recent memory:

Hailed at a very young age as the next "elite" talent at the most important position in sports.

Forced to change schools on the fly, dealing with severe injuries, all while facing the scrutiny of a celebrity athlete on a national scale.

Enjoyed early success in college, being told that he wasn't good enough, and trying anyway.

Swallowed his pride and returned to West Virginia, where he took his game to a new level of success.

As time goes on, NFL teams have become smarter when evaluating players, trying to find predictors of future success in 21-year-old college kids. One of the traits scouts look for is resiliency, players who prove they love the game, can overcome hardship, and will do what it takes to find success.

David Sills checks all of those boxes. He has shown the mental fortitude and competitive toughness to make it. Now, it's a matter of him improving on the field once he gets that long-awaited call from the NFL team that covets him the most.