Troy Stellato: 'My Dream Is To Be An NFL Player'
Heading into his junior season playing for Cardinal Gibbons High, Troy Stellato only had a handful of offers. The most notable of those were from Kentucky and Tennessee.
The four-star wide receiver from Ft. Lauderdale, who committed to Clemson on Friday, has always had dreams of playing in the NFL. Despite having a solid sophomore season, he knew that he had some work to do in order to make that dream a reality.
"I really put in a lot of work," Stellato told SI in an exclusive interview. "Really did a lot of speed training. Focusing on footwork, all that stuff. Hitting the weight room like crazy. I think going into my junior season I felt like I was a lot better football player than my sophomore year."
The work paid off. About three games into his junior season, things changed. In the blink of an eye, the speedy wideout saw his recruitment blow up in a hurry.
Stellato started to shoot up the recruiting rankings and eventually became known as one of the best prospects in the country. Currently, he ranks as the 22nd best wide receiver prospect nationally, and 125th overall in the 247 Composite Rankings.
"That third game came around and Ohio State offered me a scholarship," Stellato said. "Then out of this the floodgates came open. Around 20 schools, I think 20-25 schools offered me in the next two-three weeks. It was kind of crazy."
The number of offers Stellato ultimately received made his decision that much harder. Knowing most of those schools could get him to the NFL made it even that much more difficult.
Stellato then had to look deeper inside each program. The relationships, playing time, and what kind of impact he could have on the program, all factored in, on top of the path to the NFL.
"Kind of just comes down to relationships," Stellato said. "Where you feel most at home, and obviously got to get on the field and got to get a fair shot. Show what I can really bring to the table at any program."
At the end of the day though, it's about getting to the NFL. And Stellato took what he thought was his best path toward that goal.
"You weigh in all those aspects," Stellato said. "That's what I did in the end of this process. They're all top-notch programs. Obviously my dream is to be an NFL player."