N.J. native making most of time in Philly

PHILADELPHIA — A year ago at this time, Rasul Douglas was an unknown college football player. His draft stock was nonexistent. Sunday afternoon, he is a projected starter for the Eagles in their home opener against the desperate Giants.

“It’s a blessing,” he said, a smile splashed across his face. “Not a lot of people make it. I got the chance to make it, and play football, something I’ve dreamed of doing.”

For so long, that dream didn’t seem realistic. A baseball and basketball player growing up in povertystricken East Orange, N.J., he played just two years of varsity football at East Orange Campus High School, and because of academic problems, went to Nassau Community College on Long Island. The 6-foot-2 cornerback only appeared in five games as a junior at West Virginia and started his senior year as a backup before emerging that season and finishing with eight interceptions.

“It taught me to be grateful, thankful for everything I got, because I didn’t have all of this before,” said the 22-yearold Douglas, a Chargers fan as a kid because of his LaDainian Tomlinson fandom.

But Douglas isn’t some awed rookie. He impressed in his NFL regular season debut last Sunday against the Chiefs, more than holding his own. According to Pro Football Focus, Douglas played 39 defensive snaps, and helped limit Chiefs star Tyreek Hill to just four catches for 43 yards. The analytics website rated him as the ninth-best cornerback in Week 2.

“He went out there and made a couple of plays,” Eagles cornerback Jalen Mills said. “Now with even more snaps going against New York, he’s going to make even more plays.”