GIANT CHANCE
Trenton Central product Richard Levy signs NFL contract with Big Blue
EAST RUTHERFORD » Richard Levy has endured enough hardships in adverse environments to realize that life is not a fairytale. It is often too cruel and too fleeting to grant euphoria. But the game of football, along with his upbringing, have offered Levy reason to believe in endless possibilities.
The 24-year-old offensive lineman, who graduated from Trenton Central High in 2012, signed a preseason contract with the Giants this week. Soft-spoken and conscientious, Levy understands the reality of this phase of his life, too. He avoids complacency and vows to give his best shot in hopes of making an NFL roster.
“People congratulate me and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I made it, but I’m still making it. I’m not here yet.’ Like I’m here, but I’m not here yet,” Levy said with a laugh from outside the team’s training facility. “They’re like, ‘Oh, you have to enjoy the moment.’ I’m like, ‘OK, I will one day when I’m actually on a team, but for now I still have work to do.’”
Levy was born in Kingston, Jamaica, where he lived until he was seven years old. He moved with his father and five-year-old brother away from his mother to live with his grandmother, Velva, in the West End of Trenton. There are five other brothers and one sister in the family.
Growing up in Kingston, located on the island’s southeastern coast, Levy and his siblings literally used sticks as goal posts for their soccer balls and to carve cricket bats for leisure. Dreams felt fickle in the largely impoverished country. Velva, now retired, yearned for the boys to have more opportunities in America than she had.
Football was a foreign game to Levy until he was a high school freshman seeking to display his hulking physique at the school’s summer tryouts in Trenton. He admits the organized team sport was an outlet to stay positive and avoid drugs and gangs. His grandmother played a vital nurturing role at home, and Levy was a hard-working student with a 3.5 grade point average.
“Growing up in Trenton was definitely a different environment,” he said. “It definitely showed you how to navigate through life and the important tracks to really stay on ... to have a positive mentality and a positive lifestyle. I just learned a lot really quickly and grew up really quickly.”
That maturation process continued for Levy at the University of Connecticut, where he double-majored in Psychology and Human Development & Family Studies, earning two Bachelor’s Degrees. He redshirted on the football team in 2012 and stayed in college for five years.
On the field, Levy learned to persevere through trying circumstances in Division I, experiencing nothing but losing seasons with the Huskies in the American Athletic Conference. Faltering in a one-on-one pass rush, for example, no longer damages his football psyche.
“It definitely had me look at myself and allow me to really figure out how to deal with that level of adversity,” he said. “There’s not really that moment where I look down and I’m like, ‘Uh, here we go.’ I would say I’m more mentally built for anything now.”
That includes the NFL’s cutthroat numbers game.
The 49ers cut Levy on Aug. 13, one day after their first preseason game and three months after San Francisco signed Levy as an undrafted free agent. After going home to Trenton for a week to fill out resumes, the beefy 6-foot6, 315-pound lineman flew out to Seattle for a workout with the Seahawks, then to the Meadowlands on Tuesday and impressed the Giants enough to land a contract.
Levy called home to deliver the news to his elated family.
“I’ve learned the environments can shift, and just how to treat football when you get to this level,” he said. “I’m still having fun, I’m still loving what I do. But then when you put the helmet on it’s time to go. There’s no real playing around.”
As of now, the coaching staff’s plan is for Levy to mostly play as a right tackle, where he lined up for second-team reps during Thursday’s practice. He called it a dream to potentially play in Saturday’s preseason game versus the Jets. But that decision, he is sure to note, is out of his hands.
His plan is to ride out football as long as he can, then see where life takes him. That will presumably include sports coaching or personal counseling as a means of helping others.
Hailing from Mercer County, which scarcely produces pro-level football talent, Levy has a powerful message to convey.
“Whenever I do have a chance, I’ll go back home and let them know, ‘Yeah, I made it to the NFL from here, but I also graduated with two degrees,’” he said. “If I can do it from absolutely nothing, you can do it.”