wide receiver jeronimo allison. he nearly blew the entire thing in high school. dan lucas has the story. >> reporter: a football player with an nfl dream. wide receiver jeronimo allison is no different than many of these college all-stars. >> i always loved the game. i always wanted to pursue a career in football. just continuing to impress. going out here, going hard each and every rep for the scouts. >> reporter: but his career in river view, allison was a stand-out athlete who did not play football until his senior year. >> he struggled from an academic perspective. not athletic. >> reporter: the football coach dale caparoso took a special interest in him and changed his path. >> once he put the emphasis on the academics, he was okay. >> you can't play this game without academics. that is something i really had to focus on. >> reporter: the reward was the tough road, allison's collegiate career became at iowa western. a junior college. in 2014, he found a home at illinois. but for all the touchdown catches, allison's biggest accomplishment? a college degree in