SPRINGFIELD, Mass. Recent American International College graduate Demetrius Steed (Boston, Mass.) joins former teammates Kevin Arduino and Viondy Merisma in the professional ranks, signing a contract to play with the Potsdam Royals of the German Football League.
Steed is a true AIC football success story. The linebacker joined the team as a true walk-on and worked to become one of the best linebackers in program history. After four seasons, Steed leaves the Yellow Jackets ranked fourth all-time in tackles with 285 and made seven sacks.
After playing the Yellow Jackets final game in November, Steed thought he had laced up his cleats for the last time, but a month after the season concluded he was approached by David Saul, a scout for the Royals, asking him to speak with the coaches about an opportunity to play in the GFL.
"I was blown away by the opportunity to play overseas," said Steed. "I never thought I would be playing football after AIC, everybody has that dream, but as you get older obstacles arise, real life situations hit so time to hang up the cleats and use this degree, so when the opportunities arise, you just feel blessed and fortunate to keep going."
Playing football in college, let alone being in college after high school is not a common thing for kids from Steed's neighborhood. He worked hard and got out, making the most of his opportunity at AIC.
"What motivated me a lot was just seeing a lot of kids I came up with, let's just be honest, they're dead or in jail, just not doing anything with their lives," said Steed. "What drove me? Seeing some of my former teammates looking up to me like 'you still doing it I wish I had stuck to it and stayed focused.'"
As a freshman and forced to redshirt, Steed was humbled, but worked on his game to ensure he would be an asset for the team in the future. Admittedly not the biggest guy on the field, he knew he had to improve other aspects of his play.
So, Steed hit the gym. He hit the field. He improved his lateral quickness, speed and flexibility to prep for game speed. After all his hard work what stuck out to the coaches was something that he always carried with him and could not be taught, his animal instinct.
"[Steed has] great intensity," said Associate Head and Linebackers Coach Kris Kulzer. "He's a natural leader he gets everybody in place."
Like Arduino controlled the offense, Steed became the defensive leader. A quiet guy off the field, Steed was a different person between the sidelines, a field general. His coaches praised his ability to raise the level of competition and had great communication.
In his senior season, Steed helped lead one of the most stifling defenses in AIC history. The Yellow Jackets defense ranked amongst the top teams in Division II in many categories including total defense, holding opponents to just 263.0 yards-per-game. AIC allowed just 19.0 points-per-game, the 20th best mark in DII. He was a four-time Northeast-10 All-Conference selection including landing on the first team his final three seasons. For his efforts, he received an F.J. Maloney Award at the 2016 Yellow Jackets Awards night, given to the most outstanding male athlete for four years at the College.
Steed is a true student of the game. His game preparation was always the same, asking Coach Kulzer to quiz him on situations to be as ready as he could for whatever the opposition's offense threw his way.
"He was always a guy to stay after," said Kulzer. "He would always make [me] quiz him on different situations and different play calls. He was always well prepared."
Steed graduated from AIC this past winter with a degree in business, but wanted to leave a message with all the current and future young Jackets that will take Abdow Field in the coming years.
"You just have to humble yourself just realize where you are at in your life currently and realize where you want to go and then just appreciate the opportunity realize there are people back home that would do anything, give up anything, to be in their shoes and be at a college institution playing ball, doing something they love."
