Ben Deighton began kicking for the Revere football team during his senior year of high school. After Deighton graduated high school, he was given the opportunity to continue his football career at either the University of Akron or Eastern Michigan University. Deighton passed up on the Division I opportunities to continue playing his first and true passion: soccer.

Deighton played four years for the Baldwin-Wallace soccer team and was a four year letter winner. After he received his bachelor’s degree, he still had one year of athletic eligibility left and decided to take the scholarship that he was offered by Eastern Kentucky University to kick for the Eastern Kentucky football team. Deighton is now working out at NFL mini-camps around the country.

Deighton described the experience of balancing his classes and his college athletics.

“I have been balancing school work and athletics since I was in middle school, which has given me lots of time to develop good work habits on and off the field. [It is] important to develop as a person and know what you need personally to balance the workload so that you can be a successful student athlete,” Deighton said.

Deighton’s mother, Karen Deighton, mentioned the qualities that helped her son reach his on-field success.

“Well aside from his talent, of course, he was relentless in his pursuit to play Division I football. Even though he suffered some setbacks and disappointments, committing to Ohio State then having to decommit, throughout the recruiting process, he never gave up and kept moving forward,” Karen said.

Deighton described the scholarship he received from the Eastern Kentucky University football team.

“When I committed to [Eastern Kentucky University] I knew I was being offered a spot on the team. I was very grateful for the opportunity that [Eastern Kentucky University] gave me,” Deighton said.

Revere teacher and former soccer coach Sandor Jakab explained Deighton’s athletic prowess.

“[Deighton] is a gifted athlete. He has a strong build, is a tall, athletic guy and very insightful and very intelligent player as well. He has the ability to accurately do what he pleases, and he can get things done,” Jakab said.

Deighton mentioned how his past experiences playing soccer helped him succeed on the football field.

“[The skills that I have learned from playing soccer] have helped me thrive as a kicker. You really need to be strong in the mental aspects of the game. I think soccer played a huge part in preparing me for collegiate football. For example, I took penalty kicks in soccer from when I was 8 years old and through my collegiate days at [Baldwin-Wallace]. Taking a penalty kick is similar to kicking in many ways. I need to embrace the pressure and how all the attention is put on me,” Deighton said.

Jakab explained how he believes that Deighton would perform for an NFL team.

“[Deighton] certainly has that potential [to play in the NFL]. There are a lot of people that aspire to do that so it takes a strong mindset and Ben is definitely capable of that and I would love to see him make it,” Jakab.

Deighton has recently conducted interviews with 6 NFL teams and hopes for invitations to multiple rookie mini-camps. With the support of his family and friends, Deighton plans on entering the 2016 NFL Draft, and hopes to kick on Sundays while continuing his college education at Eastern Kentucky University.