By Emily Iannaconi
Special to GoHolyCross.com

Over his four years at Holy Cross, senior wide receiver Kalif Raymond has become an integral part of the team on and off the field. He has proven to be a key factor on both offense and special teams, as last year he ranked third in the Patriot League in punt returns and eighth in receptions. Raymond also currently stands third all-time at Holy Cross in career kickoff return yards (1,497), fourth in career kickoff returns (68) and seventh in career kickoff return average (22.0).

But Raymond almost did not become a Crusader.

After breaking his ankle in his senior year of high school, Raymond was not sure where or even if he would play college football, something that he had dreamed of doing since he first started playing at the age of eight. He had to get a plate and 12 screws inserted into his ankle to fix it. “I got tackled, looked down and my foot was turned completely sideways,” he said. “I stopped looking at it.”

Wanting to continue playing, Raymond asked the sideline doctor if he could quickly tape the ankle up. It was only the fourth game of the season and he did not want to stop now. After discovering the prognosis however, Raymond was told he had to sit on the bench for the remainder of the season.

With the help of his godfather and mentor, Lawrence Nelson, Raymond realized that if he wanted to play college football he would have to put himself out there. “Even if you have talent, it's hard to back that up with an injury,” Raymond said. “I knew that I wanted to go to a great academic school and I knew that I wanted to play football.”

Nelson showed Raymond how to look up the coaches. And then, Raymond began to send e-mails — 750 of them to be exact.

Raymond said that it was difficult because there are numerous coaches to e-mail at each school. “Out of that 750, I may get 50 to respond, and out of that 50, I may get 20 that are interested,” Raymond said. “And out of that 20, who's going to take a chance when they find out that I am injured?”

Raymond went to ESPN.com and every team's website in the Football Championship Subdivision and Football Bowl Subdivision. He focused on finding schools that were strong both academically and athletically. Then, he set up a gmail account, sent out the emails and hoped for the best.

Holy Cross responded and asked Raymond to fly up from his hometown in Lawrenceville, Ga., and come for a visit. Accompanied by his godfather, Raymond made the flight to Massachusetts. He recalls that he was still coming off of his injury at the time. “When I got to Holy Cross I had lost all kinds of weight,” he said. “So, I wore boots, and four or five shirts — everything I could to say, 'I can't show you how I play now because I'm hurt, but when I get here, I'll make my time worth it.'”

And on the eve of signing day, Raymond got a call. Holy Cross had made an offer and Raymond was set to be a Crusader.

When asked if Holy Cross took a chance on him, Raymond said that, “They sure did. And I'm very grateful for it.”

To prove to Holy Cross that he would be in top physical shape by the time he got to Worcester, Raymond ran track his senior year of high school. “Track helps you get faster,” Raymond said. “It took a lot of strengthening, a lot of recovery, but by the time I got here, I was ready to go.”

And Raymond sure did prove he was ready as he was named first-team All-Patriot League his freshman year for his performance as a kick returner. He was chosen to the New England Football Writers All-Star team, earned All-Eastern College Athletic Conference honors and was named to the College Sports Journal National All-Freshman team.

Using that momentum, Raymond has continued to have a successful career on the football field as well as the track. Raymond ran track at the college level for he first time last year. He competed in sprints and placed second in the 100-meter dash at the 2015 New England outdoor championship (10.71 seconds). He also came in eighth at the 2015 Patriot League Outdoor Championship with a time of 10.82 seconds.

Before competing though, Raymond had to check with head coach Tom Gilmore. “He's very strong about academics,” Raymond said of Gilmore. “You're building the rest of your life in these four years and he puts a lot of emphasis on that. He wanted to make sure my GPA was fine because with football and track obligations you have to make sure that your grades are on point, too.”

Raymond appreciates that his coaches are invested in their athletes. “They're teaching you that there's more to life than just football,” he said. “At the end of the day, everything coach Gilmore is doing is to make you a better man after college. How rigorous football and academics are at Holy Cross is going to make the real world easy for us.”

And, of course, Raymond has not forgotten how close he was to not playing, so he fully appreciates every opportunity to play as well as the chance to be on a team.

“In football, you have 92 different guys every single year,” Raymond said. “So, you have to learn to adapt to people's beliefs and people's actions. Knowing 92 different stories every year makes you realize that everyone in the world is going to have a different opinion and you have to learn to not only talk to these people, but build relationships with these people.”

Is Raymond sad that his Holy Cross football career will be coming to an end in a few weeks? He's trying not to think about it.

“Right now, I just want to enjoy every moment and have fun,” Raymond said. “As a competitor, you're always playing. When the clock is on, all I think about is football. But once that last second ticks off, it's probably going to hit me pretty hard.”

When he thinks about how close he was to not being at Holy Cross though, Raymond cannot help but be grateful for the lessons he has learned on and off the football field. Confidence, especially, is something Raymond believes he has improved upon over the years. “I've been working more on my confidence because confidence is what holds me back from playing hesitant,” Raymond said. “If I'm confident and decisive about the cut that I need to make, then I can make it faster than anybody. Some guys make the wrong cut, but they're so confident in it, they still make a play out of nothing.”

As he prepares for life after football, Raymond reminisces on one of his favorite sports moments that he will always carry with him. His high school team played in the Georgia Dome his senior year — the game right before he hurt his ankle and was out the rest of the season.

“I walked into the stadium and it was huge,” Raymond said. “My heart was beating really fast and about three plays in, my quarterback threw me a pass and I scored. I remember the entire way, I couldn't feel my legs. I was running, but I couldn't run faster and I couldn't run slower. The one thing I knew is that I cannot feel my body, but somehow, I'm running.”

Raymond recalls that, in that moment, everything was more vivid; the lights were brighter and the drinks were more refreshing. “The crowd was louder even though there were less people — everything was amplified,” he said.

The next time Raymond played a football game would be on Fitton Field the following year. And as a Crusader, Raymond would pick off right where he left off and has not looked back.