Rhakeem Stallings found himself at a crossroads a couple years ago.
Now a senior linebacker at the University of Charleston, Stallings was heading into his junior year at James Madison - where he had been a starter and was third on the team with 80 tackles as a sophomore - when he was kicked off the team after being charged with petit larceny.
He knew then that, if he got another chance to play college football, he wouldn't be taking it for granted.
"I didn't want to leave one mess to start another one somewhere else," Stallings said. "When you get that chance, why would you even think about continuing to do the same things that got you in trouble in the first place? Why jeopardize things again?
"It's all part of growing up. I was dumb, but those mistakes make you who you are. You have to go through hardships to become the man you need to be."
Fast-forward to today and it appears that Stallings is on track for his second consecutive season of first team all-Mountain East Conference honors and has emerged as the leader of the Golden Eagles defense.
He leads the league and is No. 22 nationally with 60 tackles through six games and is the only player in the MEC averaging 10 or more tackles per game. And this comes a year after he had 81 tackles and four sacks as a junior who helped lead Charleston to the Division II playoffs.
UC coach Pat Kirkland said that he could see a different, even more focused, Stallings heading into the 2016 campaign.
"He's always been a high-motor guy who went hard every rep, but he just was on a different level this offseason," Kirkland said. "He really understands the system and the way we play. He seems to always be in position to make plays."
Stallings still has dreams of getting to play on Sundays once his days at UC are over. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound Chesapeake, Virginia, native has used the things he's learned along the way - both the good and the bad - to help mold him into the player he is today.
He's still the man on a mission when he's in between the lines, swarming to the ball and trying to get in on every play whenever he can.
But he's also making a point to be the best teammate and student of the game that he possibly can be. He helps younger teammates when there are things they can improve. He watches film and is relentless in the weight room, making sure he can have the most positive impact he can on the program.
"I just want to be great in everything I do. I genuinely want to be great at this game," Stallings said. "I play because I love the game with all my heart and my mindset has always been that you push yourself every way you can to be a success or you're doomed to fail."
After last week's loss to West Liberty, Charleston sits at 2-4 - making it look more and more likely that UC will miss the playoffs.
The Golden Eagles have had their fair share of setbacks this season. They've been beaten up by injury at times and have had games where they would have liked to have played better.
But Kirkland said that, no matter the outcome on the field, Stallings has been one of the main leaders the team has turned to.
"He approaches the game in a very personal way where it really matters to him and he cares about it," Kirkland said. "He's a guy who has earned great respect from his teammates and goes out, does his job and does it really well."
It still feels like just yesterday that Stallings made the decision to continue his football career at Charleston - coming to the program after spending some time uncertain about what he'd be doing.
He remembers arriving, adamant that he would do whatever he had to in order to get on the field and make an impact quickly. He had hopes of making a name for himself as a Golden Eagle.
And with the way he's playing in 2016, it seems like that will be the case as he heads into the second half of his final season.
"You live and you learn, and I have learned from my mistakes I've made," Stallings said. "Of course, it's great to look and see how I've gotten better as a football player, but I can honestly say that coming to UC made me a better man off the field - and that's what I'm most proud of."