Qwan\u2019tez Stiggers had only been in college for a few days when his world fell apart. Seven months after the car crash that put him in a coma, Stiggers\u2019 father died. Stiggers quit college and returned home to support his mother, Kwanna, and 12 siblings. It was a huge blow to the 18-year-old. His partner, Cheyenne, was also processing a tragedy after her teenage sister had been killed by a stray bullet. Over the last six years, Cheyenne and Qwan\u2019tez have helped each other off the bottom of an emotional well.<\/p>\n
Working as a delivery driver and washing trucks while his old teammates progressed in their football careers could have driven him off the rails. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t necessarily say I was envious but I wanted better for myself,\u201d says Stiggers. \u201cI had a child, was living with my wife \u2013 my girlfriend at the time \u2013 and got those late-night delivery jobs to pay the bills.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut you can\u2019t base your life off of someone else\u2019s path. You\u2019ve got to create your own success and opportunities. You have to believe in yourself. That\u2019s what I\u2019ve been doing since I was a kid, wake up each day and keep putting that foot forward. You got to get around people that believe in you, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
Stiggers\u2019 certainly had that. His mother wrote to every football team she could find asking for a trial, desperate to see her son back doing what he loved. She found Fan Controlled Football on Facebook \u2013 a professional seven-on-seven indoor football league where fans vote on play calls \u2013 and they signed him up. It wasn\u2019t the NFL<\/a> but it was a start: his first paying gig in his sport.<\/p>\n Was her determination annoying at the time? \u201cI really didn\u2019t know how to feel,\u201d admits Stiggers. \u201cI was telling her: \u2018You know, football might just be the least of my worries. I just want to focus on getting a job and having you take care of my siblings. But then, look what she did. It all worked out in the end.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiggers only needed to attend one try-out. \u201cI went there, killed it and ended up making the team. I\u2019ll always believe in myself, mentally, physically and spiritually.\u201d Stiggers was then spotted by a Toronto Argonauts scout, who sent him up to Ontario for a trial. Sixteen games later he was voted the outstanding rookie in the Canadian Football League \u2013 the first defensive back to be crowned in 25 years \u2013 and every NFL team knew who he was.<\/p>\n He was drafted by the New York Jets<\/a> in the fifth round in 2024, making him the first player this millennium taken straight from the CFL without doing time in college football. When the Jets\u2019 first-round pick, Olu Fashanu, was starring for Penn State at Beaver Stadium in front of 100,000 fans, Stiggers had been playing seven-a-side in a former fertiliser processing plant.<\/p>\n Qwan\u2019tez Stiggers of the New York Jets celebrates with teammates after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons. Photograph: Kathryn Riley\/Getty Images<\/p>\n If Stiggers had impostor syndrome, he did not show it. His route to the top was unusual but the 24-year-old has benefited from his varied experiences. \u201cIt\u2019s really your mindset,\u201d he says. \u201cI still joke with my old Argonauts coach about him telling me: \u2018Just to let you know, you might be the first person we cut.\u2019 I\u2019m just like: \u2018Hmm, no, I don\u2019t think so.\u2019 And I went out there and pretty sure I led the defence and interceptions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cNo dream is too big, no dream is too small. As long as you work hard, you could do whatever you want. I always knew I had the skill set to be a professional. Competition is competition: you just gotta go out there and be a dog about it. You can\u2019t let anyone take your food. You gotta protect me, eat your own food.\u201d<\/p>\n Stiggers played in 29 games in his first two NFL seasons, sparkling on special team plays, especially on kickoffs. \u201cRight now it\u2019s about knowing my role and not letting nobody minimise it, whether that\u2019s running down on special teams or going to the game at cornerback. It\u2019s all about just wearing my opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n He is the fifth of 13 siblings and feels a responsibility for his family. \u201cEverybody older than me has jobs, one younger brother is going to trade school, and I think my youngest brother is in ninth grade. They all play football. I had one sister who passed away and my other sister is manager of a PetSmart warehouse in Georgia. She probably makes more money than me.\u201d<\/p>\n