Not every dream starts in youth. Some are lifelong; others are discovered through experiences, challenges, and adversity. Seven years ago, Tyren Montgomery didn’t even own a pair of cleats. If you were looking for him, the hardwood was your safest bet.
The 6-foot-1 senior guard captained his high school basketball team, torching opponents from beyond the arc and breaking ankles with sharp change-of-direction moves.
Growing up in Texas - a state notorious for producing high school basketball superstars - he dreamed of playing Division I hoops. And then, making it to the basketball capital of the world.
"In my dreams, I’m seeing you and your brother in the NFL. You’re getting drafted," his mom, Tara, used to tell him. "Mom, I’m going to the NBA," he always brushed her off.
Undersized but extremely athletic, Montgomery pursued his dream. He got into LSU and was set to walk on the basketball team in his second semester.
Then, adversity struck. "Hey, you've got to come home," said his dad over the phone. His mom was falling sick. Again. She had already beaten cancer once, and in May 2020, she received the dreaded news: her cancer came back. It was stage four.
"Basketball just wasn’t as important anymore," Tyren said. He returned home to be by her side.
During that time, the COVID-19 pandemic was in full swing. Tyren aimed to get a job, but with everything shut down, he didn’t land anything. It was just him and his brother Kam at home, trying to find anything to keep the sense of normalcy. One day, they were throwing a football in the backyard. Knowing Tyren had never played before, his brother was impressed with his skills.
"He was like, ‘Look, bro, you could really do this,'" Tyren said.
Starting from the bottom
That conversation ignited a fire in Tyren’s heart. New passion unlocked. The more he threw and caught the football, the more he fell in love with the game. Suddenly, his basketball dreams were irrelevant. Something bigger took over.
But Tyren had to start building everything from nothing. He didn’t know football terminology. Never heard of a route tree. Most importantly, he didn’t have any tape of him playing football to send to schools.
So, Montgomery got creative, recording his own workouts. "I ended up having like some workouts, some routes that I was running just out on air by myself, and I uploaded them to Facebook," he said.
He assembled his best training moments into his first highlight reel, taking an ultimate bet on himself. Still, the beginning wasn’t as smooth as he would have liked it to be.
Tyren sent his tape to every school he could think of. However, their replies had a similar denominator - his athleticism, catches, and running were impressive. But could he do it with a helmet and shoulder pads while being chased and targeted by defenders?
Living in the area, he first tried to walk on at the University of Houston. But after football players were granted an extra year of eligibility following the pandemic, the team didn’t have a roster spot for him.
Earning his first spot
After hearing 'no' many times, his effort paid off when Nicholls State University took a chance on him. Because of academic issues regarding his college credits, Montgomery wasn’t eligible to play in 2022 but finally suited up in 2023; he played in eight games and tallied 171 receiving yards on 12 catches. Sadly, an injury cut his debut season short.
After recovering, Montgomery entered the transfer portal but didn’t have any Division I eligibility left. His pool of options shrank, but the best one emerged.
"Are you kidding me!!! Please have him call me!!" That was the response of Jeff Behrman, the head coach of John Carroll University, after watching his film. The Blue Streaks compete in Division III but boast a rich tree of NFL alumni.
"The thing I was most impressed with was that this was somebody who had a dream and they were willing to do these unusual things, they were willing to leave their comfort zone and chase this dream, and we have been the lucky beneficiaries," said JCU athletic director Brian Polian.
"'Look, you know I got aspirations of playing in the league', and he was like, 'Look, we can help you', so that was what really sold me, and I went to John Carroll, and that's - the rest is history," said Montgomery.
His two years in Ohio were filled with broken records, accolades, and words of praise. Tyren immediately turned into the team’s top wide receiver and posted 1,071 receiving yards on 57 catches in his premier campaign. In his second season, he compiled 1,528 yards and 119 catches with 15 touchdowns, earning All-American honors.
Aiming for the next level
His impressive resume landed him an invitation to the American Bowl and the 2026 Senior Bowl - he was the only Division III player invited to showcase his craft among other seniors and became the first John Carroll player ever to receive this invitation. Only 130 prospects got to attend.
"The records and stuff, that's amazing too, but I feel like I wouldn’t have been able to do that without my quarterback, Nick Semptimphelter, and my coaches, Coach B, Coach Trav, Coach Rover, all the people that believed in me," Montgomery said.
His final - and breakout - collegiate season came with a heavy weight. While it brought the highest highs of his football career, it also carried the lowest lows of his life. His mom died from cancer three months before his senior year began.
"I was in a tough place," Montgomery said. "I’d tell myself she was asleep and hadn’t woken up yet. There were times at practice I’d just start crying and have to excuse myself. I’d look into the stands during games, and she wasn’t there. My dad was very supportive. He’d always tell me, 'You know your mom would want you to keep going'."
Football proved to be an escape outlet, as well as a way to honor his mom through pursuing the dream she once told him about. During his last season, 28 out of 32 NFL team scouts came to John Carroll to watch Tyren Montgomery.
There was a buzz regarding his name and the NFL. He started appearing in mock drafts. The Senior Bowl was his last chance to plead his case, and he shone. The best corners in the game couldn’t stop him.
"If you are looking for the small-school standout of the Senior Bowl, it’s clearly been Montgomery," NFL.com’s experts Lance Zierlein and Eric Edholm wrote.
"Montgomery had the highlight catch of the early practice with an acrobatic grab over the head of talented San Diego State cornerback Chris Johnson on a one-on-one deep ball. That play was emblematic of the athletic ability and competitiveness that have put Montgomery firmly on the radar for NFL scouts," the praise continued.
It’s been an unconventional journey - from the hardwood to the gridiron - but no less meaningful. He needed time and adversity to find his true passion, and through relentless work, he caught up quickly. He has proven he belongs.
He plans on watching the NFL draft with his family and friends in Houston. "If my name is called or not on draft night, I’m sure I’ll break down," Montgomery said.
"I’ve been holding in a lot of emotion for years. So just being able to sign with a team is going to be a lot, because this is what my mom was talking about."
The work he’s put in, along with his mother’s belief, gives him confidence that he was always meant for this. She saw the dream before he did.
And now Tyren strives to finish what they started together. "I felt like it was my calling in life," Tyren said. "It just makes sense to me. Everything within football just makes sense. Secondhand nature."