FRISCO, Texas — For third-round pick DeMarvion Overshown, immediately stepping in as a rookie and having to work hard to earn both respect and a spot on the team should come almost as second-nature.
Originally from Arp, a town of just 926 people in East Texas, Overshown grew up around blue-collar workers and earned respect early on as a prep prospect for his work ethic. That extended into his time at Texas, where during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he was forced to return back home to the Piney Woods of East Texas to help support his family through the crisis.
"I was working at a Brookshires unloading grocery trucks," Overshown said. "It was hard being away from the team, but at that time it was all about family first. With my mom being out of work and my siblings out of work, that's what I felt like needed to be done."
The nature of the job was hard work, but it was nothing that Overshown wasn't already accustomed to doing throughout his football career. Although it was for a small check, the money earned helped push his family through the crisis and allowed him to get back to Austin in time to prepare for the 2020 season.
"It might have been like $9.75 an hour," he said. "I was part-time because I had to go to meetings and workout, but my manager at the time, Chris, I'll never forget him, as soon as I put in my application online he called me in like two hours and I was able to get in there. He showed me the ropes and I worked the job for a little over a month-and-a-half before I got to go back to Austin and do what I had to do."
Overshown will be the first to tell you how important his family was to his journey along with his massive support group that includes people that stretch as far as his former manager to former youth coaches in East Texas.
"It's for everybody," he said. "It's one reason why I had a draft party as big as I did. Everybody that was there either played a small role or a big role in me being here. I wanted it to be a celebration for everybody. I couldn't have asked for more support than I got and I'm forever grateful and thankful."
The athletic versatile linebacker has come a long way from making just $9.75 an hour as he inked a contract last week totaling $5.39 million over a span of four years. In reflection, Overshown is grateful for the challenge that presented itself to him as a sophomore in college to get to the point he is at now.
"It was just one of those obstacles that you go through and it's another story to tell," Overshown said.
