Life-changing experiences fuel NFL path for Paschal, Garrett

By MICHAEL MAROT
AP Sports Writer

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Josh Paschal and Haskell Garrett count themselves among the lucky ones. They understand only a tiny fraction of football players get a chance to play in the NFL. Even fewer overcome frightening experiences like theirs to become legitimate draft prospects. Yet here they are, days away from making their dream careers a reality — careers that seemed so distant in 2018 when Paschal was undergoing monthly immunotherapy treatments for cancer in his right foot, or when Garrett was hospitalized in 2020 after being shot in the face. They were too persistent to let anything, even life itself, derail their plans.