AUBURN | Four years ago, Jamel Dean was deemed medically unfit to play at Ohio State. A year and a half later, he underwent his third major knee surgery.

In the two and a half years since, he’s started 22 career games at Auburn, earned a degree and is just a month and a half away from realizing a lifelong dream of being drafted into the NFL.

“It was like one of the greatest feelings ever,” Dean said. “At one point, I thought I was never going to play football again. Now I'm out here living my dream, and I'm getting closer to the NFL. I just feel like everything is falling into place now.”

Dean tore the ACL in his right knee as a junior at Cocoa (Fla.) High and then tore the meniscus in the same knee as a senior. After sitting out the fall of 2015 following his transfer from Ohio State, Dean tore the ACL in his left knee during preseason practice in 2016.

He came back to win a starting job during the 2017 season and earn preseason All-SEC honors in 2018. He finished his career with 73 tackles, 19 pass breakups and two interceptions in 26 games. He was also named to the SEC Academic Honor Roll for two-straight years.

“Really, it's just hard work. Because, after each injury, I had to work harder than normal just to bounce back,” Dean said.

Dean was able to show a bevy of NFL scouts, coaches and GM’s how far he’s come in the last couple of years with his performance at the NFL Combine last week and Auburn’s Pro Day Friday.

He ran a 4.30 40-yard dash, the second-fastest of the Combine, and had a 41.0 vertical leap, the third-best among the cornerbacks. Those numbers are especially impressive when you take into account his 6-foot-1 and 206-pound frame.

“Well, a lot of people said I made a lot of money after running that 40 and just my performance in the combine in general,” Dean said.

“Some teams were surprised,” he added. “Some teams said that they knew I was fast, but they didn't know I was that fast. So it was kind of like, between surprise and what they expected.”

Dean met with a number of NFL teams during the Combine and Pro Day, and that should continue in the weeks leading up to the draft. And when they ask him about dealing with adversity, Dean has a ready-made answer.

“There aren't many dudes who have had three knee surgeries and still continue to play football. That lets you know that I know how to handle adversity,” he said.

The 2019 NFL Draft is April 25-27 in Nashville.