How 'bout our trio of overachievers: Raheem Mostert, Tank Dell and Donald Parham | KEN WILLIS

There was a momentary temptation to do the research, but why bother?

There’s no way our area has ever seen better NFL end-zone representation than it did this past Sunday. And with each contributor — Raheem Mostert, Tank Dell and Donald Parham — there’s a lesson about perseverance, effort and self-belief. Not to mention the imperfect science of recruiting and scouting.

Start with the senior statesman, Mostert, whose bio says he’s old for a running back (31) while his legs are shouting otherwise.

The former New Smyrna Beach High (and Purdue) standout has rushed for 240 yards and six TDs through the Dolphins’ first three games, and in this past Sunday’s 70-20 highlight-reel win over Denver, he also caught seven passes for 60 yards and a TD, to go along with his three rushing touchdowns.

Consider Raheem’s current status and look back at where he stood a year after going undrafted out of Purdue. He was signed and released by six organizations between 2015-16 before sticking with the 49ers, finding some success between injuries, and following former Niners assistant Mike McDaniel to Miami last year.

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Dell’s issue was never game tape, but measuring tape. At just 5-foot-8 and 165 pounds, he eventually needed a break — someone to believe their own eyes — to get his shot with the Houston Cougars, which led to a great college career and now a starring role, as a rookie, with the Houston Texans.

Dell caught five balls for 145 yards and a TD in Houston’s win Sunday in Jacksonville, and through three games he’s tied for the team lead with 15 receptions.

We’ll claim Parham because he truly became a football player when he came to DeLand as a Stetson Hatter. He grew up in Lakeland and didn’t play football until his senior year at Lake Gibson High, and even then he only stood out because of his 6-foot-8 frame.

A breakout performance in Stetson’s spring game before his sophomore season alerted the Hatters to what they had at the tight-end position. He caught 180 passes over the next three seasons, including 85 with 13 TDs as a senior.

Undrafted in 2018, Parham bounced around a few rosters, and played a season in the XFL, before landing and sticking with the Chargers, where his size makes him an obvious favorite target around the goal line.

His two TD catches Sunday against the Vikings totaled just four yards. He has five catches — three of them for touchdowns — on six targets so far this season.

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The modern way of building rosters leans heavily on analytics and a data-driven process that’s supposed to uncover the occasionally overlooked abilities of athletes like Mostert, Dell and Parham. And often they do.

But these three prove that some old-fashioned effort, passion and belief are still necessary items for the tool box.

Rank & File

The weekly ranking of Florida’s seven big-league college football programs, based on results versus expectations, current trends, and Saturday’s expected dew point in Lexington …

1. FSU (4-0). This week: off. Seminoles’ win streak now at 10, going back to last October. They haven’t started 4-0 since … since … oh, last year, when they went from 4-0 to 4-3 over the course of 15 days. Let’s move along. Next week: Virginia Tech at home.

2. Miami (4-0). This week: off. The ’Canes begin their ACC schedule next week, and the eight-week run doesn’t include Duke. How often is that good news? Next week: Georgia Tech at home.

3. Florida (3-1). This week: at Kentucky. Gators are coming off a five-FG performance against Charlotte, and no, that’s not good news. Coincidently, they’re underdogs this week by how much? Yep, a field goal. The pick: Sounds about right, Wildcats by 3.

4. UCF (3-1). This week: Baylor at home. Both teams figure to use backup QBs. Bears’ starter Blake Shapen has been out since Week 1, and backup Sawyer Robertson has completed less than 50% with one TD and four picks. The pick: Knights by 16.

5. USF (2-2). This week: at Navy. The Bulls won their conference opener for the first time in five years, and they also have a keeper at QB, with Byrum Brown. The Middies, however, will always be a challenge. The pick: Bulls by 3.

6. FIU (3-2). This week: off. Panthers’ early-season run met humility last week with that 38-6 loss to Liberty, but a week off should help as much as knowing they won’t play anyone of Liberty’s level for a while. Next week: at New Mexico State.

7. FAU (1-3). This week: off. First-year coach Tom Herman used a close loss at Illinois (Illinois!) to preach positives. “For the last 10 months I’ve talked to the team about having faith. Faith is belief without evidence. We got some evidence. We have a lot to build on.” Again, it was Illinois, not even Purdue! Next week: Tulsa at home.

The (other) Picks

Something’s gotta give this week, and you can feel it in your bones. No, that ache ain’t from another pending rain storm.

Duke beating Notre Dame wouldn’t be a huge shock but mildly surprising. Same goes for Georgia-Auburn, Tennessee-South Carolina, or Utah-Oregon State. Even Mississippi State over Alabama wouldn’t have us checking the Book of Revelation.

Well, maybe it would.

You know there’s one coming. Maybe two, but one for certain.

Where’s all this going?

Right here: No. 24 Kansas over No. 3 Texas.

Elsewhere: Utah by 12 over Oregon State; Penn State big over Northwestern; N.C. State over Louisville; Clemson beats Syracuse by just 7; Southern Cal by 18 over Deion; Georgia by just 9 over Auburn; Ole Miss beats LSU; Tennessee over S. Carolina; ’Bama by 12 over Mississippi State; TCU over W. Virginia; Notre Dame in OT over Duke; and just southwest of Cleveland, in Berea, the Baldwin Wallace Yellow Jackets over the visiting Pioneers of Marietta.

BTW: Berea would still be a big player in the construction world if someone hadn’t made concrete so cheap and durable. Before the 1930s, the gold standard for durability was Berea sandstone, from which grindstones were formed.

The original sandstone was put down in Berea during the Mississippian era, between 323 and 360 million years ago, depending on which geologist you're chatting up.

Not saying Bereans are a tough lot, but to this day the city symbol is the grindstone. Sure as hell beats your town’s sunflower or sea oat!

— Reach Ken Willis at ken.willis@news-jrnl.com. And if you're swinging through Berea, you can't go wrong with the signature Grindstone burger at the Grindstone Tap House. It's topped with onion rings ... and bacon!

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Raheem Mostert, Tank Dell, Donald Parham: Our 3 NFL end-zone reps