FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga. – When defensive tackle Deadrin Senat got the call from general manager Thomas Dimitroff and head coach Dan Quinn on Friday night, telling him the Falcons had selected him with the No. 90th-overall pick, there were two people Senat wished were present with him.
That's his mother and father, who have both passed away. Senat lost his mother when he was just 13 years old and then his father when he was 20.
"It's very tough," Senat said of not having his parents to share the moment with. "It's something I go through every day. It hurts, I see everybody else with their mom and dad. Family means everything to me."
Senat plays with a high motor and never takes a play off – a mindset he developed from his dad. In four seasons at South Florida, he tallied 178 tackles (23.5 of them for a loss) and seven sacks.
Senat's father passed away in the middle of the week during the college football season four years ago and Senat didn't allow himself to miss USF's upcoming game that weekend against Syracuse. In fact, Senat said it was one of his best games in his collegiate career.
Quinn praised the positive attitude Senat approaches his life with, despite what he's lost.
"I think throughout his life he's shown a tremendous amount of resiliency," Quinn said. "If you hadn't known his story, you certainly wouldn't pick up on anything with his up-beat attitude that he has just walking around. So I think he'll fit our locker room terrifically."
Day 2 of the 2018 NFL Draft was one Senat won't soon forget.
