This is the story of perseverance, sure. Of inspiration. Of purpose. Of no excuses, ever.

Really, though, this is the story of us. All of us. Any of us. And it's nothing more complicated than the mere suggestion that we all have more in common than we think.

Picture it: Joe Average College Student from the mean streets of East Lyme forming a friendship — an enduring one, too — with a hulking football player from Mobile, Ala., a young man who grew up in a small house with 14 other people.

Joe Average: Dan Adams Jr. of East Lyme, a 2011 Clemson grad.

Hulking football player: Brandon Maye, a 2011 Clemson grad and football player who never did make it to the NFL ... but should have, were it not for injury.

Maye, who spoke to students at Bennie Dover Jackson Middle School and New London High in the fall, tells a story of purpose. And never allowing any of life's circumstances, cruel as they might be, derail that purpose.

Here is Dan Adams Jr., who works with his dad, Dan, at Adams Wealth Management in New London, telling the story:

"My sophomore year, my roommates were from Easley, S.C.," Dan Jr. said. "There was another guy who still lived in Easley not enrolled but hung around a lot. He had a close connection to CJ Spiller. Through him, I met some of the players.

"Brandon came from tough beginnings. Fifteen people in a two bedroom house. He jokes that you could take two steps and be in the kitchen, two steps and you're in the living room."

Dan Sr. said, "One of the real powerful things he says is that 'some kids would hear lullabies when they fall asleep. I used to hear gunshots.'"

Maye's dad was murdered when he was two. But his stepfather, a strong, positive presence in his life, thought football would be a way to deliver Maye from Mobile and to a better life.

"He was a two-star recruit that Clemson took a chance on and he became a freshman All-American," Dan Jr. said. "Before senior year, he could have gone pro, but his grandmother had medical issues and he wanted to be closer to her. So, Brandon graduated from Clemson and used his last year of (athletic) eligibility to transfer Mississippi State to be closer to home.

"The second week of practice at MSU, he injured his Achilles. He still played but wasn't as effective. He signed with (the Tampa Bay) Bucs and failed the physical. He couldn't pursue an NFL career."

And yet this is where Maye's story begins. His coping skill was Jim Valvano: Don't give up. Don't ever give up. He owns a power washing company now in Mobile. He flips houses. He's a published author.

"Brandon's big message is that you need a purpose in life," Dan Sr. said. "It wasn't necessarily football. He played football to get his family out of the hood. Obstacles kick you down, but you are still working on the purpose. There are lots other ways to fulfill that."

The Adams boys, who still stay in contact with Maye, sponsored his trip to New London to deliver the message to the kids.

"It's always been a strategy of the (business) team to give back to the community," Dan Sr. said. "When Dan came here last fall, we thought about sponsoring a trip. Dan took it from there. It was a powerful day. Some of the kids were crying. His message resonated particularly with the demographics here."

Clemson football assumes the national stage Saturday night in the national semifinals against Ohio State. Turns out we have a rooting interest in this game now. A Clemson grad made a notable impression on a bunch of New London kids, sharing the message they need to hear above all others: There are no excuses.

Turns out, too, that people from East Lyme and Mobile, who appear to have no connection whatsoever, can develop the strongest of all. Exactly the way you draw it up.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro