Seventeen months ago, Byron Perkins, a Hampton University football player, was in a dark place. After a promising 3-0 start to the season, his team lost two games in a row —  including a likely discouraging, 32-point beatdown at the University of Delaware. 

In 2020, at the peak of his career, Dwight Howard had a list of accomplishments many of his pro basketball peers would envy: a championship with the Los Angeles Lakers, multiple selections to NBA all-star teams, a seven-figure salary and sportswriters debating whether the Atlanta native is among the greatest players in history.