Every path to a college scholarship is different, though some are more different than others.

Take Michigan State signee Mustafa Khaleefah, who like many Division I signees, enjoyed playing EA Sports’ Madden in his downtime as a kid.

“I started playing Madden when I was in middle school,” Khaleefah said to MLive.com. “I didn’t play football yet but that is when I got to know football. I knew the rules from Madden, not because I played (football).”

There was a reason it took so long for Khaleefah to pick up football. Up until the age of nine, he wasn’t exposed to the American sport.

Instead, he and his family lived in war-torn Iraq.

There, they witnessed family members, friends and even strangers die in the streets. One time, Khaleefah saw a stranger shot right in front of their house.

“Motorcycles just pulled up and just shot him,” Khaleefah said to MLive. “I guess that you could say it was the last straw but there were so many other things that went on there too that you’ve got to be like, you’ve got to get out of here. You can’t raise a family in these conditions.”

As Khaleefa said, his family decided that it was time to come to the United States. They learned English and became accustomed to American life.

It wasn’t until his sophomore year that Khaleefa — who physically developed earn in high school — was convinced to play football at Dearborn High School (Mich.).

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There, he became a star offensive tackle and was rated the No. 18 recruit from the state of Michigan. The 6-6, 280-pound recruit earned scholarship offers from the likes of MSU, Cincinnati, Syracuse and others.

On National Signing Day, Khaleefa became the second Dearborn player in the last 30 years to sign a B1G scholarship.

His message to anyone experiencing adversity was a valuable one.

“Just for anybody who ever doubts the situation they are in or can’t seem to find any success, you just have to keep trying,” Khaleefah said to MLive. “No matter how many times you fail, you just have to keep going and believe in yourself. I think you’ll find success in that.”