It’s 4:30 on a Thursday afternoon. Slowly, Diamond Ferri lumbers down the stairs of his South Campus apartment.

He’s just woken up. He’s already slept through a doctor’s appointment for a dog-bite he received the weekend before. He’s slept a lot lately, he says, his body and mind tired from two years of training. After all, doesn’t he deserve some rest?

Just two years after leaving the Syracuse football team and returning home, Ferri had accomplished the unthinkable.

First, he returned to the team and switched positions from running back to safety, leading the Orange in tackles his first year back. This past season, he again made a name for himself in the Orange secondary and asserted himself as a special teams threat.

Forget all that, though. Ferri, the kid who always seemed in the wrong place at the wrong time and who didn’t dedicate himself to school, has grown up. Last weekend, all 32 teams passed on Ferri in the NFL Draft. He’s over that too, prepared to make his mark with the New York Giants, which signed him as a free agent. He’s the first person to admit he’s screwed up, but the last one to care what anyone thinks about it.

‘I’ve definitely grown up,’ Ferri said. ‘With life lessons, you just grow. People can say stuff. That’s fine. If someone looks at you (negatively), that’s their problem.’

And people close to Ferri say those who choose to focus on the negatives haven’t noticed Ferri’s growth. He left Syracuse after his sophomore season. He was suspended from spring practice before his junior year for undisclosed reasons.

So he packed for Everett, Mass., and left the starting running back job behind. He also left behind his girlfriend, Amanda Walsh, one of the most important people in his life. At home, he attended Bunker Hill Community College, raising his grades. He worked a couple of jobs, selling knives and working at an insurance company.

He realized football was better than any real-world job. Most importantly, Ferri grew up.

‘He was more serious,’ Everett High School coach John DiBiaso said. ‘Much more focused. He realized how much he missed football. It was the first time he was 5 that he was without it.

‘He realized it was his own fault and his future depended on him.’

So Ferri put his ego aside and returned to SU even though former head coach Paul Pasqualoni informed Ferri he’d have to switch positions. Walter Reyes and Damien Rhodes emerged at running back while Ferri was gone. He’d have to play safety.

No one ever questioned Ferri’s willingness and dedication on the field. DiBiaso and Syracuse assistant strength and conditioning coach Hal Luther both described Ferri as coachable.

In a high school state championship game, Ferri nearly rushed for 300 yards with a 102-degree fever. And that’s without an 80-yard run which was negated by a penalty. All game he received Gatorade and aspirin on the sideline. Another time in high school, Ferri worked out so hard, he dehydrated himself and spent the evening in the hospital.

This season at Syracuse, he played through numerous injuries and left several games to receive an IV in the locker room.

‘On that end, he’s always been there,’ DiBiaso said. ‘He works his ass off.’

Ferri needed to grow off the field. DiBiaso described Ferri as ‘rambunctious’ in high school. Someone would make a comment Ferri didn’t like and he’d punch the kid. But Ferri always owned up to the mistake, never blaming anyone else.

But Ferri’s changed. Charges against him for a fight this past August in Armory Square were dropped, provided he stays out of trouble for six months. Even in that case, Ferri said, the whole story hasn’t come out.

‘People who believe the negative things in the paper don’t know him,’ Walsh said. ‘They don’t think, is he trying to do something good for someone else? People never read about the good things.’

Walsh would know about Ferri’s positive attributes more than anyone. Walsh, a former Syracuse cheerleader, met Ferri through a friend on the cheerleading squad during their sophomore year. One of Walsh’s teammates dated one of Ferri’s teammates. The two have been together since.

Just a few nights ago, Walsh returned home from work to find her apartment spotless. Ferri dusted, mopped the floor and cleaned everything. He knows her favorite color is pink, so if he’s out and sees something pink, he’ll bring it home. It could be the most ridiculous looking thing in the world as long as it’s pink.

Ferri also loves children. He’ll go home with Walsh and eagerly get down on the floor and play with her nephew. He loves to play with her nephew’s toys, Walsh said.

And while in his first two years at Syracuse, Ferri struggled with academics, he’s rededicated himself since. He’s currently taking classes and is a few summer classes from graduating. If all goes well, he’ll become the first member of his family to earn a degree, DiBiaso said.

‘He’s put a lot more effort into school,’ Walsh said. ‘He’s more passionate about it. He goes to the computer lab. He’s grown up.’

He’s also picked up a number of additional hobbies. He started playing guitar about a year ago and now owns an electric and acoustic. Walsh said he’ll go a month without playing and then pick up the guitar and play nonstop for a month.

Along with his musical talent, he’s appeared in two plays. A few years ago, he appeared in ‘The Wiz.’ This year he appeared in another play, but wouldn’t allow Walsh to attend.

‘He’s a heck of a lot smarter than people think,’ Luther said. ‘He has dreams and aspirations. He’s not just running around and being a nut job.’

Said teammate and roommate Greg Hanoian: ‘People bash him off as a meathead. That’s not him.’

Of course, Ferri’s current aspiration is NFL success. When he initially returned to Syracuse, he doubted if he wanted to play football after college. His success convinced him otherwise. Coaches repeatedly reminded Ferri of his talent and Ferri bought into it.

Then came the disappointment of last weekend’s NFL Draft. A few years ago, Ferri may have reacted differently to not being selected. He’s matured and put the disappointment aside, vowing to prove the teams that passed on him wrong.

Ferri admits his career may have taken a different turn if he never left school. Four years at safety or four at running back and he’s likely drafted. He doesn’t regret his decision to leave, though.

He knows his past – right or wrong – may have cost him in the draft. He knows he’s out of chances. Syracuse gave him a second chance. NFL teams – especially teams coached by Tom Coughlin – won’t.

‘If he hadn’t hit rock bottom, he might not have matured,’ DiBiaso said. ‘He’s much more prepared.’

Said Ferri: ‘I can’t regret what happened in the past. I know I’ve got ability. All the draft is, is a signing bonus.’

Published on May 1, 2005 at 12:00 pm