Patience may be a virtue, but being patient… Yeah, that can be tough.

An undrafted All-SWAC safety out of Texas Southern, Oliver Celestin spent a training camp with Cleveland, a season with NFL Europe World Bowl champion Berlin, and time on Minnesota's practice squad before making his way to the Jets midway through the 2004 season.

Five days later, his lifelong dream was realized when he played in his first NFL game.

"Minnesota had a game against Green Bay and I received a call from my agent, 'You ready to play?' I thought Minnesota was going to activate me," Celestin said. "He gave me choices, 'You can stay on the practice squad and hope to be activated by the Vikings, or you could get a chance to play.' It was a no-brainer for me.

"So I got on a plane and headed to New York. I had a chance to learn a new playbook and learn more football. And I'll never forget when I first got there. It was the atmosphere in Minnesota to bang in practice. Some guys like Randy Moss were off limits. With the running backs, it was free to have a little contact.

"I basically was practicing the same way, and I remember (Head Coach) Herm (Edwards) stopped practice and kind of set the record straight on a few guys. 'Curtis Martin, you can't hit Curtis.' And being a guy that had been cut before, it startled me a little bit.

"But right after Herm talked to me, the first person that walked up to me was (special teams coach) Mike Westhoff, and he laid everything out. 'I've got a job for you. You can do exactly what you were doing.'"

Which Celestin did in his debut. When New York hosted Baltimore for its Week 10 game against the Ravens, on the opening kickoff, the newest Jet had his 'welcome to the league' moment.

"I wound up causing a fumble," he said. "And I'll never forget to this day, coming off to the sideline, Coach Herm was the first person to shake my hand. That just let me know exactly what my role was. He rode me and got on me about that practice, and for him to be the first person to basically reward me when I did something, I loved it."

Even though it was mid-November when Celestin laid that hit on Ravens running back B.J. Sams, it had already been a busy year for him, having played a season in Europe at safety, his natural position, and at cornerback, before going through training camp and practicing with the Vikings.

"If I have to give you any word, that was a blessing," Celestin said. "Because I went up to Cleveland and hurt my neck the year before, and I got released during camp. I sat out a full year and really didn't have any workouts or anything. I thought my career may have been over.

"So when I got the call to go to Europe, it was an opportunity to get back under the lights and to show that I'm healthy. And to compete. That's the bottom line. You always want to have a chance to compete."

Celestin competed that season and the next before going on to play with Seattle, Arizona, and Kansas City. Appearing in 20 regular-season games over those two years with New York, he totaled 31 tackles, had a fumble recovery and a pass defensed.

And while the fondest memories from his time with the Jets center around the opening kickoff hit against Baltimore, they also include the 2004 playoff run.

"That opening kickoff, that will always be a memory," Celestin said. "But also, that (Wild Card) playoff win against San Diego [20-17 in OT]. And when Santana Moss returned a (75-yard) punt against Pittsburgh in the (divisional) playoff game. That I'll never forget. Actually, Mike Westhoff wrote a book and discussed that play. That was a dog fight. It felt like the stadium was rocking. It really looked that way with the Terrible Towels and all that.

"To be able to set that block to get Santana free, that was something that we practiced. It was a little different. That punt return scheme, normally, I would come down and blitz off the edge to pressure the kicking. We would do that to force a miscount in the punt team's protection.

"But instead of going to block the punt, I was able to get back in time to get the ball in Santana's hands. We were saying if we could just get the ball in his hands, he's electric, we have a shot at this." [Pittsburgh, however, won 20-17 in OT.]

Another memory from Celestin's time with the Jets occurred during training camp in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit his hometown of New Orleans. It actually influenced what he's doing now almost 20 years later.

"The Jets gave me an opportunity to provide for my family at a crucial time following Hurricane Katrina. The organization, my teammates, a lot of guys went through that moment with me. A lot of players checked on me during that period and I just appreciate that. It's something that I will never forget," Celestin said.

"And that's actually been the basis behind my passion for construction. I'm obligated to pay it forward and provide opportunities. I want to share that with others. I've experienced it, and I know how helpful that was. The resources that they gave to me; I'm trying to plant that seed to allow it to grow and benefit others.

"I don't think those guys at that organization know exactly what that did for me and my family. And what that's doing for others at this point and will be doing in the future. If there's ever any way that I can help that organization in return, just consider that done.

"I'm forever indebted to those players, to the organization itself, and that's what motivated me to do what I'm doing right now."

Celestin, who has two children: Oliver III and Sanaiah; has returned to his roots and makes his home in New Orleans. He has been paying it forward by getting a general contractor's license and is currently working on earning an electrical certification.

"Once I moved back, I saw the change in basic housing. We have a housing issue, which I learned is going around in a lot of urban communities, a housing shortage," Celestin said. "So just redefining my own life, finding out my own purpose, and just getting into business, I always wanted to supply needs.

"And housing was one of the things that stood out, especially being here in the southern region, the Gulf Coast. We deal with a lot of storms, hurricanes coming through, and it's going to be a continuous thing. And so I've gotten licensed as a general contractor and am just working in that capacity to be able to provide affordable housing. That's really my passion.

"My goal is to start here and go back into every city that I've played in and help the urban communities with their housing. But New Orleans is home. I'm able to navigate the community a little bit easier here. So I want to start here and then branch off. That's my goal as far as expansion."

Also wishing to share the experiences he had while playing with his kids and kids in the community, Celestin has volunteered at local high schools.

"I talk to the coaches. We talk football, and if I can get the coaches to understand and they transfer it to the kids, it helps them get opportunities," he said. "And probably my proudest moment, I went to Cohen (High School), which was a team that hadn't won a game in six years, and really turned that program around, and became a playoff team.