When Jailen Branch '21, MBA '23 was looking at colleges where he could play football, he first set his sights on large Division I schools. But when it came to decision time, he relied on some advice that would prepare him to dream beyond the NFL. 

"My father always told me to trust my gut, that football isn't always going to be there," says Branch. "So I had it the back of my mind to attend a school that would set me up with a backup plan for a career beyond professional football."  

His decision was based not only on his father's advice, but also on a feeling he had during an overnight visit to Bentley, where he spent time with members of the Falcons football team and knew he had found his home. Finding family was easy for Branch — whose mother and godparents also attended Bentley — and, as it turns out, the university is where he could accomplish both of his dreams. Just months before Branch was set to complete his second Bentley degree — an MBA that followed an undergraduate degree in Management — the defensive back had declared for the 2023 NFL draft. 

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