Running back Aaron Shampklin of the Pittsburgh Steelers has had a curious career path that led him to the NFL.

Aaron Shampklin is currently experiencing his own personal football fairy tale with the Pittsburgh Steelers.

The running back was only recently signed by the Steelers – nothing out of the ordinary there. But now it has come to light that Shampklin had seemingly put his dream of an NFL career on hold and was pursuing a down-to-earth job after being released by the Los Angeles Chargers in August 2023.

He then worked as a substitute teacher at Perry Lindsey Academy, a middle school in Long Beach, California.

“I worked in the front office. If a teacher didn’t show up, they put me in the classroom. They found out I was good at math, so they eventually made me the sixth-grade math teacher,” Shampklin last told some reporters about the job in his hometown of Long Beach.

Due to the injuries of Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson, the former Harvard graduate Shampklin was then also called up for the Steelers in the NFL.

What did Steelers RB Aaron Shampklin do while waiting for a call from the NFL?

“Last year I was a substitute teacher at Perry Lindsey Academy. So I worked there at the middle school.” pic.twitter.com/OWs0kDcU1T

— Aaron Becker (@Aaron_M_Becker) October 2, 2024

He last played 13 offensive snaps and six more on special teams against the Indianapolis Colts.

“I always believed it would happen,” said 24-year-old Shampklin about his feelings during the time without an NFL contract, when he was waiting for a call from a team.