Kean alum Pete Lejawa making a run at the NFL

By Steven Merrill | Published by March 26, 2020

Usually, it isn’t a Division III football player who is putting in work at a training center in order to prepare for the upcoming NFL Draft. Kean Football alum Pete Lejawa is changing the norm.   

After five seasons at Kean that included an ACL tear and broken fingers, Lejawa is pursuing his dream of playing football at the next level. At TEST Football Academy in Martinsville, Lejawa is working alongside Division I athletes preparing for pro day and the NFL Draft.  

“I’m focused on getting my body right for the next level,” Lejawa said. “The NFL, CFL, XFL, I’ll go anywhere. Primarily the NFL, that’s the goal.” 

The 6’4, 300-pound lineman has had a 15-pound turnaround where he lost 11 pounds of fat and gained about 5 points of lean muscle. He eats 3,000 calories a day with meals that consist of 55 grams of protein and burns the same amount of calories working out at TEST every day. He hopes to lose even more weight while packing on muscle.  

Lejawa noted that he has heard from the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts, and Chicago Bears, who have him on their radar and expressed interest. 

“You want your name out there on the surface,” Lejawa said. “They just wanna see my results because it’s a business. The film doesn’t lie.”  

Unlike a lot of other prospects, Lejawa is operating without an agent. This means he is handling the off-field business himself and paying for his workouts, meals, and treatments on his own. 

“Pete has always found a way to persist through adversity,” said Kean Football’s head coach Dan Garrett. “It has been a long road, and there were times where it was really hard to look forward, let alone see the light at the end of the tunnel. I’m extremely proud of him and all he has persisted through.” 

At TEST, Lejawa has a routine of participating in certain drills to help prepare for pro day where NFL scouts will watch him. He runs 40-yard dashes, shuttle runs, does agility work, and lifts in the afternoon while maintaining a strict and steady diet.  

“He’s come a long way,” said TEST performance coach Vance Matthews. “He comes into work every day and it’s been very encouraging to see his progress. Hopefully, he locks in and takes all the training that he does and carries it into his pro day. He’s a hard worker and I wish him the best.”  

Lejawa finished his academic credits at Kean in December and plans to walk at graduation in May. While training takes up a majority of his daily schedule five days a week, Lejawa works security at a high school in Paramus.  

“Kean prepared me in different ways,” Lejawa said. “Definitely the one thing is the mental toughness part. These dudes are coming from big-time schools playing on tv and I’m coming from a small Division III school in Union, N.J.”  

Lejawa knows he has an outside shot at playing football professionally so he has a backup plan ready. Last September during a bye week, Lejawa took a prep class for the Civil Service exam. He said he took the exam in December with ease and is still awaiting those results. 

“Coach Garrett told me to put my 110% effort into plan A, which I’m doing,” Lejawa said. “But of course you have to have a fallback plan. Life happens so plan B would be to be a police officer, state trooper, or corrections officer.” 

Garrett could not be more proud of one of his best leaders to ever suit up for Kean Football. Lejawa had 122 total career tackles over 38 games for the Cougars, but that’s not what he will be remembered for. 

“He had an immediate impact in our program on defense from the day he walked in the door,” Garrett said. “He provided a tremendous amount of quality leadership to our program.   

He always fought hard to stay positive, when at times it would have been very easy for him not to be. Coaching him was something special that I’ll never forget.” 

Lejawa reflected on his time at Kean, on and off the field. He also likes the direction where the athletic department is headed. 

“There were a lot of ups and downs, a lot of great times,” Lejawa said. “Kean is changing right now with the new AD (Matt Caruso). Kean Football will become better with the new equipment and workouts. Those players better be prepared but I’m positive they’re gonna get right and the coaches will be ready to rock and roll.” 

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