“It was very exciting,” Revel said. “Leading in to it, I had butterflies. Leading in to it though. I got in the locker room, I walked around the field before the game, just to kind of get the feel of the atmosphere. Came back to the locker room, listened to some music, you know, the music that gets you bumping, gets you focused and gets you ready to go out there and play.”
What got him bumping ahead of his first football game in 429 days was “Till I Collapse” by Eminem, along with a natural confidence in himself that stems from the belief his family has in him.
“I know what I can do,” Revel said. “I went and did my best and didn’t listen to the noise, believed in myself, my family, they had trust in me, had support from them all the way to here. I kind off fed into that and it brought me to today.”
The Cowboys kept Revel on a pitch count in his first NFL game, playing him on 17 total snaps defensively. His first snap came on a third and long for the Raiders offense in the first half, a moment that left no room for nerves at that point.
“The butterflies were left in the locker room,” Revel said. “They had a little package for me, so I wasn’t surprised when I had to get in the game, had to get my mind right, take a deep breath before I get out there in the game and get focused.”
Not too long after, Revel corded his first career tackle in the NFL. It was contact that the young cornerback not only welcomed, but was seeking out.
“It felt great, I needed that,” Revel said. “It either took me getting hit, or me hitting somebody for me to be like, ‘Okay, it’s time to lock in for real.’”