CHARLOTTE, N.C. (WFMY) -- The NFL journey for new Panthers safety Da'Norris Searcy has been all about balance. Searcy played his college ball for the University of North Carolina, where he met his future wife Kennetra, also known as Kiki.
I ran into one of my friends named Rita," Searcy said. "And Kiki was sitting besides Rita, and I was like hey Rita who is that? I got to know her, found out we had a whole bunch in common, and she's been stuck with me ever since.
"And from then on, 6 months later he proposed," Kiki said. "And 10 months later we were married."
It wasn't until Searcy's senior season after the Tar Heels finished competing in their bowl game, when life in the NFL looked like a true possibility.
The Buffalo Bills drafted Searcy in the 4th round of the 2011 NFL draft. The safety had to make the move north, while his fiancee at the time, stayed behind at Chapel Hill to finish her degree.
The couple had to deal with distance for his first two years in Buffalo, but it was a sacrifice they made for each other.
"That's a big time to be away from someone," Kiki said. "But with that distance, all we could do is pretty much talk on the phone. Because if anyone knows, this type of lifestyle, it is very very demanding and he can't just leave when he wants to."
It wasn't an ideal start to their marriage, but both Searcy and his wife did what was needed to make their relationship last.
"I used to come home Monday evenings and I'd catch the last plane out Tuesday night," Searcy said. "I'd get back around twelve at midnight, then be up in time for meetings and workouts the next morning."
Eventually, Kennetra earned her degree, and moved to Buffalo during the final two years of Seary's rookie contract.
"It was weird at first," Searcy's wife said. "I was far away from home, I didn't have my mom nearby, and now I am with this guy! Like uhhh okay, we are really doing this."
Searcy's four year contract then came to an end. The Bills did not resign the safety, so instead they were on the move again; this time to Nashville, Tennessee.
At the same time, the couple welcomed their first daughter into the world, all while Kiki competed (and won) for the title of Miss Black USA.
"It was easy for me honestly," Kennetra said. "I literally have a planner, where I write everything down, day by day, hour by hour. I have a strategic to-do list and it better be finished by next Sunday, and if it isn't, something bad about to happen."
The Searcy's spent the next two years in Tennessee before the Titans cut the safety, and it was back on the road yet again.
Entering his 8th year in the NFL, it all came full-circle for the veteran, moving back to the place where it all began; North Carolina.
Searcy brings a plethora of experience to the Carolina Panthers, and helps fill a void in the secondary after the team traded away Daryl Worley to the Eagles in the offseason.
And for number 21, the 2018 season is all about taking advantage of the task in front of him.
"Don't go in there wasting time," Searcy said. "Just go in there maximizing opportunity. You're going to get out whatever you put in."
While Searcy is busy focusing on the gridiron, he leaves everything else in the hands of his wife.
She runs the whole household during the season," The safety said. "Like I don't do anything, because my job is hard enough. Now in the offseason she still run the household, but I make sure I am at least in there with her.
While life in the NFL poses it's challenges, it all circles back to one thing; balance.
Especially in the offseason, I don't want to hear about football, I don't want to talk about football, I don't want to do nothing football related," Searcy said. "When the season ends, I don't put the cleats back on until we come back in April. You have to be able to separate the two. Like don't let them overlap each other.
Most of us only see the man in the uniform, but when you take a deeper look, you find this NFL vet is the same like all of us. A husband first, and ball player second.
"That's what it's all about," Searcy said. "Making sure they are taken care of, make sure they have what they need. It's not just about me anymore, it's about us."
