FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- Mention his sterling academic record, and Braxton Berrios will give you modesty. The New York Jets' all-purpose standout likes to tell people he's not the smartest person in any room. His college GPA suggests otherwise -- 3.96, which made him the valedictorian for the University of Miami business school in 2018.

One stinking B was the only thing that separated him from academic perfection. The class was Finance 320: Investments in Security Markets, and the B chafed him.

"It stung," Berrios said. "It hurt. It hurt."

He's still bothered by it, and that tells you a lot about the drive within the 5-foot-9, 190-pound wide receiver/kickoff returner/punt returner/overall sparkplug. When he sets a goal, he pursues it with uncommon determination.

In college, Berrios was "obsessed" with becoming the valedictorian even though it wasn't his dream. The NFL always was the dream. He's had a lifelong "infatuation" with returning punts, which he admitted requires a little bit of crazy. His competitive streak started as a kid in North Carolina. When he was 6, he demanded that his father take him outside in a rainstorm so he could practice making diving catches in the mud, according to the Miami Herald.

"Just because people don’t expect a lot out of him, for whatever reason, I don’t feel like he gets the credit he deserves a lot of the time," quarterback Zach Wilson said of Berrios, who leads the AFC with a 28.7-yard kickoff return average.

Berrios, one of the few bright spots on the 3-10 Jets, returns to South Florida on Sunday (1 p.m. ET, CBS) to face the Miami Dolphins at Hard Rock Stadium, where he played his college games for the Hurricanes. He crushed college, especially in the classroom.

He was a double major -- entrepreneurship and finance -- adding the latter as an "I'll show you" statement after his freshman year. His first-year GPA (4.0) didn't sit well with a wide receiver teammate, who made a snarky comment to Berrios: "Try getting a 4.0 in upper-level finance classes."

A week later, Berrios enrolled in finance classes.

"True story," he said. "That's how I got into finance."

Dude turns everything into a challenge. He made the classroom sound like Armageddon.

"I have a competitive edge and I have a switch that just doesn't go off," said Berrios, who will be a free agent after the season. "So when I sat in those classes, it was either you or me. You got the same test I got, you got the same quiz I got, you got the same projects -- whatever -- and I made sure when I turned mine in, I was going to beat you."

Berrios excelled on the field, too, scoring nine touchdowns as a senior captain in 2017, but he wasn't picked until the sixth round (210 overall) of the 2018 draft by the New England Patriots.

Surprisingly, coach Bill Belichick gave up on him after a year on injured reserve and the Jets picked him up on waivers at the start of the 2019 season, a sneaky good move by general manager Joe Douglas.

"I'm sure he's been doubted, particularly when you get to this level and you're not the biggest, by far, you're not the fastest," Jets offensive coordinator Mike LaFleur said. "But there's a level of competitor in him -- and dog -- that he believes he's the best one when he steps on the field. And it's not something he just tells himself, he truly believes it."

Berrios has touched the ball 69 times -- 32 receptions (long: 46 yards), 23 kickoff returns (long: 79), 12 punt returns and two rushes. His punt-return average (13.8) would be good enough for second in the NFL, but he doesn't have enough attempts to qualify. As you may have heard, the Jets' defense doesn't force too many punts.

He's faster than you think. In fact, Berrios has recorded three of the top five ball-carrier speeds on the Jets, according to NFL Next Gen Stats. He reached 21.03 mph on a 38-yard kickoff return; the only player with a faster mark is running back Tevin Coleman, who hit 21.09 mph on a 65-yard kickoff return.

Still, Berrios is perceived as a feisty overachiever. He doesn't care.

"Whether I'm the favorite or the underdog," he said, "it doesn't matter when the ball is in the air."