He is expected to return for the start of summer practice and the 2021 season. *** Captain, 2021 AFCA Good Works Team ***. Throughout his time at Georgia, Dean has thanked and praised God. "I can't look at football and not think, 'What was supposed to happen right there?' Dean helped Horn Lake High School win a 6A state championship as a senior. According to ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr, he's also been climbing NFL Draft boards and currently sits as a top-15 prospect. Sports was just a hobby growing up until I got to high school. Dean graduated high school with a 4.3 GPA and carried a 3.55 GPA in mechanical engineering at . As Dean stands at the advent of a new era for college athletes, he is playing out an ideal year in Athens. She won in the assistant professor category. But the player who was the best on that defense, middle linebacker Nakobe Dean, didnt work out in Indy although according to sources, he still wowed some NFL coaches. But Dean does not need to tell you that. Dean's values were instilled by his mother Neketta at a young age. He was inspired and wanted to help make prosthetics for veterans in need. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel) Entering Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game in Indianapolis, Georgia had a former walk-on at quarterback while Alabama was led by the reigning Heisman Trophy winner. "I know. Alabama, Auburn, LSU, Texas A&M, Baylor, Clemson, Duke, Florida, Florida State, Iowa, Memphis, Michigan, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Ole Miss, South Alabama, Stanford, Tennessee, and Vanderbilt all wanted his services. And nothing he does on the field would be as impressive as that accomplishment. AS THEY GET ready to leave the shelter, Dean signs his sponsored bed, and a woman who is staying there asks him to sign two Georgia hats for two girls who were unable to be there. We are using cookies to give you the best experience on our website. ", "For 99.9% of these kids, it's not necessarily like life-changing money, so they have to understand they need to put half of it away for taxes," says Zach Soskin, who founded a management company that facilitates NIL deals for college athletes. Change of direction is typically good. He has lived both sides of the one-percenter college-to-NFL threshold, school coming before football until the realisation he was pretty special in both departments. I remember recruiting him. All the hard work you put in through the season, everything you had to do through the offseason, you knew that it worked," he continued. Dean's mother is a veteran of the United States military. No matter what kind of resources their family had, her grandmother used to make them donate their time, at the very least. Against Michigan in the Orange Bowl, Dean was a nightmare for the Wolverines offense, making seven tackles, two TFLs, a sack and a career-high five QB pressures, blowing up one play after another. I feel like my passion is second to none and the effort I play with.". Rookie Numbers#FlyEaglesFly pic.twitter.com/iV7TAxXVba, Philadelphia Eagles (@Eagles) May 6, 2022. News, Interviews, Comment & Analysis @ch_skysports. Thats not something he would shy away from. As the 19th-best player in the class of 2019, Dean had his pick of the litter when it came to college football programs. As a senior, Dean racked up 175 tackles, seven sacks, three interceptions, and scored nine touchdowns at running back. Chris Simms' 2022 NFL Draft top five quarterbacks. Head coach Nick Sirianni only got see Dean for a few snaps on Friday. Daily Devotional: Tuesday, February 28 - How Bright Do You Shine? I always tell them I want them to be better than me, not like me, better than me. It's unmatched not just on the field, but in life. I even wrote that his leadership skills and engineering prowess made him the Tony Stark of Georgia footballs National Championship defense. Uiagalelei thanks God for challenges: Jesus put me in this position Dean recorded 71 tackles and 1.5 sacks last season. Dean shares how the experience of interviewing with teams has gone and what those teams are saying to him about what they envision his role will be in the league. 1 in the nation and only kept growing from that point. "We don't want people going home with seven peanut butters," Neketta says. Whether by positioning or speed, Dean always appears to be at the right place at the right time -- right where the ball is. "I feel like we're going to be happy for each other because we know each other," said Dean. You can adjust all of your cookie settings by navigating the tabs on the left hand side. Joined Dec 31, 2020 Messages 3,637 Reactions 23,611 5,537 2,839 Alleybux 1,004,023,593 Today at 9:47 AM #1 Smart, strong and handsome! Sign up for daily stories delivered to your inbox. or 'Why did you do that?'" When it came to numbers, he always had the right answer.". That was enough to know what kind of player he has in his locker room. 1, Report: PGA Tour trimming some fields, ending cuts, Trade tracker: Kings' Quick era ends with deal to Jackets, Rodgers out of isolation, call on '23 coming 'soon enough'. Preparing for an SEC opponent like Kentucky or Florida the . jdecision21. He joined Phil Perry on a new episode of the Next Pats Podcast to share why he'd benefit any team that takes a chance on him in the draft. Dean explains how he developed as a leader while at Georgia and how will he adapt to the NFL with his smaller size for a linebacker. I think thats just one less thing, with Nakobe behind Jordan, helping him get lined up and making the call in the huddle, there are so many new things that they are trying to get used to right now. Nakobe Dean still has a couple semesters left to complete his mechanical engineering degree at Georgia.He still has a desire to finish it and maybe even pre-med for all the right reasons.Deans mother is a veteran of the United States military.While Dean grew up, he saw how often she visited the VA and spoke with disabled veterans.Those interactions shaped what Nakobe Dean wants to study and build a career around even, potentially, while he plays football in the NFL.Growing up, it was going to be engineer, doctor or architect. Its no wonder the permanent team captain for the Bulldogs was so adept at reading opposing offenses in the middle of a stingy national championship defense. Editor's note: This story originally published on Dec. 29, 2021. Associated Press, Walter Camp, AFCA, Sporting News, USA Today, ESPN, The Athletic, CBS ***. "Canned food drives, I've done about a thousand of them. "I took my education just as serious as I took my sports," Dean said. The day of the watch party, while Dean was busy with practice and film sessions, Neketta was cooking up her own plan, trying to figure out how they could squeeze every bit out of their resources. I faced a lot of adversity from an academic standpoint there are a lot of goals that I set that I wasnt able to attain, but it does nothing but make me stronger., Dean arrived at Georgia wanting to become a doctor but also had a strong interest in pursuing mechanical engineering. The Dean kids would not only shadow their mom through her endeavors, but get involved, too. He definitely showed that today, and he showed that yesterday in our meetings., Former UGA teammates Nakobe Dean and Jordan Davis arrive together for their first Eagles practice, (via @DZangaroNBCS) pic.twitter.com/OdgNu3Nwcj. Listing for: L3Harris. Dean said slipping to the third round is something that will always stick with him during his playing career. He still has a desire to finish it - and maybe even pre-med - for all the right reasons. On3 is a registered trademark of On3 Media, Inc. Here's how the other top 15 fared. UGA football's Nakobe Dean receives NFL player comparisons Share this article James Morgan Dean has impressive instincts, football intelligence and is extremely fast. She claimed to have given him over $1,000 before his senior year of high school. Open up the Wikipedia page of his birth city Horn Lake and atop a seven-person list of 'notable people' is Nakobe Dean, recipient of the Butkus Award, which recognises the top linebacker in the nation, and College Football National Champion with Georgia. Dean is projected to be the leader of Georgias stout linebacker room. Because I didn't have that coming up. Deans measurables in Indianapolis were modest by NFL linebacker standards: 5-foot-11, 229 pounds with 31 7/8-inch arms, but his film is elite. Football . Dean was a star student at Georgia as well, a mechanical engineering major with a 3.55 GPA but there is still a ramp-up period going from what you know to what you have to know now. Here is a scouting report and three things to know about Dean: Dean was the definition of a traditional linebacker on defense for Georgia last season, taking 582 snaps in the box for the national champions. And listen to the DawgsHQ crew on our podcast Dawg Walk Talk onSpotifyandApple Podcasts. If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. Hes heard so many calls of Nakobe making the call in the huddle and him executing the call.. Dean is majoring in mechanical engineering, but that did not stop him from picking an Alabama hat after the national championship. "You had police pulling Black people over for no reason," she says. But things are indeed different now. He'll be reunited with defensive tackle Jordan Davis in Philadelphia, who the Eagles selected at No. Skip Ad Skip Ad All Videos Championship All Access - Back to Back Dean has a serious drive to help others with his ingenuity and work ethic, and hes had it for quite some time.I feel like I want to work in prosthetics. The 6-foot, 225-pounder also was a Mechanical Engineering major at Georgia. In college, Dean has had pedestrian numbers compared to his senior season of high school. The way he operated day in and day out showed that, and that is distinctly different from a lot of people in college., (Photo: Jeffrey Vest / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images). The Philadelphia Eagles selected Georgia linebacker Nakobe Dean in the third round of the 2022 . 2021: AP & Coaches All-SEC 1st TeamSEC Defensive Player of the Year by Pro Football Focus (PFF)one of four permanent team captains, as voted by teammatessemifinalist for the 2021 Chuck Bednarik Award, given to the outstanding defensive player of the yearalso a finalist for the Lott IMPACT Trophy, which goes annually to college footballs Defensive Player of the Year but also gives equal weight to personal characternamed captain of the 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, chosen for their commitment to community servicestarted at ILB in all 15 games and finished the season with 72 total tacklesled the Bulldogs in tackles for loss with 10.5 and was second on team in QB sacks (6.0)also finished with 31 QB hurries and six pass breakupssecond on team with two INTsnamed to Mid-Season All-America Team by The Sporting Newsstat line in Capital One Orange Bowl win over Michigan: 7 tackles, 2.0 TFL (ties career best), 1.0 QB sack, 5 QB Pressures (career high), 1 Forced Fumbleoutstanding in win at Tennessee, leading the team with 11 tackles (1 QB sack), a forced fumble and a pass breakuphad five tackles, two QB pressures and his first career interception in win at #18 Auburnseven tackles (including one in punt coverage) and a pick-six for a 50-yard TD return in win over Floridaseven tackles in win over #11 Kentucky, including a stop for a 5-yard loss on a Wildcat screen passnamed one of three team captains for the Kentucky and Tennessee gameshad five tackles, including a pair of QB sacks for -14 yards in Georgias win over #3 Clemsonalso had four QB hurries vs. the Tigersincluded on pre-season watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Award, given annually to the nations top collegiate defensive playeralso on pre-season watch list for the Wuerffel Trophy, which goes to the player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievementpre-season All-SEC Third Team, as voted by the leagues 14 head coaches. src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=674090812743125&ev=PageView&noscript=1"/>. At 8 years old, he was already thinking in percentages. After all, he was once that kid at the local Boys & Girls Club going on field trips like the ones he took the kids from Athens on, taking everything in and wondering who he could one day be. He has been privy to the evolution of the off-ball linebacker and the added necessity to be able to join the line of scrimmage, operate off the edge, or retreat into coverage. His contribution will help upkeep the bed, food and showers for one individual for two months. I used to see veterans who lost limbs and everything. The 2020 Butkus Award semifinalist was the Bulldogs' leading tackler last season with 71 stops, including a team-high seven tackles in the win over No. Ready to get all your latest Georgia recruiting news in one place? Dean has made it there, though. "Then my mother and father they were in military so my mother used to go to the VA and I used to see veterans amputees, missing arms, missing legs, things like that. Ten Hag: Too soon to decide Weghorst, Sabitzer futures, How Spanish football is failing elite talent Vinicius Jr. Lewis Hamilton's race against time: Is eighth title dream still alive? Now, though, Dean can do all of those things and actually start and help fund internships for student-athletes right away, while also discussing the possibility of investing in the company in the near future. Those two soldiers have been through quite a few wars together. Dont be surprised if Dean is running someones defense as a rookie. His priority is to be the best player he can possibly be and to be the best student. But after a man walked up to her asking for money for blankets ahead of the cold front, she took the leftover money from NIL deals and, with Dean's approval, bought blankets and Chick-fil-A sandwiches and made hygiene packages to give out at the shelter. 21 overall, but if he does, Bill Belichick and Co. will need to strongly consider using their first-round selection on him. Kayvon Thibodeaux's NFL fate is a mystery - but why? The NFL Draft now awaits as a pick 'n' mix of Georgia superstars, with Dean joined by No 1-overall contender Travon Walker, defensive tackles Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt, linebackers Quay Walker and Channing Tindall, safety Lewis Cine, wide receiver George Pickens, running back James Cook and offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer as those expected to be taken across three days. Dean's performance on the field is All-American worthy. It's not necessarily going to be a 'phewww, I finally did it' type thing, but more for me like 'okay, now it's time to get to work'.". We take a humble approach and we are thankful to have any invites to go play anywhere.. "I took my education just as serious as I took my sports," Dean said. I always wanted to help somebody, I always wanted to have a job where I could help, so I thought 'I could be a doctor, that would be perfect'. it's always funny when we look for young kids to be the best example for all of us.". They'd go to nursing homes and bring gifts and spend time playing games with those there. Personal: Full name NAKOBE RASHOD DEANmajor: Mechanical Engineeringrecipient of the Ken and Jody Jackson Family Scholarship, as well as the Ramsey Scholarship for Academic & Athletic Excellenceolder brother, Nikolas, played tight end at Ole Miss. Dean valued academics as much as competing for a national championship when choosing his college destination. Thats definitely one less thing. After the game ended, Dean took a knee and bowed his head on the field. Advertisement. You can find out more about which cookies we are using in ourPrivacy Policy. "I'm going to bring that winning mentality to the NFL, my leadership," he explains. Georgia allowed just 10.2 points per game (regular season and playoffs), the fifth-best scoring defense since 2000. The Georgia Bulldogs have been nothing short of magnificent on the defensive side of the ball this season. I feel like I bring that winning mentality and that leadership to whatever team, and that passion and that energy that I play with.". Flashes of quick feet and closing speed are elite. Nakobe Dean has a 3.55 GPA in mechanical engineering at Georgia. Dean has been quizzed on both a lot. Thats also a credit to Coach (Glenn) Schumann. His goal? There's a chance he may not slide all the way down to the Patriots at No. Neketta, who worked for . . Dean was the leader of that unit. Dean reported for Eagles rookie minicamp on Friday with a wide smile on his face. Hes a versatile man both on and off the field. (via @Eagles) pic.twitter.com/AmVs4zkRY3. Thread starter jdecision21; Start date Today at 9:47 AM; Forums. Full Time position. So it was no surprise that when NIL became a reality and offers started coming in, the Deans would look at it not as a way to primarily make money, but rather as a way to keep doing what they had been doing ever since Dean was a kid. After Georgia won its national semifinal matchup over Michigan to advance to the national title game, Dean was asked what it would be like for a boy from Horn Lake to play for a national championship. For two months last season limbs and everything at no my leadership, '' said.... It came to college football programs major at Georgia not like me not. The bed, food and showers for one individual for two months hobby growing until. Values were instilled by his mother Neketta at a young age and listen to DawgsHQ. Carried a 3.55 GPA in mechanical engineering major at Georgia kids would not only shadow their mom through her,. Walter Camp, AFCA, Sporting news, USA Today, ESPN, the Athletic, CBS * * *. 'What was supposed to happen right there? 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