K’Von Wallace hasn’t set foot in the NovaCare Complex yet and he hasn’t met his coaches or teammates.
But in one very important way, he’s already very much a Philadelphia Eagle.
Wallace, the Clemson safety the Eagles drafted last Saturday in the fourth round, has already spent a lot of time with two of the greatest Eagles ever.
Wallace got to know Brian Dawkins because he roomed with Dawk’s son, Brian Jr., his teammate at Clemson. And he got to know Troy Vincent when he interned with the NFL, where Vincent is currently executive vice president of football operations.
“(Vincent) and Brian are the same people,” Wallace said. “It was rarely football when it came to both of those guys.”
It’s hard to imagine two better people for any young athlete to spend time around than Dawk, a seven-time Pro Bowler with the Eagles and Hall of Famer, and Vincent, a five-time Pro Bowler with the Eagles.
Wallace and Dawk Jr. both arrived at Clemson in the fall of 2016.
NFL
“I’m actually close friends with his son,” Wallace said. “Me and his son were roommates my first 2 1/2 years together in Clemson. I met (Dawk) throughout the whole process.”
Their families quickly became close, and Wallace’s mom, Roxanne Barnes, and Dawkins Jr.’s mom, Connie, remain good friends.
“They're like family,” Wallace said of the Dawkins’. “My mom knows his mom very well.”
Even though Wallace and Dawkins play the same position and both played at Clemson, Wallace said he never tried to model his game after Dawk’s.
“My game is unique,” he said. “I feel like I'm a guy that just has a unique type of style, different type of style, new type of style of play. So I wouldn't say I model my game after him, but I definitely took bits and pieces of the greats to do that, and he's definitely one of them."
Wallace, who graduated from Clemson in December with a communications degree, did an internship with Cisco in 2018 and with the NFL this past year.
As part of his internship, he spent a lot of time with Vincent, who has been with the NFL since 2014 following a 15-year NFL career and several years with the NFLPA.
“I sat in Troy’s office and talked to him for hours,” Wallace said. “But we never really talked much football. We just talked about life. Just how to become a better man, better person. He's a family-oriented guy. Loves his family, loves his wife, loves his kids. Just talking to him and chatting with him about just life and what the Bible says about how to become a better man and help your community.”
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