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As soon as the Eagles plucked a new safety out of Clemson, the comparisons came rolling out faster than Wolverine’s claws.
K’Von Wallace is the next Brian Dawkins. Same position. Same college. Same NFL franchise. The two even have similar physical traits (height, weight) and play with the same kind of aggression. It’s really an unfair analogy since one is the greatest player to ever man the safety position. The other is a fourth-round pick yet to see a snap in the NFL.
Turns out, Dawkins had been tracking the situation and reading all the hyperbole. It didn’t sit well with the Eagles legend and he took to Twitter to tell Philly fans to cool it and let Wallace be the best version of himself. Dawkins, of course, was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2018.
Philly, Do me a solid, let @KVonWallace strive to be the best version of KVon he can be. He’s shown himself willing & able to listen, learn & grow. Earning the right to be a trusted leader @ClemsonFB and in his family, with his faith, work ethic & passion! ??
Wallace chimed in on the debate and announced his nickname to the Philly faithful: Gulo … K Master Lock.
Wallace Talked Glowingly About Dawkins
This isn’t the first time the Eagles have drafted a safety out of Clemson. The team actually took a fifth-round flier on CJ Gaddis in 2007 in the hopes he could eventually replace Brian Dawkins. He didn’t make out of training camp.
Luckily, Dawkins stuck around for two more seasons and the Eagles were able to prolong their search. But the position plagued them for nearly six years until the team inked Malcolm Jenkins in 2014.
Enter K’Von Wallace, another ball-hawking safety from Clemson. He already has a personal relationship with Dawkins and roomed with his son, Brian Jr. Wallace explained that the two usually keep their conversations to religion, never football.
“We never really talked much football,” Wallace said. “We just talk about life and our spiritual selves, because he’s a man of God first, and he just always wanted his son and I to be happy in The Word and to be driven spiritually because that is where your passion comes from and football always takes care of itself when you have the right things in place.”
Wallace also wanted to dispel the notion that his game mirrors Dawkins in any way, shape, or form. He remains committed to carving out his own legacy.
“My game is unique. 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,” Wallace said. “So I wouldn’t say I model my game after him [Dawkins], but I definitely took bits and pieces of the greats to do that, and he’s definitely one of them.”
Clemson Safety Describes Underdog Mentality
K’Von Wallace has accomplished a lot in his young career. He was a two-time national champion at Clemson. He appeared in 59 games in four years, tying a school record, and tallied 178 career tackles. And he completed a successful internship at the NFL league offices.
Simply put, the kid doesn’t settle. He’s a competitor first and foremost.
“I’m going to fight you until I get what I want. That’s just the type of guy that I am,” Wallace said. “I’m a competitor. Everything that I have been through as far as football, I always was successful because of the way I compete.”
While he doesn’t want to stoke the flames on the Brian Dawkins’ comparisons, it’s hard not to hear the Wolverine’s voice when he talks about his competitive nature. Wallace is soft-spoken but a switch gets flipped when he hits the turf.
“The way I just go out there and just impose my will on my opponents and compete with the guys in the locker room,” Wallace said of his style of play. “I do it in a very respectful, friendly way, and I’m a guy that’s going to be able to challenge you, see what you’re about, and just compete overall.”
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