Getty Nakobe Dean reacts after a play against Arkansas
When the Philadelphia Eagles drafted Nakobe Dean, they knew about his hard-nosed playing style and confident leadership. Dean has the potential to be the best linebacker to wear midnight green since Jeremiah Trotter.
But what many people didn’t hear a lot about was his classroom smarts. Dean was a Mechanical Engineering major at the University of Georgia with a 3.55 GPA. It’s 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.
Dean reported for Eagles’ rookie minicamp on Friday with a wide smile on his face. He was a full participant at practice, too, showing no signs of wear and tear from a reported chest sprain that caused him to plummet from a sure-fire Round 1 pick to a surprise third-rounder.
#Eagles rookie LB Nakobe Dean said he will be a full participant during the team’s rookie minicamp this weekend. Dean said slipping to the third round is something that will always stick with him during his playing career.
And the 2021 Butkus Award Winner won the first day by supplying one of the most memorable answers ever given by a rookie. He was discussing his future plans, including a desire to possibly pursue a medical career after he goes back to school to complete his engineering degree. His goal? To make prosthetic limbs for veterans in need.
“I always had a little passion for it. I really – growing up it was like I was going to be an engineer or doctor or architect, those were kind of my things. There’s still a chance I might pursue a pre-med [degree] depending on if I feel like doing chemistry and everything when I get back to school.
“Engineering, for me, I feel like I want to work in prosthetics – growing up, my mom is a veteran so she used to always go to the VA [Veterans Affairs] and everything, and I used to see like veterans who had lost limbs and everything, so I just thought at a young age like what’s a way I can help them and build like prosthetics and things like that and it kind of came back out when I was picking my major for college.”
.@NakobeDean decided to to study engineering in college after visiting VA hospitals with his mother, who is a veteran.
He was inspired and wanted to help make prosthetics for veterans in need. 💚🙏 (via @Eagles)
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Nick Sirianni Excited About Dean’s Leadership
Head coach Nick Sirianni only got see Dean for a few snaps on Friday. That was enough to know what kind of player he has in his locker room. The 21-year-old is a natural born leader and a guy who eats, lives, and breathes football.
“Yeah, I can sense he’s all ball all the time, whether we are in a meeting or on the field, he’s locked in,” Sirianni said. “You definitely felt that from him, and we knew that about him before we even drafted him. He definitely showed that today, and he showed that yesterday in our meetings.”
From national champions to the NFL 🔥
Former UGA teammates Nakobe Dean and Jordan Davis arrive together for their first Eagles practice
(via @DZangaroNBCS)
It’s also going to be such an added luxury to have Dean going through the whole NFL experience with Jordan Davis, his good friend and former college teammate at Georgia. Those two soldiers have been through quite a few wars together.
“Most definitely,” Sirianni said of their relationship helping with the NFL transition. “I think that’s 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. That’s definitely one less thing. He’s heard so many calls of Nakobe making the call in the huddle and him executing the call.”
Eagles Hand Out Rookies Their Jersey Numbers
The Eagles announced the jersey numbers for their five rookies prior on the first day of minicamp. First-round defensive tackle Jordan Davis will wear No. 90. He’ll look to match previous defensive studs who wore that number like Corey Simons, Darren Howard, and Mike Golic.
🚨Rookie Numbers🚨
Second-round center Cam Jurgens will wear No. 51; third-round linebacker Nakobe Dean gets No. 17; sixth-round linebacker Kyron Johnson gets No. 51; and sixth-round tight end Grant Calcaterra gets No. 47.