Everything To Prove: WR Kenbrell Thompkins

[manxman2601]

I posted the link to an article about one of our new WR UDFA's in the UDFA thread but I believe it deserves greater attention than it'll likely get there. It's an incredible story. Some highlights:

Kenbrell Thompkins is a former wide receiver at the University of Cincinnati and a former junior college All-American with scholarship offers from every top college program in the country. He’s also a former drug dealer, a former juvenile delinquent and a former stereotype of an African American male raised in a single parent home in one of America’s worst neighborhoods, Liberty City in Miami, Fla.

“I never really saw my mom that much, so everything I learned was from running the streets and adapting to what was going on around me,” Thompkins said. “Growing up in Miami, Fla. — in the area I grew up in — it was nothing but violence. Violence and drugs. I woke up to it and I went to sleep to it, so I thought that was the right thing to do and I ended up getting adapted to it. It became second nature to me.”
The overall lack of guidance nearly cost Thompkins his life at age 7, when he accidentally shot himself in the arm while playing with a handgun. If the gun discharged at a slightly higher angle, he’d likely have suffered a fatal wound to the chest.
By his teens, Thompkins was consumed by a lifestyle forged from a lack of guidance and the violence he was born into.
“Middle school was when I started hanging with the wrong crowd and doing things that I shouldn’t be doing, as far as selling drugs, smoking marijuana, stealing and picking fights — thinking it was the right thing to do at the time.”
By his 19th birthday, Thompkins was arrested seven times, three of which were drug related. But through all the tumultuous hardships, drugs and arrests, he somehow managed to keep football in his life.

Thompkins viewed the redshirt season as an opportunity and immediately went to work, on and off the field. He earned a 3.9 GPA in his first quarter at UC, spent extra time in the weight room nearly every day and, most importantly, stayed out of trouble. Three full years clear of any legal issues, Thompkins no longer resembled the troubled teen he had been.

“When you look at him and you talk to him, he doesn’t look like what he’s been through,” said Antrione Archer, director of player development at UC. “When I first met him he still had a little rough around the edges, but you could tell he was in the process of really finding his identity and being comfortable with the man that he was becoming.”

“To this day, my vision hasn’t changed, but to this day I’m still stereotyped,” Thompkins said. “I haven’t been arrested or in any trouble with the law since 2008, but I’m still stereotyped over my past. It’s something I have no control over, but I’m here today to tell you that the man I once was is no longer standing here. The person I am today is a humble guy, a guy that is willing to learn and a guy that is willing to do whatever it takes to live right and prove the world wrong.”

Read the whole thing, it's an incredible story of turning adversity on it's head. I so want this guy to succeed.

http://www.newsrecord.org/sports/article_32f369fa-974f-11e2-83c2-0019bb30f31a.html

 

[patsfan13]

Nice story may become my binkie this year.

 

[upstater1]

I posted the link to an article about one of our new WR UDFA's in the UDFA thread but I believe it deserves greater attention than it'll likely get there. It's an incredible story. Some highlights

Read the whole thing, it's an incredible story of turning adversity on it's head. I so want this guy to succeed.

Everything To Prove: The Kenbrell Thompkins Story - The News Record: Sports

I really hate to do this, but 3.9 GPA when you've mugged through middle school--I'm sorry, but that's embarrassing for the university. You put yourself at such a deficit by doing that, and there is really no recovery unless you're a genius, which is possible. But...

Given the way universities run football programs, I reserve my right to be a huge doubter on that score.

 

[Fencer]

I really hate to do this, but 3.9 GPA when you've mugged through middle school--I'm sorry, but that's embarrassing for the university. You put yourself at such a deficit by doing that, and there is really no recovery unless you're a genius, which is possible. But...

Given the way universities run football programs, I reserve my right to be a huge doubter on that score.

I doubt it equates to the 3.9s I got at each of my universities (both top-tier football schools, actually). And that's putting it mildly. But it speaks to general discipline, attentiveness, and so on.

 

[patchick]

I doubt it equates to the 3.9s I got at each of my universities (both top-tier football schools, actually). And that's putting it mildly. But it speaks to general discipline, attentiveness, and so on.

Yep -- I'm sure he wasn't busy acing differential equations and organic chemistry, but the fact remains that most of their football players don't pull grades near that. The kid was clearly putting in full effort on all fronts.

 

[Clonamery]

I doubt it equates to the 3.9s I got at each of my universities (both top-tier football schools, actually). And that's putting it mildly. But it speaks to general discipline, attentiveness, and so on.

Read his words above. He is sharp and determined. I'm not saying the curriculum was a beast but this guy did not sleep through class.

 

[patsinthesnow]

Great story. Considering our putrid set of outside WRs (2 rookies, Donald Jones, Mike Jenkins, Andre Holmes, Kamar Aiken) he definitely has a shot.

 

[gobesmug]

I really hate to do this, but 3.9 GPA when you've mugged through middle school--I'm sorry, but that's embarrassing for the university. You put yourself at such a deficit by doing that, and there is really no recovery unless you're a genius, which is possible. But...

Given the way universities run football programs, I reserve my right to be a huge doubter on that score.

It was a 3.9 GPA for the first quarter, when he only had to focus on school and working out. For the first quarter it was most likely Gen Ed classes, so the 3.9 GPA is not far fetched. But way to be a **** about a kid who overcame a troubled past.

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

The comment about being stereotyped bothered me a little. When you've been arrested 7 times, even though none are in the last 5 years, people have the right to expect you to prove your worth and commitment. Nobody owes you anything. 8 chances is a lot. Let's hope he has permanently cut of the hangers-on friends who would love to drag him back down now that he will have money.

That being said, it's great to see that he has matured, overcome his lack of parenting and guidance as a kid, and found determination, focus, and a plan to overcome his super-troubled past.

 

[PP2]

But way to be a **** about a kid who overcame a troubled past.

I second that. The bottom line is the kid turned his life around.. too few stories like that.

 

[Ozymandias]

You always root for people like this.

This young man sounds like he has generally turned his life around. I wish him all the best in the pursuit of his dreams.

 

[upstater1]

It was a 3.9 GPA for the first quarter, when he only had to focus on school and working out. For the first quarter it was most likely Gen Ed classes, so the 3.9 GPA is not far fetched. But way to be a **** about a kid who overcame a troubled past.

Horsepucky. I feel good for the kid. For actual achievements. I.e. football getting him off the streets. The rest of the stuff is likely phony.

You guys don't want to see how the sausage is made. People think U North Carolina is an anomaly. It's not. This stuff is phony from the get-go. Even the NCAA cowtows to this with its ridiculous APR stuff, and you're easily fooled.

You simply cannot catch-up on this stuff. It doesn't happen unless you're unbelievably gifted.

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

I second that. The bottom line is the kid turned his life around.. too few stories like that.

Get him an apartment in Foxboro and keep him away from some of his old"friends" and he has as good a chance as any of being this year's UDFA who makes the 53 or practice squad....

 

[manxman2601]

Matt Waldman writes the Rookie Scouting Portfolio every year, focusing mainly on offensive skill players. He likes Thompkins:

Reads Listens Views 2/22/2013 | The Rookie Scouting Portfolio

 

[fnordcircle]

Horsepucky. I feel good for the kid. For actual achievements. I.e. football getting him off the streets. The rest of the stuff is likely phony.

You guys don't want to see how the sausage is made. People think U North Carolina is an anomaly. It's not. This stuff is phony from the get-go. Even the NCAA cowtows to this with its ridiculous APR stuff, and you're easily fooled.

You simply cannot catch-up on this stuff. It doesn't happen unless you're unbelievably gifted.

Thank God you are to tell the rest of us, who are completely in the dark about how awful our school systems have become, what is really going on. And here I thought everything was hucky duck and America was A+ #1 in everything.

It was a close one, but thankfully you gave us the dose of cynicism we needed in this thread.

Please, whatever you do, make sure you always find a way to get on a high horse about any vaguely related topic in threads like this. God knows we have too much good news out there.

 

[Brady2Moss]

Rooting for this guy, he's got good size too!

 

[Brady2Moss]

Horsepucky. I feel good for the kid. For actual achievements. I.e. football getting him off the streets. The rest of the stuff is likely phony.

You guys don't want to see how the sausage is made. People think U North Carolina is an anomaly. It's not. This stuff is phony from the get-go. Even the NCAA cowtows to this with its ridiculous APR stuff, and you're easily fooled.

You simply cannot catch-up on this stuff. It doesn't happen unless you're unbelievably gifted.

Wow I'm sure the university was bending over backwards and risking sanctions to give a former drug dealer a near perfect GPA when the standard to be eligible is much lower because he was so important to their program at that point in time, like Peppers to UNC.

He probably realized if I don't work hard at school with no football for the first quarter I'm going to F up, get arrested again, and be back on the streets.

 

[Avenger]

I really hate to do this, but 3.9 GPA when you've mugged through middle school--I'm sorry, but that's embarrassing for the university. You put yourself at such a deficit by doing that, and there is really no recovery unless you're a genius, which is possible. But...

Given the way universities run football programs, I reserve my right to be a huge doubter on that score.

I barely passes high school, all my college classes have been As so far.

 

[Username]

Horsepucky. I feel good for the kid. For actual achievements. I.e. football getting him off the streets. The rest of the stuff is likely phony.

You guys don't want to see how the sausage is made. People think U North Carolina is an anomaly. It's not. This stuff is phony from the get-go. Even the NCAA cowtows to this with its ridiculous APR stuff, and you're easily fooled.

You simply cannot catch-up on this stuff. It doesn't happen unless you're unbelievably gifted.

Maybe he's unbelievably gifted?

 

[scout]

Get him an apartment in Foxboro and keep him away from some of his old"friends" and he has as good a chance as any of being this year's UDFA who makes the 53 or practice squad....

I worked with a guy that was a living legend in his hometown, which was a real scary place. He all but made it as a pro-athlete before breaking his ankle in pre-season.....done. Turned to selling drugs, got caught. He selected the full term in the Fed. Pen.(7 years) versus some type of probation as he knew probation was a ticket back to his old neighborhood. An amazing story that will stay with me for the rest of my life.