K'Von Wallace Intent on Making his Own Name
Any time a new safety comes to town, he is inevitably asked about Brian Dawkins.
The long-retired Hall of Fame safety set a high bar during his 13 seasons with the Eagles after selecting him in the second round of the 1996 draft.
Now along comes K’Von Wallace, a fourth-round pick of the Eagles last week from the same school that produced Dawkins, Clemson.
“My game is unique,” said Wallace when quizzed about Dawkins. “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. 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.”
Also, unique: Wallace roomed with Dawkins’ son, Brian Dawkins, Jr., for two-and-half years at Clemson and the two became good friends.
“I met (Brian, Sr.) throughout the whole process,” said Wallace. “They're like family. My mom knows his mom very well. They communicate here and there, but we never really talked much football.
“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 may have been the first player the Eagles took last week that Eagles fans aren’t questioning, and he was the fourth player Philly took after Jalen Reagor, Jalen Hurts, and Davion Taylor.
“The Eagles fan base is the best I've seen,” said Wallace. “It's up there with Clemson, man. Just seeing how they supported me even before I got drafted. During the first round they were telling the coaches to pull the trigger, and all these fans, DM’ing me on Instagram and saying, ‘We can't wait for you to be an Eagle.’ The fan base is incredible. It's incredible.”
There’s a good chance that many Eagles fans have seen Wallace play a lot in college. Clemson was a powerhouse during his time there and won a national championship. The Tigers played at the highest level in the college game.
“If you watched me play, you notice that when the lights are on, big games, I shine,” said Wallace. “That's when I play my best. Being in the NFL you're playing in front of millions every game, and I feel like that's when I play my best, so you're going to get the best performance, everything just great about who K'Von Wallace is as a player, especially when the pressure is on.
“I feel like every game is going to be pressure, that big light, that big opportunity to go out there and show and prove yourself. I feel like I'm going to be that guy to go out there and prove myself every single night in practice and on game day.”
Wallace certainly has what it takes to step in early and contribute on defense, but he wasn’t about to say how he will fit in the hours after he was last Saturday afternoon as the Eagles’ first of what turned out to be seven picks that day.
“I'm going to be first to listen and last to speak,” sad Wallace. “I'm just going to go after those vets then in the back end and learn as much as I can to go out there and produce special teams-wise and help those vets put themselves in better positions to win just like they'll do for me, I hope.”
At 5-11, 206 he has the versatility to play on the back end of the defense or in the box near the line of scrimmage. He is also a capable blitzer off the edge.
Pro Football Focus had him ranked as one of the best tacklers in a safety group that included Grant Delpit, Antoine Winfield, Xavier McKinney, and Kyle Dugger.
“The thing about K'Von Wallace is his tape, and what stuck out was his physicality, his tackling, his ability to play around the line of scrimmage,” sad Eagles VP of player personnel Andy Weidl. “The mentality he played with, the motor he played with. He's a guy that likes contact. He gets to the ball. He passes people to the ball, and when he gets there, he strikes.
“We saw that. It was consistent with the motor that he played with, the mentality he played with, and we really enjoyed it and thought he fit what we were doing and what we're putting together here.”
