Growing up in Tunica, Miss., a small town approximately an hour from Memphis, sports was not Nakobe Dean’s main focus. His academics were far more important to him at that time than any sport could ever be. With his parents, Neketta and Byron Dean, involved heavily in his academics, he had to be on top of his game in the classroom.
“Every time I did something, my mom will immediately know before I got home,” Dean said.
He would continue to attend Tunica Elementary School up until the 4th grade before transferring to Horn Lake, where he currently attends Horn Lake High School. There was not too many of Dean’s family members involved in sports when he was growing up, so he discover his football talents though a local flag football league.
“I was always involved at the recreation center,” Dean said. “This lead me to start playing flag football at the age of 7.”
Dean continued to play flag football and eventually join his local little league team, where he played defensive tackle. Horn Lake Middle School decided to place the talented middle schooler on the defensive line. When he got to high school, his coaches saw a whole new vision for him.
The then outstanding freshmen would be moved to outside linebacker. He started every game his freshmen year, but no college seemed to pay any attention. He even attended the camps at Ole Miss and Mississippi State, but there still didn’t seem to be anyone interested in him just yet.
This lit a fire in him and led to a huge sophomore season. Just like clock work, a few months after the conclusion of the season he received his first offer from Mississippi State.
“I was very excited,” Dean Said. “I did not think that i would receive an offer from a school that fast.”
The Mississippi State offer was just the first of many. He has since then received offers from SEC schools Alabama, Ole Miss, LSU, Georgia, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, South Carolina and most recently Michigan.
He announced he received an offer from The Crimson Tide on June 5.
https://twitter.com/KobeDean2/status/871878298854469632
“I feel honored to have an offer from Alabama and at this point i just feel blessed to even have the opportunity to play football at the next level,” Dean said.
Dean’s recruiting is pretty open as he plans to visit as many schools as he possibly can to explore his different options. He gave his thoughts on what he is looking for in a school.
“I am looking for a football program that makes me feel like family and whose school has a prestigious program for whatever major i choose.” Dean said.
Alabama could use him for many reasons. This kid possesses great speed as he runs a 4.75 in the 40. At 6’2″ and 215 pounds, he possesses good size at the moment to play the linebacker position. Especially, considering the fact that he is only a junior. ESPN and 247 sports have not released star ratings for the 2019 recruit, but it could be easily predicted that he will be a 4-star prospect and one of the most sought after player in the state of Mississippi.
Justin Smith is a Scouting/Recruiting analyst for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter, via @Jdsmith31Smith
