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https://www.espn.com/nfl/draft2020/...s-top-nfl-draft-prospect-javon-kinlaw-journey
PHOENIX -- Javon Kinlaw has childhood memories -- gunshots, dead bodies, needles, addicts -- he doesn't want to think about. He doesn't block them out. He just doesn't want to talk about them. They give Kinlaw bad dreams. They wake him up in a cold sweat. It's what he calls his trauma. And he doesn't want to go down that road.
"I'm not comfortable talking about a lot of stuff like that," Kinlaw said.
Kinlaw, a defensive tackle out of South Carolina projected by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay to go in the first 20 picks of the NFL draft next month, is a long way from spending part of his childhood homeless in Washington, D.C. He's sitting in front of a basket of medium-hot wings -- his second -- and a basket of fries. He's plowing through both like he did offensive lines during his senior season with the Gamecocks. His 6-foot-5, 324-pound frame can hardly fit in the booth, but he doesn't want to make his life easier by moving to a table. It's no surprise; his life has never been easy.
It's mid-February and he's living in Arizona, preparing for the draft and looking for a place to fish. He trains in the morning and does things like go to the dentist in the afternoon. He was spending all his time preparing for his pro day on March 19, which was canceled as the coronavirus pandemic spread. Kinlaw, a first-team All-American as a senior, didn't work out at the NFL scouting combine back in February because of knee tendinitis, so his pro day was supposed to answer any final questions on a field.
More than likely he'll still be a first-round pick and sign a contract that will change his life, his daughter's life, his future grandchildren's lives and a couple more generations down the road.
"I know I'm gonna get some type of money," Kinlaw said. "The way I'm wired, I've been down, like down bad, down bad. Bad like where no one should be. Lived in basements. No matter what the money is, I'm going to be grateful. I can get me somewhere to live. Regardless of where I'm gonna be, I'm going [to] find me somewhere to live. So, I don't care what amount it is."
PHOENIX -- Javon Kinlaw has childhood memories -- gunshots, dead bodies, needles, addicts -- he doesn't want to think about. He doesn't block them out. He just doesn't want to talk about them. They give Kinlaw bad dreams. They wake him up in a cold sweat. It's what he calls his trauma. And he doesn't want to go down that road.
"I'm not comfortable talking about a lot of stuff like that," Kinlaw said.
Kinlaw, a defensive tackle out of South Carolina projected by ESPN's Mel Kiper Jr. and Todd McShay to go in the first 20 picks of the NFL draft next month, is a long way from spending part of his childhood homeless in Washington, D.C. He's sitting in front of a basket of medium-hot wings -- his second -- and a basket of fries. He's plowing through both like he did offensive lines during his senior season with the Gamecocks. His 6-foot-5, 324-pound frame can hardly fit in the booth, but he doesn't want to make his life easier by moving to a table. It's no surprise; his life has never been easy.
It's mid-February and he's living in Arizona, preparing for the draft and looking for a place to fish. He trains in the morning and does things like go to the dentist in the afternoon. He was spending all his time preparing for his pro day on March 19, which was canceled as the coronavirus pandemic spread. Kinlaw, a first-team All-American as a senior, didn't work out at the NFL scouting combine back in February because of knee tendinitis, so his pro day was supposed to answer any final questions on a field.
More than likely he'll still be a first-round pick and sign a contract that will change his life, his daughter's life, his future grandchildren's lives and a couple more generations down the road.
"I know I'm gonna get some type of money," Kinlaw said. "The way I'm wired, I've been down, like down bad, down bad. Bad like where no one should be. Lived in basements. No matter what the money is, I'm going to be grateful. I can get me somewhere to live. Regardless of where I'm gonna be, I'm going [to] find me somewhere to live. So, I don't care what amount it is."
