Today’s NFL requires more than ever from their defensive backs, which makes versatile prospects a hot commodity in the NFL draft.
If your favorite team is looking for that kind of playmaker for the back end of their defense in this year’s class, Clemson’s K’Von Wallace believes he is the man for the job.
Wallace recently spoke exclusively with Draft Wire about the adversity he faced growing up, how he ended up at Clemson due to a last-minute offer, and what kind of impact he’ll make at the next level.
JM: You grew up in a rough neighborhood in Virginia. Your mother worked multiple jobs, and did everything she could to keep you from falling victim to a dangerous lifestyle. How did football keep you on the right path?
KVW: Football is everything to me. Football has been my avenue. Everything good that’s happened in my life happened because of football. It kept me out of trouble. It kept me out of the streets. It kept me in school. It kept me motivated to do better for myself, my mom and my nephew. What football has done for me has been amazing. It really saved my life. It gave a young kid a dream. Ever since I was six years old, I knew that I wanted to play football at the highest level.
JM: The Boys and Girls club helped keep out of trouble, and helped keep you focused on your dreams. That program is unfortunately no longer active in your area. How can you change that?
KVW: I was just watching the Michael Vick “30 for 30” documentary. He did so much for his community. He ran a Boys and Girls club in his community. The way he did it and how he went about it really inspired me. I’ve always wanted to do something like that. I never really saw anybody do it the way he did. He really gave me the motivation and direction that I needed to do something like that. I wanna do right in my community.
I’m gonna build a club that’s gonna save kids’ lives in my community. We don’t have anything like that right now. This is not something to simply keep them active. It’s not a run-of-the-mill after school center. This is an avenue to save lives. It’s gonna give them a better opportunity to go to college. I want them to have a chance to better their lives. I want to influence them to chase their dreams.
I can’t even begin to explain to you what The Boys and Girls club did for me from age eight to 10. Those two years were so significant in my life. My father had just gone back to jail. He was in my life for a little while. I was starting to get a picture of what family is supposed to look like and then it was ripped away from me. That was a hard time for me. The club really saved me. They kept me out of the streets. They kept me on my top of books. They gave the mindset I needed to be successful. They painted a positive picture for me and that’s what I wanna do for these kids. They were the mentor I so badly needed in my life at the time.
Social media heavily influences our society nowadays. It can be a good thing, but it can also be a bad thing. A kid’s self-esteem can easily be broken because of something that happens on social media. I just wanna give young kids strength and a mental avenue to know that they matter. They just need to know that people out there care about them. There’s so many kids out there that have a way worse upbringing than I had. I never took it for granted. If I can inspire just one person to better their life, that’s what it’s all about. If I can just touch one person, it would all be worth it. That’s why I’m gonna spearhead The Boys and Girls club in my community. Just like Michael Vick did it.
JM: Wow, that’s truly incredible. To fast forward just a little bit, you were all but committed to Cincinnati when Clemson seemingly swooped in at the last second. How did that go down exactly?
KVW: I didn’t have any offers going into my junior year of high school. I wanted to work really hard so that I could receive a scholarship. I ended up not starting that year. I knew that was gonna hold me back a little bit. That summer going into my senior year, I attended camp at Cincinnati. That was the very first camp I attended. I actually went down there as a receiver. When I got there, there were like 20 receivers and just five defensive backs out there. There was a 4-star receiver there. His name escapes me but he was getting all of the attention at receiver.
I decided to head over to the defensive side of the ball. I was gonna play on both sides of the ball that year anyway. I went out there at cornerback and shut the whole camp down (laughs). I did very well. I was locking everybody up.
After that camp, I received my first scholarship offer heading into my senior year. I picked up one more offer along the way. Those were the only two offers I had all the way up until a week before signing day.
I couldn’t lose my scholarship offer. I had to make sure my mom didn’t have to pay for school. I couldn’t put that financial burden on her. I knew she would have done everything she could to ensure I get a college education, but I couldn’t put that financial stress on her.
I ended up verbally committing to Cincinnati. I was committed to them throughout my entire senior year. I had to make sure that I had that scholarship locked in. The year came and went. I ended up killing my senior year even moreso than I expected.
Cincinnati were still the only school that was recruiting me. It was at that time that I put out my senior highlight video on Twitter. It ended up blowing up. I started getting a lot of phone calls just two or three days later. This was a week before signing day. Literally a week before signing day. Clemson, Virginia Tech, Ohio State, Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Maryland all came to the table. It was actually a total of 15 schools that made offers a week before signing day.
It was crazy. I decided to re-open my recruitment. I gave myself the opportunity to pick the right school. Ever since I first stepped onto the Clemson campus, it’s been home. My mom and my mentors told me that God would speak to me when the right school would appear. I knew that was Clemson when I first got there. It’s been nothing but love since my arrival. You can’t replicate the family vibe here, the togetherness. It’s a great school to get your education at. It just felt like the best fit for me.
JM: What an incredible journey it’s been for you. Fast forward to today, and you leave Clemson with 59 career games under your belt. That’s tied for the most games in Clemson history. They didn’t show interest in you until a week before signing day, but look at what you accomplished there. It’s just incredible.
KVW: That means everything to me. I wanna let the world know that it doesn’t matter how you start. It’s all about how you handle adversity. You have to keep fighting. You have to find the motivation somewhere. You have to keep going and prosper. There’s always a way. I feel like I’ve been challenged my entire life. I’m still being challenged to this very day.
Nobody but me thinks that I’m the best safety in this class. I feel like I’m the best safety in this draft. That’s what I’ve always striven for. I’m gonna do everything I can to continue to fight for the number one spot. If you’re not first, your last. I’ve always had that mentality.
I came in as a two-star recruit at Clemson. I was at the bottom of the depth chart. They had technically already red-shirted me. They didn’t know what I was capable of. They didn’t really involve me in the game-plan at the beginning. I knew I had to go out there and earn my way. I did exceptionally well throughout the one-on-one drills. I knew the playbook. I’ve been fighting for my job ever since.
I was still fighting for my job throughout my senior year at Clemson with Denzel Johnson. I’ve always been challenged and I’ve always loved to compete. Competition has always brought out the best in me. That’s what really keeps me going.
JM: That’s truly incredible. 59 games and you played all over the field. You had to compete but, they put you in the slot, they put you outside and they put you at safety. Do you think that you have a specific position at the next level?
KVW: The direction this game is going in, these offenses are so pass-happy nowadays. The defenses had to adjust with six defensive backs on the field. I’m already in the position that I wanna be in; with no position at all. I don’t want to actually have a true position. With me, you have a football player on your hands that’s gonna make plays no matter where you play me at. Everybody is running that type of defense more or less.
I was watching the Super Bowl and both of the Chiefs and 49ers run their defense with six defensive backs on the field. Remember that four-four defense we used to have back in the day? With four defensive linemen and four linebackers? We’re getting smaller and faster on defense.You’re seeing more dime and nickel packages today than ever before. You have corners playing in the slot.
My strength allows me to compete all over the field. I can play some high-safety, in the slot, outside corner, I can come down and blitz. You can play me both inside and outside. I think it’s a good problem to have. In today’s football, it’s good that I don’t have a true position. Some people may see it as a weakness but I see it as a strength. I’m just gonna go out there and make plays.
JM: In addition to your positional versatility, you’ve played in so many coverage schemes as well. Do you have a preference?
KVW: I’m a competitor, man. I prefer to live on that island. Give me that one-on-one match-up. If I win, the whole world sees it. If I lose, the whole world sees it. I’m alright with that. I would never want my responsibilities to fall on the next man. Put it all on me. Let me go out there at corner or play man-to-man in the slot. I feel like that’s how I can help a team at the next level. If you want me to play as a single-high safety, I can do that as well.
It all depends on what my pro team asks of me. I may be sharing my thoughts and opinions with you, but I’m a team player at the end of the day. I’m gonna do whatever I can to make plays for my team. I wanna win a Super Bowl at the end of the day.
JM: You’ve played all over the field against some of the best competition college football has to offer. Who are some of the best receivers you’ve had to cover?
KVW: Deebo Samuel was a great receiver. He’s big, strong fast and physical. Justin Jefferson from LSU comes to mind. He’s lengthy and skinny but he’s very quick and shifty in and out of his routes. Chatarius Atwell from Louisville was short but quick. Greg Dortch from Wake Forest was one of the best receivers I ever played against. There’s so many great receivers out there. Those guys definitely come to mind.
JM: What are three traits a successful defensive back must possess?
KVW: Physicality first and foremost. I feel like you can’t play a physical game if you yourself are not physical. That’s especially true at the defensive back position. With physicality comes mentality. You gotta have the mentality to put guys on the ground. You have to be willing to tackle in the run game. You gotta be physical in coverage and stay on top of the routes. You have to understand what’s going on. You better be able to process the game at a high level. Football I.Q. is such a big part of things.
The mental aspect is huge. Technique can really set you apart. All of the greats have excellent technique. If you have all of those things in your arsenal, you’re gonna be a great player. The best of the best have those things. Jalen Ramsey has those things. The greats are all physical and they have the mentality to be the best. They all wanna be great and they all wanna win. Everybody is athletic at this level. Everybody can run fast. Technique is gonna take you where you need to go.
JM: You’ve had so many great teammates throughout your time at Clemson but I’m gonna put you on the spot. If you were going into battle tomorrow and could only bring one with you, who would it be and why?
KVW: Isaiah Simmons. Hands down. We have a great relationship. He plays the game with such passion. I’ve had a front row seat to his growth. He wasn’t even an honorable mention last season. I’ve watched the amount of work he’s put in. He’s the best defensive player in the country. It’s awesome. Not only is he that, he’s also a 6-foot-3, 230-pound guy that’s gonna run a 4.3 at the combine. He’s gonna jump 40″ as well. He stays out of trouble. He has the whole package. If I’m bringing somebody to war with me, I’m bringing a spartan like Isaiah (laughs). He can go out there and do it all.
JM: You really think he can run a 4.3? That would light the combine on fire.
KVW: You’ll see. I’m telling you. Remember that I told you first. He’s already lighting the world on fire, but his combine is only gonna raise his stock. I’m telling you. Just wait for it.
JM: What kind of impact is K’Von Wallace gonna make at the next level?
KVW: K’Von Wallace is gonna bring generational change. The way I play the position, I’m gonna make it a trend going forward. That’s for sure.
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