SOUTH CAROLINA GAMECOCKS FOOTBALL
It’s easy to pick out Javon Kinlaw in a crowd.
At 6-foot-6, 310 pounds, his head and braids poke out over the mass of already tall football players.
Today’s a little different for Kinlaw, and his outfit reflects that. He has on graduation robes and is holding his cap with the golden “2019” tassel dangling off it, occasionally brushing up against his ring given to every athlete who graduates from South Carolina.
But there’s one piece of his wardrobe that is a little more conspicuous.
There’s a gold chain around his neck, buried under his robe, and Kinlaw smiles as he unzips the bulky black garment to reveal the faded picture on the end of it.
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“That’s my grandpa, the Powerhouse,” he said. “He came to America a long time ago. He came to America from Trinidad. Without him, I wouldn’t be here. Long live my grandpa the Powerhouse.”
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On the surface, it’s just a picture of his grandfather, Joseph James, a black-haired man with some spots of gray immortalized in this particular photo with a toothpick in his mouth and softly smiling.
But this is a massive part of Kinlaw’s graduation attire.
James immigrated over from the small island country just north of Venezuela, bringing his entire family over to the United States and kick starting the process that’s ended now with Kinlaw a college graduate and a potential first round pick in April’s NFL Draft.
Kinlaw lost his grandfather when he was in high school with James never seeing him play a down at South Carolina and won’t see him graduate Monday afternoon. But part of him will be with Kinlaw as he walks across the stage.
“It’s very important just have a piece of him with me,” Kinlaw said.
Monday’s graduation ceremony will complete a process for Kinlaw that started three years ago at South Carolina with him coming in as a slightly overweight defensive tackle that quickly morphed into one of the best interior defensive linemen in the country.
His story has been well documented growing up virtually homeless while his mom worked multiple jobs to keep him and his siblings fed.
“She’s really important. That’s my everything,” he said. “We never had much but she tried to make the best she could for us.”
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He arrived at South Carolina after a season at Jones County Junior College around 350 pounds and dropped almost 50 pounds to get down to 300 for his first two seasons. As a senior, he played at 310 pounds with just 16 percent body fat.
“I didn’t really expect it to happen like this,” Kinlaw said. I always told myself I’d be somebody. I’ve been saying that since I was a kid. Since I was five years old, I’ve been telling my mom I’d be somebody.”
Kinlaw boards a flight Tuesday, less than 24 hours after receiving his degree, bound for Texas to go train with long time defensive line coach Pete Jenkins.
He knows what’s in store for him. It’s hard not to see the projections—the majority has him as a first round pick, potentially going in the top 10—which comes with it a nice pay day.
Kinlaw smiled when asked what he’d buy first, and of course it was something for him and his family.
“A big, ole house,” he said. “It’ll probably be somewhere I can’t be bothered by nobody.”
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Kinlaw ends his career with an AP All-American season, which was announced Monday, but to him its so much more than that.
He became a father during his time in Columbia and did something no other member of his family has done, and that’s get a college degree.
“It still hasn’t really hit me yet. It means everything. It’s what you work for,” he said. “This is what it’s all about at the end of the day; not football, this is what it’s about at the end of the day. It’s about graduating.”
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