NY Giants LB Devon Kennard Learned What It Takes to Be Successful from His Dad

New York Giants linebacker Devon Kennard was only four years old when a photographer captured a charming moment of him with his father, Derek, then the starting center for the Dallas Cowboys.

The photo, from the Cowboys’ 27-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XXX, showed the young Kennard sitting atop of his smiling father’s shoulders, his right arm thrust into the air in victorious celebration of the Cowboys’ fifth Super Bowl championship. 

“Yeah, I remember that day, just what it was like, being on the field, and stuff like that,” the younger Kennard said with a laugh.

“It’s actually one of my fondest memories. I’m on my dad’s shoulders with my hand up in the air, saying ‘We won! We won!’ That was a memory that I’ve always wanted to strive for one day myself, to be able to do the same thing with my future child.”

Carrying On the “Family Business”

Kennard, like many young boys, idolized his father and wanted to be like him.

The elder Kennard, like most fathers with sons who idolize them, wanted his son to be his own person when he grew up.

“My dad never pressed football on me, but as long as I can remember, I always just wanted to play,” Kennard said. “My dad was very laid-back—he wanted me to chase whatever dreams I wanted; he wanted me to be excellent at whatever I was doing.

When Kennard decided that he wanted to chase a dream in football, his parents supported him.

There was only one glitch in young Kennard’s plan: He was too big to play football at the peewee level.

Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

“Yeah,” he said smiling. “Growing up, I couldn’t play because I was always big so I always played other sports too. I played basketball and ran a little track growing up and things like that, but I always wanted to stay active.”

Tell Kennard that he can’t do something, however, and he will probably just smile politely and then find a way to get it done.

That’s what he did as a child when in fifth grade; he did something that not very many young boys his age would probably have the discipline to do.

“I remember in like fifth grade, just to make the weight, I had to go on a salad diet,” he said. “I only ate salads so I could be on my peewee team for fifth grade. And then I started to play up with the older guys after that.”

When asked about his remarkable discipline at such a young age, Kennard smiled and credited his father.

“I think the biggest thing my dad has helped me do is help me develop character and what it means to be a hard worker and what it means to bring that hard-hat mentality to whatever I’m doing,” he said.

“I think those are the biggest lessons I’ve took from my dad. He’s always provided for me and my family; he’s always made sure we’ve had the best. Just my whole life seeing how hard he worked, the kind of character he has, I think that was the biggest example he set, and I try to embody that as well in my life.”

So far, those lessons have been paying off nicely for the son.

Becoming His Own Man

Some parents secretly hope that their kids follow in their career paths. Then there are those who are just as happy to be there in a supporting role, providing the advice and guidance their children need to achieve success.

Derek Kennard fell into the latter category. As the younger Kennard realized his niche was on the defensive side of the ball, he had the full support of his father, who spent 11 years trying to make life miserable for defensive players.

Early on, Kennard, who played a little running back as a child, knew that his calling was on the defensive side of the ball, where he could administer the hits rather than absorb them.

“I wanted to hit people from the defensive side,” he said, his grin widening. “I always really liked defense. I played a little offense, like running back when I was young, but I always had a passion for the defensive side of the ball. I like hitting, not getting hit. Offensive line—I didn’t like that position at all.”

Elsa/Getty Images

Because his relationship with his father is so strong, Kennard said his dad was supportive of his decision to pursue a career path as a defensive player.

“He always supported me doing whatever I liked,” Kennard said.

The elder Kennard also supported his son by not turning into one of those “stage” parents who try to live vicariously through their children.

“I wanted him to be a dad,” Kennard said, adding that while his father, now an enrollment counselor at Grand Canyon University, might have given him a few pointers here and there when Kennard was starting out in peewee football, he was never a recognized coach on any of his teams.

“I just wanted him in the stands supporting me,” Kennard said.

The elder Kennard still does very much support his son, and every once in a while, according to the son, both men will engage in a playful debate.

“As I started to get older, we would make jokes like, ‘I would beat you in one-on-ones,’” Kennard said. “We kind of mess around like that—me and my dad have a good relationship.”

“A Monster in the Making”

On a first glance, the 6'3", 251-pound Kennard, one of the Giants’ two fifth-round draft picks this year, looks like a typical wide-eyed rookie who is just soaking it all in as he tries to find his way.

His fellow linebackers, in fact, who view him as a little brother, gently tease him for his propensity to take notes about anything and everything that goes on in the meeting room.

Yes, anything.

“If there was a bug crawling up the wall in the meeting room,” fellow linebacker Spencer Paysinger said with a laugh, “Kennard would probably have six pages of notes about it."

Brandon Wade/Associated Press

In all seriousness, Kennard, who calls himself “the rook,” takes his responsibilities as a pro linebacker very seriously, both on and off the field.

He takes pride in being the one who has to turn the lights off when linebackers coach Jim Herrmann starts the film; he brings the weekly breakfast sandwiches for his fellow linebackers; and he ensures that the candy bowl in the meeting room is stocked with “the good stuff.”

He’s also widely appreciated by his teammates, who believe the sky is the limit for the 23-year-old native of Phoenix.

“Kennard is a monster-in-the-making. I think he’s going to be a good one,” linebacker Jon Beason told me last month for Inside Football (subscription required).

LM Otero/Associated Press

“He’s tough, strong and he prepares, and that’s what I love about him more than anything. You show me a young guy who understands the mental part is more important than the physical part, then the sky’s the limit.”

“I love his fire," linebacker Jacquian Williams added. "He has a high motor, and the biggest thing for him—for any rookie—is that he listens and responds.”

“The other guys love him,” Giants linebacker coach Jim Herrmann told reporters last month when asked about how well Kennard was fitting in. “He’s got a great personality and he wants to be great. To me, that’s what you want. I think we’ll see some really good things out of him. He’s what you want.”

For as much progress as Kennard, who has also received practice snaps at middle linebacker in the team’s nickel package, has made, Herrmann believes that Kennard hasn’t come close to scratching the surface of his potential.

“I think the biggest things that he has to learn are the pace of the game, know who he’s playing against, the type of runner and the type of passing game,” Herrmann said. “Those are the things that I think more experience will help him and make him more aware.

“I just want to show my ability to play football at this level,” Kennard said. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help this Giants organization get back to the championship level.”

Building New Memories

These days, the younger Kennard, who missed three games earlier in the season due to a hamstring strain, is off to a good start as far as building his own gridiron memories.  

He will get a chance to continue toward adding to his mental scrapbook this weekend when he makes his first career start against his father’s old team, against which in the first meeting, Kennard played in 23 of the 63 defensive snaps, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required), logging four tackles.

Kennard’s parents, who try to make as many of their son's games as possible, will be in attendance.

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

“It’s an exciting experience,” Kennard said of having his parents watch him play professional ball in person.

“Growing up, my family always was at my games. When I played at USC, my family drove to every home game and was in the stands. Just to get to this point in my career, and be able to have my family in the stands, will be a cool feeling.”

So far, he has done the name on the back of his jersey very well. Already with 18 tackles in seven games played for the Giants, where he lines up mostly at strong-side linebacker, Kennard is also the fourth-best 4-3 rookie outside linebacker against the run (out of 18), per Pro Football Focus (subscription required).

Kennard is quick to credit his teammates with helping his transition to the pro level go as smoothly as possible.

“We have a really good linebacker room. I have a really good relationship with [Mark] Herzlich and Paysinger. I definitely look up to Beason and what he’s done in his career so far,” Kennard said.

“If I have a question about something, [Beason] is definitely the guy to go to. Same with [Jameel] McClain. And you also have Jacquian Williams, who is such a great athlete—I watch a lot of film on him just to see how he does certain things.”

Kennard also credits his Super Bowl-champion dad for providing him with a blueprint for success that many young players sometimes take years to understand.

“He’s showed me what excellence is like,” Kennard said. “I look at my father, and he’s accomplished everything that I want to accomplish. He got his undergraduate degree, got his master degree, he played a long time in the NFL and he won a Super Bowl ring.

Julie Jacobson/Associated Press

Kennard said he uses what his dad, drafted in the second round of the 1984 NFL supplemental draft by the then St. Louis Cardinals, accomplished in his life as a benchmark for his own goals.

The rookie has already matched his father in the education aspect.

Having graduated high school with a 3.98 grade-point average—he only got one "B" grade during high school—he finished his undergraduate degree in communications in three-and-a-half years and completed his master’s degree in communication management with a focus on marketing.

The football aspect, though, is just getting started. If Kennard stays healthy, there should be no reason why he can’t conceivably enjoy a double-digit career like his father, who, in addition to playing with the Cowboys, had stints with the Cardinals and Saints over an 11-year career that ran from 1986 through 1996, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com.

“It’s going to take a lot for me to one-up him on all that, so I’m taking it day by day and just striving to be my best,” Kennard said with a grin.

Advanced statistics courtesy of Pro Football Focus unless otherwise noted (subscription required).

Patricia Traina covers the Giants for Inside Football and The SportsXchange. All quotes and information obtained firsthand unless otherwise sourced. Follow me on Twitter @Patricia_Traina.