Chicago Bears rookie defensive tackle Gervon Dexter originally did not want to play football. Now he has the potential to star in the NFL.
Chicago Bears general manager Ryan Poles selected defensive tackle Gervon Dexter with the 53rd pick of the 2023 NFL Draft. He wants the 6-foot-6, 310-pound defensive tackle to help revive the Monsters of the Midway defense.
A few years back, however, he was not even interested in playing football, however.
In his freshman year in high school, Dexter was a star AAU basketball player. Seeing his size and playing against some of his uncles on the football field, Lake Wales (FL) High School head football coach (and school dean) Tavaris Johnson felt that Dexter’s skill could be used better on the football field.
Johnson went up to Dexter and asked him to try football. Dexter balked at the idea.
I knew Gervon and I knew his family well… He comes from a very talented family. The first thing I said to Gervon was, ‘Hey, a guy your size should be on the football field. You are a dream waiting to happen.’ He looks at me and he says, ‘Coach, I’m not playing football.’ I’m like, ‘What?!? You’ve got to be kidding me.
Persistence paid off for Johnson
Dexter was firm in not wanting to play football. Johnson persisted, though. He finally just had Dexter try on the football uniform. Dexter fell in love once he saw himself in the uniform. He finally agreed to try football.
Even at that, Dexter was doubtful of playing football. He thought he could automatically get college offers. Johnson explained to him that he had to put in the work. Dexter did not want to waste his and the coach’s time. Johnson kept pushing, telling him the kid belonged in football.
A scout for the University of South Florida was on hand to see some potential players to sign. He happened to see Dexter and fell in love. Johnson explained that Dexter was just a project. The scout was willing to give him an offer on the spot.
Word about Dexter got out and by his junior season scouts from all over the nation visited him. He quickly became a five-star recruit and eventually chose to go to the University of Florida.
Dexter wanted to be coached
Florida defensive line coach David Turner admitted that Dexter was raw but with a lot of athletic ability. He felt there was a lot he could coach but he couldn’t coach 6-foot-6, 280 pounds of athleticism.
Turner compares Dexter to four-time Pro Bowler Chris Jones. That is high praise. Both have similar body types and are very athletic.
Jones didn’t start as a football player himself in high school. It wasn’t until his junior year that he started playing.
Dexter thrived in the position the Bears envision for him
Early on in Dexter’s career at Florida he thrived. He played 254 snaps in his freshman year and more than double that the next year. His primary role was to be a penetrating defensive tackle. This is the same role the Bears want him to play on Sundays.
However, there was a coaching change in Dexter’s junior season and his role changed. Now they asked him to read and react and take up space for the linebackers.
While his stats were not the same, Dexter did what he was told. In his 36 career games (23 starts), he finished with 125 tackles, five sacks, 10½ tackles for a loss, two interceptions, and 51 quarterback pressures.
Dexter is a coachable kid who wants to be the best player he can be. Playing in the SEC he had on-the-job training. He will have some more of that when he enters the NFL. It will be interesting to see how well he does with the Chicago Bears. He is excited to return to the job in which he really thrived.
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