"Supposed to" has never stopped K'von Wallace

K'Von Wallace has done everything people said he couldn't do.

by Nikki Hood - Staff Writer - Dec 20, 2019, 1:02 PM

CLEMSON – “Becoming a possibilitarian. No matter how dark things seem to be or actually are, raise your sights and see possibilities – always see them, for they are always there.”

K’Von Wallace is the possibilitarian minister Norman Vincent Peale was talking about when he authored the above quote.

When no one thought Clemson’s senior safety could play college football or become a starter or graduate from college or have a shot at the NFL, Wallace believed and set his sights and goals higher than he can ever accomplish.

“The number one goal was to graduate. I graduate on Thursday, so that was the number one goal,” Wallace told TigerNet Tuesday. “Saying that I accomplished all the goals I set for myself, definitely not. My goals are way too high and that's exactly what I want it to be and need it to be because there's always work to be done. I make sure that it's almost impossible to do. My goals set forth for me have driven me to be where I'm at today. I'm really a firm believer that this is why I'm starting because of the goals I set for myself and the responsibilities I gave to myself to be a student of the game, a student in the classroom, a great listener to my team and a great leader to my team. It helped me be a dynamic player for this team and this program. Everything I do, I'm always motivated. This year has been special but with everything going on, I know I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be.”

When Wallace committed to Clemson, his No. 1 priority was to leave with his degree, something he accomplished on Thursday, but that achievement was for more than just himself.

“I can feel it but it still hasn't hit that we only have one or two more games left,” Wallace said. “It still hasn't hit me that in two days I don't ever have to pick up a pencil again if I don't want to. It's a special moment for me. As I said, this isn't for me. This is for the kids back in my hometown to give them hope that this can be done - graduating at a great university, playing for a great university, winning a national championship at a great university. It can be done. I beat the odds. The percentages of me making it here were nearly impossible, but I'm blessed and fortunate that God gave me the breath to live and the ability to play the game that I love.”

Where does Wallace’s motivation to be the best in everything he does come from?

“My mom. She worked three jobs on her own to take care of three kids,” Wallace said. “She devoted her life to being with us and to taking care of us. She stopped her life, her dreams and her plans to pursue what God had for her and that's to take care of her kids, so it's only right that I do everything in my ability to chase my dream.”

Wallace has had his doubters, but more importantly, he’s had his supporters and those who have believed in him since day one, and it’s for those people that he works so hard.

“Every day is motivation for me. I'm not supposedly supposed to be here. I'm not supposedly supposed to be talking in front of you guys and just being the athlete that I am,” he said. “I'm not supposed to be here, so every day is motivation for me to prove people wrong but more importantly prove those that believed in me right. I live by that. Every day going in and putting my best foot forward to work hard and be a better athlete and a better student of the game and a better student in the classroom, better son to my mom, a better brother to my sisters. Everything I do is motivation in my life. My teammates motivate me. We have a great linebacker and he's the best in the country and just me competing with him to try to be the best at my safety position. There's so much to be motivated around me. I'm blessed and fortunate to come to a great university like this and to be around dynamic players like this to motivate me every day.”

Hopefully, there are two games left in Wallace’s Clemson career but when he looks back on his time at Clemson in the days, months and years to come, it’s the people and the moments that he’ll remember most.

“The relationships I have with the guys and the relationships I have with the staff, the networks that I built here, the people that I met here, the events, the moments,” he said. “This is a very funny team. This is the best and funniest team that I've been on. Almost everything. Sometimes you can feel like your life is complete when you're at a university like Clemson because everything that you do has paid off at this university and the moments and events that you share with your brothers is the most dynamic of it all.”