South Carolina's Javon Kinlaw shares riveting personal story about growing up homeless
South Carolina DL Javon Kinlaw has one of the more inspiring stories leading up to the NFL Draft. The 6-foot-6 and 310-pounder had a strong 2019 season, and will have plenty of opportunity to share his personal background of growing up homeless as the draft process continues.
At a Senior Bowl press conference, Kinlaw shared how he grew up “pretty much homeless” in northeast Washington D.C. “living in basements” without electricity and water. He added that his family used the neighbor’s hose to fill up totes of water and take them back in the house.
“We had a gas stove, we would light the stove with a little match or something,” he said, according to video from Mike Gillespie of ABC-Columbia. “Get a tall pot, boil the water, mix it with some cold water, put it in a bucket, take it upstairs, take a shower like that. But at a young age, we just thought that was normal. That’s how we was living, we didn’t know how everybody else was living.”
An Associated Press All-America in 2019, Kinlaw had a tremendous career at South Carolina. He appeared in 37 games over three seasons, and made 34 starts. He was credited with 18 tackles for a loss and 10.5 sacks. He also forced three fumbles and recovered four fumbles, deflected 10 passes, seven quarterback hurries and blocked three kicks.
Stop what you’re doing and listen to @JavonKinlaw talk about growing up homeless. Incredible story from the former #Gamecock. @abc_columbia #SeniorBowl pic.twitter.com/mdsO3Zgvsg
— Mike Gillespie (@MikeABCColumbia) January 21, 2020