Kenbrell Thompkins was born with a talent for football, but
unfortunately not all aspects of his life were equally blessed.
Born into the care of a single parent, his mother who had two
jobs and five other siblings to raise in a highly crime-filled neighborhood of
Miami, FL, Kenbrell quickly fell into the norms of his surroundings. Drugs and
gang related violence were quickly a part of life.
Despite his impressive abilities on the football field,
big-time college football programs steered in the opposite direction of
Thompkins, who had been expelled from his high school and arrested numerous
times. Clearly the wide receiver had suffered from the poor influences around
him as he spent his spare time selling drugs and getting into trouble.
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| Via Bustedmugshots.com. |
Thompkins had been arrested on seven different occasions by the time he was 18, one resulting in a 28-day jail sentence for selling crack cocaine, a drug of choice
for residents in his neighborhood.
After shuffling back and forth between being on the street, in
jail, expelled or suspended from school, Morgan State University attempted to
lure Kenbrell to their football program, offering the football standout an
athletic scholarship.
The troubled teen accepted, but neglected to pursue the
opportunity; clearly his priorities were elsewhere.
That’s until his younger brother secured a scholarship to
play football for the University of Miami.
Fueled with inspiration through the success of his younger
sibling, Kenbrell made his dream to reach the NFL a priority; he decided to write football at the top of his list. That day became the key to unlocking the door of success; his priorities had changed.
With the right mindset and renewed passion, his new journey began as he enrolled at a junior college in California named El Camino College.
Following scores of touchdown catches at the junior college
level and a respectable GPA, major football programs all over the
country pursued the talented wide out. He decided to attend the
University of Tennessee but withdrew his letter of intent following a coaching
change.
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| Thompkins at U. of Cincinnati. |
That’s when Antonio Brown, a cousin of Kenbrell and successful
NFL player, stepped in. Brown arranged a meeting with the head coach at the
University of Cincinnati, paving the way for a transfer to the Ohio based University.
Poor quarterbacking led to a less than stellar stint with
the University of Cincinnati, and Thompkins eventually went unpicked in the NFL
draft.
His track record with the police had scared teams away, but that didn't stop him; Kenbrell had worked hard at Cincinnati earning good grades and staying out of trouble, evading any further encounters with law enforcement.
Workouts with several NFL teams eventually led to an active roster spot with the New England Patriots and a three-year contract.
Today, Kenbrell Thompkins caught his first and second NFL touchdown passes from Tom Brady.
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