Gainwell has been playing his best football, on the biggest stage. While some in the league are surprised, his teammates, coaches, and family are not. He has been preparing for this moment his entire life, and for those who don’t know him, it’s time to meet Kenneth Gainwell!
In the divisional round against the Giants, Gainwell had his coming out party. He ran 12 times for 112 yards and TD.
The Eagles soared to victory.
Versus the stout 49ers defense, he carried the ball 14 times and added 2 receptions for a total of 74 all-purpose yards. The team ran for 148 yards in total.
The Niners had only allowed a 74 yards per-game average on the ground all season.
Now Kenneth is heading to the Super Bowl and he is being counted on to perform.
Gainwell is relishing the challenge and facing it with the same swagger and optimism he and his family has while overcoming every challenge life has thrown their way.
He plays hard, and with a love of the game, for his teammates, his friends and his family.
Who become, all one in the same.
Family
Gainwell has always put family first. His family means everything to him. He doesn’t just say it, he backs it up with his actions, and he lives it. Gainwell played every down with everything he had at Mississippi and Memphis. He’d look into the stands to find his brother Curtis. He did it for his family. He did it to honor his older brother.
“What he’s gone through, what he’s had to deal with, has only made me work harder. I’m playing for both of us. To find him (Curtis, Jr.) in the stadium every time I scored just to see his smile. Every time he smiled it made me smile,” Kenneth continued “I’m just thankful to still have him still here on this earth. I’m proud of him. He’s working really hard.”
When Kenneth was 13-years-old, his older brother Curtis was attempting to become a Southern Mississippi walk-on for the football team when he suffered a life-altering stroke while weightlifting.
“I had a headache, I didn’t feel good that day. I knew there was something wrong. I didn’t know it was gonna be a stroke,” Curtis Gainwell recalled in an interview with ESPN. “If I didn’t get to the hospital in time, I could’ve been gone.”
He was given three life-saving surgeries in one day to stop the brain bleed and has since undergone four brain surgeries. Curtis then endured the daunting task of learning how to walk and talk again. Kenneth, who always looked up to his big brother, was motivated and given strength by Curtis’ resolve.
“I said bro feel my pain,” Curtis recalls. “(Kenneth) said I feel it bro, I saw you in that bed, wanting to get out that bed and walk.” Kenneth takes that to the field every time he plays.
Putting his family first would be done again during the pandemic.
Kenneth chose to opt out of the 2020 collegiate season while playing for Memphis just six days before the season opener. The reason, once again, is family. Kenneth’s father Curtis Gainwell Sr. spoke to The Commercial Appeal& in August 2020.
“He (Kenneth) decided that he didn’t want to take any chances with the coronavirus going on. You don’t want to get out there and get sick and bring it to us, his brother or his teammates,”.
The Gainwells had already lost four members of their family to this terrible virus. Kenneth explained “You know my family passed away, so it was a tough, tough decision. I love football. So it was really a tough decision to do. So I just had to do what was best for the fam”
Kenneth was leaving college, but not football. He had set his eyes on the NFL draft. In November of 2020, Kenneth left his family and hometown behind to train and prepare for the NFL alone in Orlando, Florida.
“So, basically, the next week after I opted out, I started training and I’ve been working out ever since. It’s been basically six months for me working out straight, non-stop. I’ve just been putting in the work, staying down, staying healthy throughout this process.”
He knew he had one amazing season on tape and that if he worked hard, he would get a chance at being drafted into the NFL. As always, his family was at the forefront of his mind.
“It will be real special. I’m just ready to see their faces once my name gets called. It’s going to make me want to work even harder because they had that dream too. I get to live it. They get to live it. So, I’m just excited.”
Yazoo
Kenneth grew up in Yazoo City, Mississippi, and went to Yazoo City High School. The same high school as his cousin, current Philadelphia defensive tackle Fletcher Cox. He was a three-year starter at QB for the Panthers. He threw for 3,682 yards with 32 passing touchdowns. Kenneth added another 4,730 yards rushing and 75 rushing touchdowns. He even returned a kickoff to add another touchdown to his impressive touchdown total of 108. Kenny was named Class 3A Mr. Football his senior year of high school as he led the Panthers to their first Class 3A state title championship game appearance while compiling an impressive 14–1 record.
After graduating in 2018, Kenneth chose to attend Memphis over Ole Miss. He only played four games as a true freshman (he was playing behind future NFL pros Darrell Henderson, Patrick Taylor, and Tony Pollard) and decided to redshirt the rest of the season and focus on training.
When he returned in the summer of 2019, it was apparent his hard work had paid off. Gainwell became the feature back, starting 13 of 14 games while rushing for 1,459 yards and 13 scores on 231 carries (6.3 per carry avg). He also was a valuable weapon as a receiver (51 receptions, 610 yards, 12.0 average, three touchdowns). His game was so good that NFL RB Antonio Gibson only received 33 total carries. At season’s end, Kenneth was named first-team All-American Athletic Conference and the AAC Rookie of the Year. The ascent to the NFL was finally at hand. All that was left to do was wait and see where he would end up.
Eagles
Gainwell was selected by the Eagles in the fifth round with the 150th overall pick. By most draft expert estimations, this was a late-round steal. The dual-threat running back was projected to go as high as the second and was easily in almost every mock as a third. Kenneth was grateful his dream to reach the NFL had just become a reality.
“My heart stopped beating for a little bit you know,” he told Sky Sports when he saw the Philly area code on his phone on draft day. “Just seeing the call pop up on my phone, my heart stopped beating and I didn’t know what to say really. I was like ‘I’m just ready to come ball, ready to put in that work.’ I’ve been dreaming about this for a long time and getting an opportunity to play for a team that I’m a fan of. I’m really a fan of the Eagles now. I’m going to be a student and a guy that is going to show love to the fans. It’s exciting.”
He stated he spent his childhood studying the footwork of LeSean McCoy and Darren Sproles, amongst others. He was ready to add his name to the Eagles’ family of running backs.
Philadelphia was just as excited about drafting Kenneth as he was about being selected by them. He immediately impressed in training camp by not only showing everyone in person what was already on tape (the receiving and rushing threat) but, at a reported 5-foot-9 200 pounds, he was standing up tall in blocks. “I’m a rare breed,” he said. “I’m a different one.”
His ability as a receiver might have been what attracted the Eagles to Gainwell. But his willingness to block will be what earns him consistent playing time.
“Yeah, he had to show that he could protect.” HC Nick Sirianni said. “Because we know his ability as a pass-catcher. We’ve seen his ability as a pass-catcher. We’ve seen it even more in practice and all the different drills we do and everything. He’s a tough kid. When guys are tough, and they like football and they really love football and they have talent, those guys reach their potential”
Gainwell agrees, and he has put in the work to back it up.
“I’m bringing an attitude that is real different. I’m bringing a talent that I feel the Eagles don’t have, a running back you can legit put in the slot and run any routes. A legit guy you can throw all over the field and that can dominate anywhere on the field. That’s what I feel like I bring. I feel dangerous in the backfield. I feel dangerous in the slot — kind of both spots. I’m an athlete. I dominate everywhere. Anywhere they put me even if it’s on special teams. Everywhere on the field.”
Kenneth wasted little time showing the world what he could do in the NFL during his rookie year in the season opener. He was on the field during the two-minute drill at the end of the first half against the Atlanta Falcons as they went down and scored a touchdown and a two-point conversion. He then scampered for an eight-yard TD run of his own in the third quarter.
“He has the best hands in our running back room,” Miles Sanders said. “That’s his thing — the two-minute drill. That’s it.”
Super Bowl
Gainwell displayed that same shiftiness and ability to find the end zone when the Eagles played the Chiefs also during his rookie season last year.
He had a very productive day: six receptions for 58 yards and three carries for 31 yards and a touchdown.
Another performance like that could have the Eagles holding up a Lombardi trophy.
Gainwell is about to be playing in the biggest game of his career and the one every player dreams of, And yet, not a thing has changed.
He’s still the same Kenneth Gainwell, who is driven to succeed while being daring on the football field.
He is also, you guessed it, still doing it all for family.
“I plan on putting my family in situations to be great.”
Nobody is doubting that he will.
As always, Thank You for reading
David
Follow me @PHLEagleNews and @PhillyCvrCorner
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