Great article on Dede

[bigsixfive 328]

Dede's deeds good

Karibi Dede wasn't sure what to make of it all.

It was January 2002, and he found himself in a strange place surrounded by unfamiliar faces. In a matter of days, his life had taken a dramatic turn. More than once, he wondered about his decision to pursue his dream of playing college football in this small town so far from home.

The day Dede arrived with his mother, Karen, to enroll at Auburn and join the football team was the first time he'd set foot on the campus. Coach Tommy Tuberville, strength and conditioning coach Kevin Yoxall, defensive coordinator Gene Chizik, linebackers coach Joe Whitt - men who would become central figures in his life - were virtual strangers.

John Lovett, who had recruited him, had been fired as defensive coordinator and was gone.

"I didn't think Coach Yox knew who I was," Dede says. "I didn't think Coach Tuberville knew who I was. I knew Coach Chizik didn't know. Coach Whitt didn't. It was an uncomfortable feeling."

Dede, who had been an All-State linebacker in Woodbridge, Va., before playing for a season at Hargrave Military Academy, had never been farther south than Myrtle Beach, S.C. Auburn's offer had come late, but for Dede, it meant the opportunity for which he had worked for so long.

"I remember standing in the locker room and looking at that big AU in the middle," Dede says. "It was probably like 6 p.m. Nobody was here. I went to my locker and looked at my name. I was like, 'Wow, I'm here. I'm going to do everything I can to make this the best experience of my life.' "

Dede laughs as he recalls his first day on the Auburn campus.

"The first day I got here, there was probably a quarter of an inch of snow on the ground," Dede says. "They shut the whole city down. We were in Wal-Mart and people were buying bottled water, flashlights, candles. My mom and I were like, 'What's going on? Is there a blizzard coming?' "

Dede had little opportunity to ease into his new school and his new life. Auburn was coming off a bitterly disappointing season, and the offseason program would reflect that. It was then that he almost didn't make it.

"I didn't know what the level of competition was and how hard it would be," Dede says. "Coach Yox just about broke me. I'd go back to the dorm and call my mom. I'd say, 'I can't do this. It's too hard.' I would get so tired. I felt all alone, stranded."

But Dede persevered. And as he told himself he would that night in the locker room, he made his Auburn experience one that will be with him for a lifetime. He was a starter at free safety as a redshirt freshman, lost his job and moved to linebacker, where he played a pivotal role in the unbeaten season of 2004 and has been a starter since. He earned a degree in rehabilitation special education last spring. He is a leader on his team and in the community.

Last week, Dede was named a semifinalist for the NCAA's Draddy Award, often called the academic Heisman. He's been a fixture on the Southeastern Conference's Academic Honor Roll and a willing volunteer for countless community projects.

"There's no good cause that Karibi Dede won't volunteer for," Auburn coach Tommy Tuberville said, "nothing he won't do to help somebody. He's an outstanding football player and a better person. He'll be a great success in whatever he does and will be a credit to his community.

"He's been valuable to our football program in a lot of ways, on the field, off the field, in the locker room."

And now it's almost over. Auburn's bowl game will mark the end of Dede's great adventure. He says Auburn and its people will be with him wherever his life leads him.

"I just try to live my life in a way that I do the right things and set a good example," Dede says. "I value and cherish so much being part of the Auburn family, being able to put on that jersey. In everything I do, I want to honor it and respect it and build it up."

For Dede, few times are better than when he reaches out to children. He worked as a student teacher in special education at Dean Elementary School in Auburn. He spent much of last summer as a graduate student trainee at the Autism Center at Yarborough Elementary School in Auburn.

"The people working with those kids care and work hard to make a difference and give them a chance," Dede says. "In special education, a lot of those kids are behind the eight ball."

Dede is prepared to work with those children when he's finished playing. He also wants to coach the game he has played for so long.

"I want to coach if I can get my foot in the door," Dede says. "Working with kids and coaching are my aspirations."

But for now, there's a season to finish and goals to accomplish.

No. 7 Auburn (7-1, 4-1 SEC) plays Saturday at Ole Miss (2-6, 1-4) as it enters the home stretch of a season that could still could end in a championship. Dede wants to soak it all in.

"Everything I ever dreamed of doing in college football, I had a chance to do my first three years," Dede says. "At the start of this season, I just said it's a blessing that I have another one. This team is a special bunch, no matter how it turns out. It's a special group of seniors, a special team all the way down to the freshmen."

Dede takes special interest in those freshmen, remembering what it was like. He dealt with the disappointment of being redshirted in 2002 and with the disappointment of losing his starting job at free safety midway through the 2003 season.

"I joke about it with guys to this day," Dede says. "I know what it's like to be fired. It happens. You look back and say 'If I only knew then what I know now,' but I didn't. I was young. It made me realize this conference is the real deal. I was playing against some serious players."

Dede got his first taste of football as a child, playing with his brothers Soso and Bereni in the field behind their house. They took no mercy on their little brother. Soso went on to play and coach at Indiana State.

At the end of his junior year in high school, Dede had not done what he needed to do academically. There were questions about whether he would qualify. He responded by making seven A's and a B as a senior and qualifying easily. But some schools had already backed off. He went off to Hargrave, and his journey to Auburn began.

Dede revels in the memory of a perfect season, cherishes the big wins, the friendships and the memories. But nothing meant more than the day he got his degree.

"My mom doesn't know a whole lot about football," Dede says. "Her main thing was that her son was going to get a degree. I know that meant more to her than us winning a national championship or me going pro.

"That was always my drive, to fulfill those expectations and reach the goals I set for myself outside football and in the community."

[aukooze91 11]

I would love to see more of this on the news, sportscenter, or whatever. Damn good story and I am damn proud of KD for what he has accomplished at Auburn! This is what you want to hear about in college football. This story makes me so proud to be an Auburn Tiger!

War Eagle!

[AUMom 1]

AUsome article about a fine young man, it really makes us proud that he is part of our

"Family". I just wonder how many other really good stories could, should be written about

our players? We always hear all the negative things that happen, because they are sensationalistic,

but what needs to told are like what we have here about Mr. Karibi Dede. I will close with a

BIG WAR EAGLE to Mr. Dede and all the players who make us proud to be Auburn Tigers!

[DCWarEagle 0]

Great read! I love hearing about kids on the team w/ the right attitude who give back to the community and want to bring honor to Auburn.

War Damn Dede!

[CCTAU 3,342]

As a side note: brothers Soso and Bereni?

Soso Dede?

Bereni Dede?

"How ya do'in Soso?"

"No. Much better than that, thank you."