O

nce upon a time there was a young couple in

the city of Jacksonville, FL who gave birth to a son,
on October 13, 1973. At first glance, he looked no
different then any other baby. Nobody was to know
that this little baby was destined for greatness. Born,
was Brian Patrick Dawkins.
From the day that Brian Dawkins started playing
Pop Warner football in Jacksonville, FL (in which
he also donated over $50,000 to Forest View Pop
Warner for footballs and equipment) his family knew
he was going to be something special.
Brian went to William M. Raines High School in
Jacksonville, FL. He began to make his mark by
becoming an All State selection and helping to lead
his team to 30 consecutive victories. While in High
School he met a young girl named Connie. Like a
fairy book story, he married her. He went to college
and had 2 children, Brian Jr. and Brionni.
Brian went to College at Clemson University and

played the Strong Safety position as a 3 year starter.

He had 247 tackles and 11 interceptions. He was a
2nd team All American selection when his team high
6 interceptions tied him for the conference lead. He
was named the first-team strong safety on Clemsons
all-centennial team in 1995 and was selected to their
Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
In 1996, Brian was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2nd round. As a rookie in 1996 he started
13 of the
14 games he played
in, recording 75 tackles, a sack
and three
interceptions. During
his career
Dawkins has been
elected to
7 Pro Bowls. 1999,
2001,
2002, 2004, 2005,
2006 and
2008.
In 2002
in a game versus the
Houston Texans he became the first player in NFL
history to record a sack, an interception, forced fumble, and touchdown reception in a single game.

Legacy
Of
NFL Safety
Brian Dawkins
( Weapon X )
If any are curious as to why Brian missed the Pro
Bowl in 2007, maybe this will help to explain this
mans remarkable journey and struggle.
When Brian Jr. was 11 and his sister Brionni was
8, they were greeted with twin sisters, Chionni and
Cionni on April 26, 2007. This was a difficult and
risky pregnancy for Brians wife, Connie. The twins
were born 2 months premature as well as one was
thought to run the risk of having Downs syndrome
when she was still in the womb. Doctors wanted to
perform a procedure to verify it but there was a risk
of losing one of the babies. Brian and Connie said
no. The babies turned out not to have Downs, thank
God for that.
However, the pregnancy was not without trouble.
Connie was suffering from bleeding, much of the
time. Brian had to stay at home to care for and
watch after his brave and loving wife. Not an easy
thing to do if you are a football player in the NFL.
She almost delivered 3 months early but the doctors
stopped the early pregnancy.
During the pregnancy, Brian didnt get to work out
as he normally did during the off season and this
inactivity began to show by way of injuries on the
field. Many thought he was over the hill because
of the injuries but nobody bothered to take into con-

sideration the fact of what he and his family went

through. He wasnt in peak shape.
Brian would take care of his wife. Brian couldnt
spend the time, doing his 12 hour a week workout
to get ready for the upcoming season. No, he was a
father and husband 1st and a football player 2nd.
Said Brian, Id drop the kids off at school, go see
her, then
take an hour to
try to work
out, then come
right back
to the hospital
to be with
her, then go pick
the kids up
from school, then
get dinner
ready. He went
on to say, I
got a chance to
walk in her shoes. I told her after all this was done
how much I really appreciate her.
When the babies were born they weighed only 3
pounds. Cionni, the younger twin, was suffering
from relative bradycardia; for her age, her heart
rate was too slow. Intermittent episodes of brady-

Germod Williams