Horn Lake (Miss.) High School’s Nakobe Dean won the 2019 Franklin D. Watkins award Saturday night. The award, presented by the National Alliance of African-American Athletes, honors the top African-American high school scholar athlete in the country.
Dean, who led Horn Lake to its first football state title this year, graduated from Horn Lake with a 4.3 grade-point average. He has since enrolled at the University of Georgia.
“Nakobe Dean is an amazing young man,” said NAAAA Executive Director J. Everette Pearsall in a press release. “We were very impressed with his contributions in the community, his excellence in the classroom and his success on the football field. As the Standard Bearer of the Watkins Class of 2019, we know that he will continue leading by example at the University of Georgia. Nakobe and the other members of this year’s Watkins Class are an incredible group and we look forward to following the next step of their careers.”
The 6-foot linebacker headlines a finalist class of five football players including Duke signee Jaylen Coleman, Texas signee Roschon Johnson, and Stanford signees Aeneas DiCosmo and Elijah Higgins.
The class was selected based on unweighted grade-point average, personal statement, extracurricular activities, community service, and letters of recommendation.
“Ever since I was little, my parents told me that education will take me farther than my athletic ability and I’ve hung my hat on that,” Dean said. “I want to thank the Watkins Award for having me here and allowing me to have this experience.”
