Kayvon Thibodeaux was an elite recruit who had his choice of almost any college football program in the country, and he shocked everybody when he decided to choose the Oregon Ducks over the Alabama Crimson Tide. He is now expected to be a high draft choice as a defensive lineman in the upcoming NFL Draft.
Thibodeaux said he already hates the stigma of football players being dumb jocks, and he said there’s a lot that associated with Alabama, so that factored into his decision.
In an interview with FOX Sports’ Joel Klatt, Thibodeaux made reference to “the stigmatism of an Alabama education” as a reason why he picked Oregon and questioned if he “would have graduated yet” or if his “degree would mean anything” if he had gone to ‘Bama.
“If I handed you a fishing pole, would you know how to use it?” Thibodeaux asked Klatt. “If I’ve never learned (how to fish) or if school has never been important to me, or a job, or a career has never been important until I was done playing football, how would I know how to get a career or a job? I won’t.
“You know what I sat back and thought about? I sat back and said ‘what world do I want to be a part of?’ I said if I go to Alabama, I’m going to win national championships, literally. But do I want to be a guy who’s known to be a national championship winner or do I want to be a guy who’s known for being a part of the greatest organization in the world?
“What people don’t realize is that football is an American sport. So, no matter how great Alabama is, you only play football in America, Canada and a couple other places. But a brand like Nike? I mean, for me it was like, what brand associations do I want to be tied to? For me, I already hate the stigmatism of football players being dumb jocks. Do you know the stigmatism of Alabama education? It ain’t the West Coast. It ain’t Harvard.”
In three seasons at Oregon, Thibodeaux recorded 126 tackles and 19 sacks.
