Kevin DeShields Jr. (born August 7, 2000), is an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line (D ...

for the Oregon Lightning. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for Lackawanna and

Delaware State Delaware State University (DSU or Del State) is a privately governed, state-assisted historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The un ...

Early life

DeShields was born as one of six children, to Demetrias Fletcher and Kevin Deshields, Sr. He has two brothers and three sisters.Delaware State Hornets Profile
Retrieved February 11, 2025. He attended

Vineland High School Vineland High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school located in Vineland, in Cumberland County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, serving students in ninth through twelfth grades as part of the Vineland Public Schools. The now r ...

where he played as a defensive tackle for the Vineland Bulldogs football team.Kevin Deshields Jr.'s Recruitment Profile
on MaxPreps.com. Retrieved February 11, 2025. By his senior year during the 2017–2018 season, DeShields totaled 43 tackles. His varsity performances during his junior and senior seasons also earned him letters. DeShields intended to enroll at his dream college of

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

. However, his inferior grades prevented him from receiving any scholarship considerations.NJ.com. True Jersey. (August 27, 2019)
Rutgers Sports: Could Rutgers add big, explosive emerging DT and Bridgeton native Kevin DeShields to its defensive front?
Rutgers Sports via NJ.com. Retrieved February 11, 2025.

College career

DeShields attended Lackawanna College for the 2018-2019 semester. He played nose guard for the Lackawanna Falcons.Kevin Deshields Jr.'s Recruitment Profile
on HUDL.com. Retrieved February 11, 2025. During the 2019 season, he played in five games and totaled 5 tackles including 3 solo tackles and 2 assists.Lackawanna College Falcons Profile
Retrieved February 11, 2025. While at Lackawanna, DeShields vastly improved his grade point average, elevated from 1.6 to 3.46. He helped the Falcons to New England Fathering Conference (NEFC) conference championships during his two seasons at Lackawanna. While at Lackawanna, DeShields visited Rutgers University after the Scarlet Knights football team sought to increase the depth of its defensive line chart. DeShields enrolled at the

HBCU Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with the intention of serving African Americans. Most are in the Southern U ...

school of Delaware State University where he played as a defensive lineman for the Hornets football team. During the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

-impacted 2020–2021 season, DeShields played in all 5 total games as a starting lineman. He totaled 9 tackles including 8 unassisted tackles. In the fall 2021 season, DeShields played his first full season of college football since joining Delaware. After 11 games played, DeShields totaled 18 tackles and his season performance earned him a

Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC ) is a List of NCAA conferences, collegiate athletic conference whose full members are historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and the Mid-A ...

(MEAC) Special Teams Player of the Week accolade.2021 MEAC Player of the Week Listings
on SI.com. Retrieved February 11, 2025. While attending DSU, DeShields majored in Management and minored in

Criminal Justice Criminal justice is the delivery of justice to those who have been accused of committing crimes. The criminal justice system is a series of government agencies and institutions. Goals include the rehabilitation of offenders, preventing other ...

. He declared for the

2023 NFL draft The 2023 NFL draft was the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2023 NFL season, 2023 season. The NFL draft, draft was held outside of Kansas City Union Station, Union Station i ...

.NFL Draft Diamonds.com. April 2023
2023 NFL Draft Prospect Delaware State DT Kevin DeShields Zoom Interview
Retrieved February 11, 2025.

Professional career

On October 24, 2024, it was announced DeShields signed with the Oregon Lightning.Arena Football Announcement
on Instagram.com. Retrieved February 11, 2025.

References

External links

Delaware State Hornets profileLackawanna College Falcons profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:DeShields, Kevin Delaware State Hornets football players Lackawanna Falcons football players 2000 births Living people American football defensive tackles American football defensive linemen American football tackles Oregon Lightning players Arena Football One (2025) players