Horn Lake’s Nakobe Dean recognized by state Senate

Nakobe Dean, the six-foot, 215-pound outside linebacker of the NCAA National champion University of Georgia “Bulldogs” Football team and former Horn Lake High School star, was honored on Wednesday by the Mississippi Senate with the presentation of Senate Resolution 7, for his achievements.

Dean, who won the 2021 Butkus Award, given to the nation’s best linebacker, completed his junior year with 168 total tackles and 7.5 sacks.  He also earned First-Team All-SEC Honors in 2021.  It remains to be seen if Dean will return to Georgia for his senior year or declare for the 2022 NFL Draft.

Georgia defeated Alabama 33-18 in the College Football National Championship Game, Georgia’s first national title in football since the 1980 season. It’s Georgia’s first win against Alabama since 2007, making Dean part of a historic college football event where his skills shone brightly.

Prior to the National Championship Game, he had 30 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one interception.  He was Georgia’s leading tackler in 2020 with 71 stops, which was 19 more than the closest Bulldog defender, with 1.5 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries.  As a freshman in 2019, Dean had 25 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Dean is also active in the community.

Dean has a 3.53 GPA in Mechanical Engineering at Georgia.