He didn't exactly grow up in the lap of luxury, although he is well-compensated now.
Knock on cartilage.
Kevin Dyson is living a kid's dream and he knows it; he's a starting wide receiver in the National Football League for the Tennessee Titans. Two years ago he was in the Super Bowl, holding a ball 12 inches from a championship ring.
Nine years ago he was graduating from Clearfield High School, one of, what, a million high school football players hoping to go on and play for a living. In the state of Utah alone, there were thousands.
"Out of that Class of '93," Kevin mused the other day by telephone from Tennessee, "I'm the only one."
He isn't bragging, he's simply stating a fact. Getting to the big leagues in anything is difficult, getting to the big leagues in football means bucking lottery-like odds.
Which is a long way of explaining why Kevin Dyson, along with his younger brother and fellow NFL player Andre, will be back in Utah for a week this summer, hosting the Dyson Pro Skills Football Camp June 24-28 at Bingham High School.
"If you're lucky enough to play here and then make it (in the NFL)," he says, "I think you should come back and give something back."
"I was fortunate that people helped me along the way; I was given opportunities even though I wasn't raised with a whole lot. I'd like to do the same thing if I can. I'd especially like to reach kids who, No. 1, maybe can't afford some of the bigger camps; No. 2, they might not be the best athlete out there or maybe they're slow in developing; and No. 3, they want to play football and have fun."
So he's structured an unconventional kind of football camp, one without helmets, pads or tackling, with an emphasis on teaching football skills for receivers, quarterbacks, running backs, defensive backs and linebackers.
There will be a lot of actual touching the football at the Dyson Skills Camp.
"I tell kids don't worry about getting your head taken off," says Kevin. "I tell them, 'Hey, this is the last time you're going to just have fun.'"
There's nothing new, of course, about an NFL player organizing his own summer camp, or bringing in NFL teammates and friends to help out — Dyson plans to bring in the likes of Eddie George, Steve McNair, Jevon Kearse and former University of Utah teammate Jamal Anderson as guest camp lecturers.
But what makes Dyson's camp www.dysoncamps.com stand out, besides the low emphasis on contact, is this: Kevin will not turn away any kid who wants to come.
"Look," he says, "I know what it's like to struggle for money and not have everything you want. I wasn't always as fortunate as I am now. A lot of times people forget that as a professional athlete it wasn't always like this. I don't want to forget. I want to help out kids if I can. I don't want to turn down any kid. He might not be able to get all the camp stuff; I realize that costs money and people running the camp need to watch that, but if any kid really wants to learn football skills, I don't want to deny him that opportunity."
"I'm not saying they'll make it to the NFL," Kevin says of the kids he and the camp staff will instruct. "I'll tell them it's hard and they probably won't make the NFL and that school and other things should come before sports. But if they want to play football and they want to learn, I don't want to see anybody fall through the cracks."
Lee Benson's column runs Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Please send e-mail to benson@desnews.com and faxes to 801-237-2527.