'I Want To Make It Cool To Do The Right Things:' Former TU Defensive Back Dwight Dobbins Teaches Local Football Players Life Lessons For On And Off The Field

"Sometimes they halfway listen to me, right. I wish they'd listen to me a little more like little brothers."

Ten years after his career at Tulsa ended, former Golden Hurricane defensive back Dwight Dobbins is still involved with the game of football. Only now, he's teaching the current, and future defensive backs of Green Country.

"A lot of our pro guys that come from Oklahoma, preferably Tulsa, these guys get out and want to go to the Texas or California," says Dobbins. "So I want these guys to make sure, you can get that same kind of work, or even better, in the same community

That led to the creation of "Athletes Rise," a training group whose alumni list is filled with All-Americans and Gatorade Players of the Year.

"Right after my playing days at TU, got a chance to work with these guys and meet them and now to see them all grown up and coming back out, still giving back to the community," says Dobbins.

The mentorship role is key for Dobbins, teaching life skills for on, and off the football field.

"I want to make it cool to do the right things. You don't have to be in the streets. You don't have to be a millionaire. You don't have to be playing ball. But you're giving back to the community, doing the right things, showing guys this is the cool thing to be."

Former Booker T Hornet JD Drew, who is headed to TU after several years at Utah State, is one of the players taking advantage of Dwight's knowledge.

"Even though I know he's getting calls trying to go to college and everything. He loves doing what he does. He loves coming out here and training with us. So it's really a blessing to have Dwight around," says Drew. "I want to work on being a better man off the field and on the field, my craft, my technique, my everything. I want to improve everything daily."

For former Owasso Ram Korbyn Green, who is headed to Western Kentucky after winning a national title at Hutchinson Junior College, the brotherhood amongst this group of athletes drives everyone to get better...

"It's amazing having guys like that that can tell you what to work on, what to fix, and just see the way they're moving as pros and the way they operate it really sets that standard for you. It shows you how to do yourself as a younger guy," says Green.

The life lessons don't end here on the practice field, as the players text Dobbins throughout the year for advice on just about anything.

"For myself, I've just been lucky and blessed to be able to keep in contact with these guys and kind of be the glue that keeps everybody together and keeps them coming back."