Gove Proves That Dreams Come True


	Senior RB Derek Gove

NORMAN, Okla. -- In the movies Invincible and Rudy, Hollywood showed us the feel good, inspirational true stories about football players Vince Papale and Daniel Ruettiger who, despite all odds, overcame adversity to make the Philadelphia Eagles and the University of Notre Dame football teams, respectively.

There is another heartfelt true story that has yet to be told about an underdog, about a guy who was told he was not big enough, fast enough, or strong enough to play Division I college football. A story about a young man who dreamed of playing football for the Oklahoma Sooners as a kid and who has proved everybody wrong. This is the story of senior running back Derek Gove.

Growing up in Carrollton, Texas, Gove remembers when he decided he wanted to play college football.

“I was 12 years old and in the sixth grade,” Gove said. “My teacher was asking everyone in class what they wanted to be when they grew up and I remember raising my hand and saying I wanted to be a football player.”

For Gove, he didn't just want to be a football player, he wanted to be a football player at the University of Oklahoma. It's a dream that is shared by thousands of kids when they grow up in the Sooner state and across the Sooner nation.

Giving up on his dream

and moving on would

have been easy to do,

but the words can't

and quit are not part

of Gove's vocabulary.

“Oklahoma has such a great football history and tradition,” said Gove. “I wanted the opportunity to come and play football for Coach Stoops and to be a Sooner.”

The road to Norman, Oklahoma, has not been easy for Gove, who played football at Creekview High School, in Carrollton, Texas. By his junior year, he was a 5-9, 225-pound center and defensive tackle.

“The coaches kept telling me I needed to get bigger, so I ate more and lifted weights to try to get bigger,” Gove stated. “I knew, at 5-9, playing offensive or defensive line in college, let alone at OU, was not a possibility. I knew I would have to change positions.”

To make things worse, Gove suffered a broken right leg that cut his junior season short.

Not to be discouraged, Gove made a dramatic transformation the summer before his senior year. With the help of his mentor and trainer, George Adams, Gove recovered from his broken leg and trained extremely hard, hitting the weight room and running to develop speed and quickness that summer.

The result was a new and improved, stronger and faster Derek Gove. He lost nearly 50 pounds and enjoyed great success as a linebacker and running back as a senior until another injury, a torn LCL, sent him back to the sidelines. Giving up on his dream and moving on would have been the easy thing to do, but the words can't and quit are not in his vocabulary.

Once again, he turned to his friend and mentor for help. Adams, a former NFL running back for the New York Giants and the New England Patriots, was a first round draft pick, the 19th pick overall, by the Giants in the 1985 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Kentucky and won a Super Bowl ring with the Giants under former head coach Bill Parcells during the 1986 season.

“To make the team

as a walk-on and to

have the opportunity

to contribute as a

member is a great

feeling."

“Derek is not scared of anything,” Adams said. “He is a hard working young man. He was dedicated to achieving his dream of playing football at Oklahoma. He kept his mind focused and never gave up on himself. He trained hard, putting in 110 percent. I told him his dream was not over, and that he could do it. I am proud of him. He is a good kid and I love him as if he was my own son.”

Gove developed his strong work ethic working on his family's ranch as a kid and in high school. His hard work paid off when he realized his dream in the fall of 2005, the day he was informed he had made the team.

“That was one of the greatest days of my life,” according to Gove. “To make the team as a walk on and to have the opportunity to contribute as a member is a great feeling.”

He has earned high praise from his position coach. “Derek is a true Sooner,” said running backs coach Cale Gundy. “He is dedicated, on and off the field. He is a very important player for us, someone who works extremely hard.”

“Everyone is treated the same here,” Gove said. “When I came to visit OU, Merv Johnson showed us around. My family and I were very impressed with the program, facilities, and friendly atmosphere. I knew this is where I wanted to be because I would be given an opportunity to be a part of something great.”

Derek and his mother, Sue, share a deep interest in the annual Red River Rivalry football game, just from different sides of the field. The Sooner Gove grew up, cheering for his favorite team, the ones from north of the Red River. His mother, a 1978 graduate of the University of Texas business school who serves on the board of advisors for the school, is a Longhorn through and through.

“When Derek was growing up, we would always have fun with each other about who was going to win the game,” said Sue Gove. “He told me he was going to play someday in the Cotton Bowl for Oklahoma. It was a special moment when Derek's dream came true and we were able to watch him on the field at the Cotton Bowl. I am so proud of him and of everything he has accomplished.”

Not yet a full-time Sooner, she wears crimson and cream when OU plays Texas.

Gove plans to begin

work on a master's

degree and to pursue

another dream, that

of becoming a coach.

“I definitely get some stares from my Texas friends, but they understand I am supporting Derek,” she says. “Oklahoma is a great school. I am very happy he has realized his dream of playing football and going to school there.”

The future is bright for Gove. He plans to marry his high school sweetheart, Shannon Ellis, an OU psychology major, next summer, and they both will graduate in December 2009. With his communications degree in hand, Gove plans to begin work on a master's degree and to pursue another dream, that of becoming a football coach.

If there's one thing that Derek Gove has proven so far, he will achieve that dream as well because he is living proof that dreams can come true.

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Feature by Danny Sexton | OU Athletics Media Relations

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