FORT VALLEY, Ga. — One player drafted to the NFL may not be from Central Georgia, but the area set the foundation for him to do great things.
Kyle Dugger is a Decatur, Georgia native, but he remembers spending hot summers in Fort Valley growing up.
"I'd be running around, throw em up, bust em up. One-v-one with my boy, Mariay. I haven't seen him in a long time, but we use to play in the field right outside my grandparent's house in the church field," Dugger said.
He spent those summers in The Valley because of his mom's roots.
Kim Oates Dugger grew up in Peach County and was a phenomenal basketball player at Fort Valley State University.
"That's my foundation. Fort Valley State University is my foundation. I certainly would not be where I am today if it had not been for Fort Valley State," Oates Dugger said.
She played under Georgia Sports Hall of Fame coach Lonnie Bartley and had a hall of fame career.
Oates Dugger averaged a double-double all four years and finished with over 2,000 points. She attributes it all to outworking her opponent.
"I was always a worker, work ethic. People would be sleeping I would be working. Getting up at 6 a.m. in the morning running behind the ROTC. That was my wake up my call," Dugger said.
She passed the same mentality to her son Kyle. Who, after being snubbed by bigger schools, attended Lenoir-Rhyne University. All he did was ball out. In four years, he compiled more than 200 tackles, 10 interceptions and was named the best defensive player in Division II his senior year.
"To be in a family where she put in so much work and be able to represent the same last name and have the opportunity to do things similar, accomplish goals similar to what she was able to do is huge," Dugger said.
On April 24, in the second round, pick 37, Dugger was selected by the New England Patriots in the NFL Draft. He said it's one of the best feelings he's ever felt.
"It's similar to first Christmas and you get all the presents you ever wanted and you wake up the next morning like did I really get them and you run in the room and go see all of them again," Dugger said.
So just like his mom, who's name is hallowed on the court at Fort Valley State, he'll etch his own legacy under the bright lights of the NFL stage.
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