Growing up in the small East Texas town of Arp, Dallas Cowboys linebacker DeMarvion Overshown has talked about how there weren’t many idols to look up to when he was a kid. On the town’s Wikipedia page, only three names show up under the “notable people” category: former University of Houston head basketball coach and Basketball Hall of Fame member Guy Lewis, oil tycoon Joe B. Foster and Overshown.
So, when idols come around, they make an impact. For Overshown, that happened to be Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes.
While he calls Arp home and has grown up there for most of his life, Overshown attended elementary school in nearby Whitehouse, where Mahomes was coming up as a star quarterback for the Wildcats’ high school team.
“The varsity football players would come to the elementary and see the kids,” Overshown said. “Pat was actually in high school, and there were times when he would come to the elementary.”
Not only was he the star quarterback, he was also family of a friend. Jackson Mahomes — the younger brother of Patrick who has made a name for himself on social media — was in the same class as Overshown, along with another family member.
“His brother, Jackson, and his cousin, Emma, we were all in the same class,” he said. “I grew up with them, I know the Mahomes real well, that family real well. When I was doing combine interviews, I said it’d be a dream to play against him or play with him. I get to play against him, so it’ll be fun. East Texas going at it.”
The two haven’t reconnected since those days when Mahomes was a prep star and Overshown was still learning his multiplication tables, but he said he is looking forward to meeting him in the backfield.
“As far as formally sitting down and talking, we haven’t done that,” he said. “It’ll be good to hear from him during the game when I’m chasing him around.”
As the two star players from East Texas, Overshown is excited to be on display alongside one of the NFL’s best in what could be billed as the East Texas Super Bowl, for all intents and purposes.
“I got to [sack him], it’s mandatory,” Overshown said. “East Texas has been talking about it since the schedule popped up. It’s 903 [the cellular area code in East Texas], we’re going at it. Somebody’s got to win.”