It was the most basic of moments that hit Tre’vonn Rybka hardest when he arrived at Kentucky as a freshman defensive lineman. A teammate’s phone would ring, and in a typical teenager response a sigh of exasperation might follow. “When I got to college it really started bothering me,” Rybka said. “Just seeing people’s mom calling them to just kind of check in on them. I’m just like, ‘Dang.’ Some people would be like, ‘Mom, I’m busy, I’ll call you back.’ “It kind of hurt.” Rybka had long ago stopped waiting for one of those check-in calls from his own mother.
Home Customer Service Stay Connected Read today’s Edition Best of Lexington News Sports Dining & Entertainment Opinion Obituaries Sports Betting Shopping/Reviews Press Releases Sponsored Content Classifieds Place an Ad – Celebrations Search Jobs Search Legal Notices Advertising UK FOOTBALL This Kentucky senior has found his passion. ‘I know I’m more than a football player now.’ BY JON HALE AUGUST 02, 2024 6:45 AM Kentucky football coach Mark Stoops speaks to the media after the Wildcats’ Spring Game on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at Kroger Field in Lexington. Because of injuries, UK held a practice instead of a full scrimmage. BY JOHN CLAY| UK ATHLETICS It was the most basic of moments that hit Tre’vonn Rybka hardest when he arrived at Kentucky as a freshman defensive lineman. A teammate’s phone would ring, and in a typical teenager response a sigh of exasperation might follow. “When I got to college it really started bothering me,” Rybka said. “Just seeing people’s mom calling them to just kind of check in on them. I’m just like, ‘Dang.’ Some people would be like, ‘Mom, I’m busy, I’ll call you back.’ “It kind of hurt.” Rybka had long ago stopped waiting for one of those check-in calls from his own mother. She lost custody of Rybka and his older sister, Maya, as she battled addiction struggles when Rybka was just an infant. With the threat of the two siblings being split up in the foster care system looming, Maya’s grandparents on her father’s side took both children in even though Tre’vonn had a different father. Eventually Elaine and Ricky Newsom, who Rybka refers to as his grandparents, formally adopted him. “They didn’t sugarcoat anything,” Rybka said. “They let me know what the situation was at a young age. It was kind of hard to process that as a kid. They didn’t tell me everything, but it’s kind of been on my mind since I was a little kid. Especially just my mom popping up sometimes, then she’d leave. That would always be the hardest thing for me.”
Football became an outlet for Rybka. Power Five scholarship offers began to pour in as Rivals.com rated him as a four-star prospect as a senior at Dickson County High School in Tennessee. There were no shortage of late nights spent in the Dickson County field house for an extra workout as he chose to focus on his future rather than his present and past. After arriving at Kentucky, Rykba shared his story with a few trusted teammates and coaches but kept things close to the vest publicly.
Then Rybka met Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass President Chris Peck at a Christmas party. When Peck introduced himself and explained his job, Rybka immediately took notice. His plan had always been to make it to the NFL where he could earn enough money to start his own foundation and help kids who faced similar hardships, but Peck offered a more immediate path to that goal. Peck hired Rybka as his intern for the 2024 spring semester and began bringing the senior defensive lineman to various Big Brothers Big Sisters events.
When the internship ended, Rybka kept coming back. That experience helped him decide as he enters his fifth season at Kentucky he was finally ready to share his story publicly. “I just feel like I’m a vessel, doing my work,” Rybka told the Herald-Leader in a one-on-one interview on the eve of UK’s preseason camp. “I’m just playing the hand I was dealt, in a way. “No matter what the odds are, you can be whatever you want to be. A person like me comes from a mother, a drug addict, is adopted, not having the best upbringing, most of the time that statistically doesn’t pan out well for that individual, but me, I’m defying the odds, showing kids you can just find something and stick with it. It doesn’t have to be football. If you’re an artist, be an artist. I just want kids to know to be an outlet, to have an outlet. Find a way to express yourself through something you love but also have an identity. With Big Brothers and Big Sisters, I know I’m more than a football player now.”
THIS IS MY SOURCE FOR EVERYTHING’ At 6-foot-4, Rybka was easily typecast as the athlete as a teenager. If you had asked him what hobbies he had outside of football when he arrived at UK, the answer would have been simple. None.
Doing everything I’ve done, I know what I want to do after football,” Rybka said. “I am a football player, yes, but that is just a part of me, a chapter in my life. I know football will end one day, but just kind of knowing what that next step is will only make me go harder. It kind of makes me more comfortable in a way and more focused. It’s like a relief off your shoulders.” While an NFL salary would certainly make life easier and help him with his post-football goals, Rybka has realized he does not need that money to make an impact. “I think Tre’vonn is an outstanding human being,” Peck said. “He is like a lot of football players: He has this tough persona, but when you get him in a room full of kids it’s like he lights up. You can just tell, one, he knows his presence is a big deal to them and, two, he almost can put himself in their shoes and imagine what it would have been like to be visited by a UK football player and for that person to want to spend time with them.
THE SUN WILL COME OUT’ To be clear, the NFL is still Rybka’s goal though
Home Customer Service Stay Connected Read today’s Edition Best of Lexington News Sports Dining & Entertainment Opinion Obituaries Sports Betting Shopping/Reviews Press Releases Sponsored Content Classifieds Place an Ad – Celebrations Search Jobs Search Legal Notices Advertising LIMITED-TIME $5/3 months SAVE UK FOOTBALL This Kentucky senior has found his passion. ‘I know I’m more than a football player now.’ BY JON HALE AUGUST 02, 2024 6:45 AM It was the most basic of moments that hit Tre’vonn Rybka hardest when he arrived at Kentucky as a freshman defensive lineman. A teammate’s phone would ring, and in a typical teenager response a sigh of exasperation might follow. “When I got to college it really started bothering me,” Rybka said. “Just seeing people’s mom calling them to just kind of check in on them. I’m just like, ‘Dang.’ Some people would be like, ‘Mom, I’m busy, I’ll call you back.’ “It kind of hurt.” Rybka had long ago stopped waiting for one of those check-in calls from his own mother. She lost custody of Rybka and his older sister, Maya, as she battled addiction struggles when Rybka was just an infant. With the threat of the two siblings being split up in the foster care system looming, Maya’s grandparents on her father’s side took both children in even though Tre’vonn had a different father. Eventually Elaine and Ricky Newsom, who Rybka refers to as his grandparents, formally adopted him. “They didn’t sugarcoat anything,” Rybka said. “They let me know what the situation was at a young age. It was kind of hard to process that as a kid. They didn’t tell me everything, but it’s kind of been on my mind since I was a little kid. Especially just my mom popping up sometimes, then she’d leave. That would always be the hardest thing for me.” There were bumps along the road in Rybka’s relationship with his grandparents — “But it’s stable now, it’s good,” he said — and his relationship with his mother was further complicated as she had more children. He leaned hard on his sister, Maya, and bonded with his younger siblings who lived in Nashville. Football became an outlet for Rybka. Power Five scholarship offers began to pour in as Rivals.com rated him as a four-star prospect as a senior at Dickson County High School in Tennessee. There were no shortage of late nights spent in the Dickson County field house for an extra workout as he chose to focus on his future rather than his present and past. After arriving at Kentucky, Rykba shared his story with a few trusted teammates and coaches but kept things close to the vest publicly. Working as an intern for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass sparked a passion for UK football defensive lineman Tre’vonn Rybka. Jordan Prather USA TODAY NETWORK Then Rybka met Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Bluegrass President Chris Peck at a Christmas party. When Peck introduced himself and explained his job, Rybka immediately took notice. His plan had always been to make it to the NFL where he could earn enough money to start his own foundation and help kids who faced similar hardships, but Peck offered a more immediate path to that goal. Peck hired Rybka as his intern for the 2024 spring semester and began bringing the senior defensive lineman to various Big Brothers Big Sisters events. When the internship ended, Rybka kept coming back. That experience helped him decide as he enters his fifth season at Kentucky he was finally ready to share his story publicly. “I just feel like I’m a vessel, doing my work,” Rybka told the Herald-Leader in a one-on-one interview on the eve of UK’s preseason camp. “I’m just playing the hand I was dealt, in a way. “No matter what the odds are, you can be whatever you want to be. A person like me comes from a mother, a drug addict, is adopted, not having the best upbringing, most of the time that statistically doesn’t pan out well for that individual, but me, I’m defying the odds, showing kids you can just find something and stick with it. It doesn’t have to be football. If you’re an artist, be an artist. I just want kids to know to be an outlet, to have an outlet. Find a way to express yourself through something you love but also have an identity. With Big Brothers and Big Sisters, I know I’m more than a football player now.” Kentucky Wildcats defensive lineman Tre’vonn Rybka (90) has played in 36 games with 13 starts across four seasons at Kentucky. Silas Walker Herald-Leader File Photo ‘THIS IS MY SOURCE FOR EVERYTHING’ At 6-foot-4, Rybka was easily typecast as the athlete as a teenager. If you had asked him what hobbies he had outside of football when he arrived at UK, the answer would have been simple. None. “I think if I was brought up with two parents I don’t think I’d be where I am today,” he said. “This is my source for everything.” As Rybka has blossomed on the field — he totaled 27 tackles with five tackles for loss and one sack while starting four of 13 games last season — his perspective off it has shifted. As a child his goal to reach the NFL was directly tied to the desire to “get my mom cleaned up,” but he has come to realize many things are out of his control. Rybka has not seen his mother in person “in awhile,” but they do occasionally text or talk when she is with one of his younger siblings. “As an adult, it’s just build a relationship with her,” he said. “Regardless of what everybody has told me, I want to figure out who she is for myself. You kind of grow up hearing stories, good and bad. It’s kind of like trying to piece puzzles together. Trying to meet her over time, trying to think about who she really is.” It’s that perspective that made Rybka such an asset to Big Brothers Big Sisters, the nation’s largest donor and volunteer supported mentoring network. “We always say it’s great when we place a kid with any mentor, but it really doesn’t become truly life changing a lot of times until we’ve matched them culturally with someone that really understands their plight and their circumstances,” Peck said. “So, when Tre’vonn sits down and talks to a kid that’s dealing with the death of a parent or family incarceration, he knows what’s going through their mind and he knows how to encourage them in a way that I cannot.” Peck quickly realized Rybka had almost no experience in a professional setting, so he made sure to involve him in meetings with community leaders. Rybka served as an ambassador for the program within the UK athletics department, helping explain to other athletes how they might help. And he met directly with the children Big Brothers Big Sisters served. “Doing everything I’ve done, I know what I want to do after football,” Rybka said. “I am a football player, yes, but that is just a part of me, a chapter in my life. I know football will end one day, but just kind of knowing what that next step is will only make me go harder. It kind of makes me more comfortable in a way and more focused. It’s like a relief off your shoulders.” While an NFL salary would certainly make life easier and help him with his post-football goals, Rybka has realized he does not need that money to make an impact. “I think Tre’vonn is an outstanding human being,” Peck said. “He is like a lot of football players: He has this tough persona, but when you get him in a room full of kids it’s like he lights up. You can just tell, one, he knows his presence is a big deal to them and, two, he almost can put himself in their shoes and imagine what it would have been like to be visited by a UK football player and for that person to want to spend time with them. “It’s just been great for me to see Tre’vonn go from, ‘I may want to work with kids,’ to finding his passion.” Kentucky Wildcats defensive lineman Tre’vonn Rybka (90) says he plays football for his five siblings, Maya, Toni, Malachi, Nehemiah and Nazare. Brian Simms bsimms@herald-leader.com ‘THE SUN WILL COME OUT’ To be clear, the NFL is still Rybka’s goal though. He enters the 2024 season as a key piece of a UK defensive line that was decimated by injuries during spring practice. Playing next to projected first-round pick Deone Walker, there should be plenty of opportunities to gain the notice of NFL scouts. Rybka is approaching his senior season with the same mindset he had in high school — “If you’re good, they’ll come find you,” he said — but he knows this season could be critical for his future. In November he will have the chance to participate in UK’s Senior Day festivities before what could be his final home game as a Wildcat. Asked which family members he would like to have alongside him for that ceremony, Rybka paused, acknowledging he had not considered the possibility yet.
His sister will be there for sure. His grandparents as well. “I’m just grateful because at the end of the day regardless of the hardships we’ve had and the disconnections and stuff, they took me in when they didn’t have to,” he said. “I’ll forever be thankful for them. They raised me, stopped their life for 18 years, gave a part to me when I wasn’t blood.” In what is sure to be an emotional day, Rybka’s mind will likely also shift to his younger brother, Malachi. While they did not live together growing up, they saw each other frequently and developed a close bond.
In June, Malachi, who shared the Rybka last name with Maya and Tre’vonn, was killed in a shooting in a Nashville apartment. He was 18 years old. “That was my best friend,” Tre’vonn said. “One of the last things we really talked about was how we are the only Rybkas, how unique our last name is. … So it’s kind of sincere to me, being a Rybka, carrying that on.”
With the grief of his brother’s death still raw, Rybka is trying to focus on the future again. He is no stranger to heartache. Playing through the pain has become old habit at this point. But Rybka’s story does not begin or end on the football field. “I’ve got a drive when I step on the field,” he said. “Yes, my mom and everything I’ve been through, but it’s more so I’ve got five siblings out here. We’re all we’ve got. That’s really what I think about: my siblings, my niece, my nephew, all my family. I just think about them when I come on the field, so I think that makes me a better player. Just having something, that extra. “… I just want people to know no matter what you’ve been through, no matter what you’re going through, at the end of the day, the rain is going to stop, the sun will come out. You’ve just got to keep going. Just go full tilt at your dreams, don’t let nobody tell you that you can’t.
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