Super dad: How TCU’s Innis Gaines balances fatherhood and football all for his son
Innis Gaines already sees the athletic genes in his 11 1/2-month-old son. And so do his TCU teammates.
Gaines struggled to contain his son, Aaiden, in the locker room before a recent photo shoot at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
“Corey Bethley is calling him a future D-end already,” Gaines said, laughing. “He’s hitting me with spin moves and juke moves.”
Fatherhood is something that Gaines has embraced since he and his girlfriend, fellow TCU student Mariah Fluellen, welcomed Aaiden Innis Gaines into the world on Aug. 12 last year in the middle of fall camp.
Fortunately the birth date fell on a Sunday, so Gaines had no issues making it.
Aaiden has brought Gaines a new sense of purpose, and has served as a source of inspiration and motivation throughout his recovery from an injury that cut short his junior season.
TCU players report for fall camp today and Gaines is more determined than ever to re-establish himself as one of the top safeties in the Big 12. He wants to write his own story of bouncing back that his son will be proud of one day.
Gaines said his dad wasn’t in his life, so he wants to be the father-figure to Aaiden that he never had growing up in a single-parent home in Beaumont.
“It’s very inspirational having a son,” Gaines said. “He teaches me patience, love, being humble, kind … just knowing he watches everything I do, pushes me to be great in every aspect of my life.
“Not having a dad growing up, it taught me a lot about becoming a man. Seeing my mom do it, she showed me a lot about what men need to do to take care of your family. Having that chance to actually be a father and do something I’ve wanted to do since I was a kid gives me joy every day.”
Those closest to Gaines see the positive impact becoming a father has had on him. His girlfriend couldn’t have asked for a better first 11-plus months with Aaiden.
Gaines is all-in when it comes to his son.
“He’s such a hands-on dad,” Fluellen said. “We were each taking 15 hours worth of classes and he always said, ‘I got you.’ He would do everything at night, so I could sleep, so he’s been very supportive.
“He always makes sure we have family time.”
Added his mom, Nichole Kirven: “He’s more grounded. I don’t really know how to explain it, but he’s a much happier person. His son lights up when he sees him, and Innis lights up too.
“This could be the best thing to happen to him at a young age. The relationship is phenomenal.”
Bouncing back
Gaines had been in the midst of an All-Big 12 caliber season last year. He’s a strong safety who can play in space and loves to hit. Just turn on the film from last year’s Ohio State game where Gaines had a career-best nine tackles, including 3.5 for loss.
Gaines had 6.5 tackles for loss through six games before a season-ending left leg injury during the Texas Tech game. Those 6.5 TFL’s still tied for fourth on the team by season’s end.
But a season-ending injury is something Gaines never experienced.
“It was a devastating injury,” said Kirven, his mom. “I watched it on TV at home and he didn’t get up. Then he called and said he needed surgery, just a heartbreaking incident. But that was his motivation to come back and be better than he was.”
Gaines described it as his first real injury. He can’t recall ever missing a game because of an injury, not during his high school days at Beaumont West Brook or early in his TCU career.
But that’s how TCU’s season went last year. A seemingly endless list of injuries knocked out star player after star player, and Gaines had to watch the final seven games on the sidelines with several other regulars.
“It’s something I can’t control, but it really showed me how much I love the game,” Gaines said. “How much it affects my life. I learned a lot of things about myself.”
That’s why Gaines ranks among the most eager in the TCU locker room to return to the field. This is a guy who emerged as the star of the 2017 Alamo Bowl with the game-sealing interception in TCU’s victory over Stanford, and carried that into his breakout start last season.
Even with Gaines’ injury, TCU still ranked as the Big 12’s top-ranked total and pass defense last season. The Frogs were at the top of those categories in 2017 as well.
Gaines believes that trend will continue in 2019 with him healthy, along with returners such as Jeff Gladney, Garret Wallow and Bethley. Not to mention Gary Patterson being one of the most respected defensive minds in the country.
“Last year was a good takeaway. We had a lot of injuries and still finished in first place,” Gaines said. “That shows a lot about Coach P and the way he sets up and the process of consistency and hard work.”
Gaines went on to say this year’s secondary is “one of the most talented I’ve ever played on.”
“We should have a great, great year,” Gaines said.
‘Super dad’
Mariah Fluellen can’t help but chuckle about how she and Gaines met.
“We met through Twitter two years ago,” she said, laughing. “I’m not the same age. I was a sophomore and he was a freshman when we met. He messaged me on Twitter to meet up and hang out, and I just ignored it. It was the last week of school and none of my friends knew of him.
“But then I purchased a puppy off Craigslist and I wasn’t sure, kind of sketchy, so I decided to have him come with me to get the puppy. He met me at the dorm parking lot, we got the puppy and it’s history from there.”
Fluellen paused and added: “Modern-day romance.”
Whatever works these days. And, hey, the puppy, Sosa, and Aaiden get along great. All has worked out.
Gaines is now focused on making the most of his final year on the field at TCU, as well as being “super dad.” It’s a heavy load, but he’s seen first-hand how to make it work through his mom.
Along with Gaines playing D-1 football, his sister, Ashlei Kirven, is playing D-1 basketball at Wichita State.
“I still don’t know how I did it all, but it got done,” said his mom, Nichole Kirven. “I look back on it now and it was hard. Thank God college is being paid for, too, because I’m still paying back my student loans.
“But my kids were motivated and, if you love it, you love it. I remember in high school Innis would be up at 2 a.m. watching videos on football, studying old players and studying quarterbacks. Who does that at 2 a.m.?”
Apparently her son.
There’s no question Gaines’ edge comes from his mother. This is someone who spent time working at a maximum security prison.
That’s not a job most want, after all, but Kirven embraced that livelihood at the Mark Stiles Unit in Beaumont, a prison that houses, among other criminals, convicted murderers.
“My dad said I couldn’t,” Kirven said of her time working at the Stiles Unit. “That’s where Innis gets it from.”
That drive to prove people wrong and follow through with one’s own desires is something Kirven -- a social worker by trade who has since relocated from Beaumont to Mesquite -- instilled in her own children. And it’s something that is evident in Gaines going into this season.
“I’m just ready to be super dad,” Gaines said.
This story was originally published August 1, 2019 at 5:59 AM.
