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Ruff wins over star recruit and mom
By
Sammy Batten
©2015 Bonesville.net
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Brian Foster has worked at Southern
Nash High School in Bailey, NC, for so long he's coaching the children
of his former athletes.
One of those is the latest star
football player for the FireBirds and newest member of East Carolina's
recruiting Class of 2016.
Southern Nash's Tahj Deans, a
6-foot-2, 180-pound wide receiver, became the second high school player
to make a verbal commitment to ECU's 2016 class on Tuesday after
returning from an unofficial visit to campus last weekend. Deans made
the trip to Greenville with his mother, Shavonnie, and both were sold on
the Pirates after a face-to-face meeting with ECU head coach Ruffin
McNeill.
“Coach McNeill is such a real,
genuine person,'' Deans said Wednesday. “He reminds me of Coach Foster
because he's like a second dad to so many kids on campus. I love being
around a coach like that.''
That's quite a compliment for McNeill
since Deans has been around Foster almost since birth.
Foster actually coached Shavonnie in
track and field at Southern Nash and he's been tracking Tahj's progress
on the football field since his youth-league days.
“Shavonnie was a middle distance
runner for us,'' Foster said. “We had a really good track team back
then, and we won a lot of conference and regional championships when she
was here.
“Tahj has played in our youth program
here since he was 7. I've known him since he was a baby. He's a talented
kid and pretty much has been his whole life. It's been fun watching him
grow and mature.''
Deans saw limited action on the
Southern Nash varsity as a freshman before landing a starting job at
wide receiver and safety as a sophomore. He made 19 catches for 308
yards and three touchdowns on offense in the FireBirds' run-oriented
Wing-T offense, while also collecting 42 tackles and two interceptions
on defense.
The Rocky Mount Telegram newspaper
named Deans to its 2014 All-Area squad on defense after he made 63
tackles and three picks as a junior. He also grabbed 21 receptions for
348 yards and three scores.
The talent Deans displayed in his
first two varsity seasons at Southern Nash caught the attention of not
only the Pirates, but Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Virginia Tech
and Wake Forest as well. All those schools offered him scholarships, and
the Demon Deacons made a strong play for his services during an
on-campus visit the weekend before he came to Greenville.
But Deans chose instead to attend ECU
and pursue a football career, which wasn't always his intent. He
originally fancied himself a basketball player, and has indeed been a
good one for the FireBirds since joining the varsity as a sophomore.
Deans averaged 9.6 points and 6.4 rebounds as a junior on the hardcourt.
“As a kid, I'll be honest, I really
wasn't the type to play football,'' Deans said. “I thought I'd be more
of a basketball player. I didn't like the contact and all that (in
football). But I had some older family members in the pee wee tackle
leagues who told me, 'Hey man, you're tall for your age and that'll help
you in football.'
“So I started with flag football,
then made the decision to go ahead and try tackle football later. Since
then, everything has just taken off.''
Deans is following in some pretty
imposing family footsteps on the football field. His father, DeAngelo,
played NCAA Division II football in Georgia and his cousin is none other
than former North Carolina All-American and NFL All-Pro defensive end
Julius Peppers.
Peppers doesn't come home often, and
when he does he never makes a big deal of it.
“When he comes home it's pretty
quiet,'' Deans said. “You wouldn't even know he's here unless you drive
by his Dad's house and see him there, or he drops by to see Coach Foster
at the school.''
Like his famous cousin, Deans has
displayed a knack for playing great defense at Southern Nash. In fact,
Foster came up with two defensive gems turned in by Deans last season as
the best examples of the type of athlete who'll be joining the Pirates.
“He had an interception against
(Wilson) Fike that was a very big deal for us,'' Foster said. “He came
from a long distance to get to the ball, and we ended up beating them in
a big game at the time for us.
“Then we played Swansboro in the
state playoffs. He came out of nowhere to make a one-handed
interception. It looked like he was playing center field in baseball
instead of football.''
The Pirates have committed to using
Deans at receiver to start his college career. By the time he arrives on
campus in the fall of 2016, Deans hopes to be ready to compete for
playing time very quickly.
“You throw it and I'll go get it,''
Deans said in describing his style as a receiver. “I think I can do a
combination of things. I can go get the deep ball, but then again if you
need a short, fast route, I can do that, too.''
Deans is the second high school
player to join ECU's Class of 2016. He follows
Raleigh
Millbrook quarterback Reid Herring, who committed back on
April 18.
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05/07/2015 03:03 AM |
