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McAllister's Play Speaks For Itself

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By KATHERINE SMITH

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 24, 2008

TAMPA - Chances are you see Demonte McAllister before you hear him.

He's hard to miss. The Alonso defensive lineman's bulking 6-foot-3, 250-pound frame stands out in a crowd, especially on the football field.

"That's where everything comes out," said McAllister's mother, Katina Daniels. "He does his talking on the football field, but in a good way."

There's a reason McAllister's the shy, silent type. At a very early age, doctors discovered a cyst on his vocal chords, which led to a raspy voice.

"People used to call him 'Froggy,' like the kid from "The Little Rascals," Daniels said. "So he wouldn't talk because he didn't want people to make fun of him."

McAllister's voice returned to normal after the benign tumor was removed, but he kept the shy demeanor.

The defensive tackle, part of The Tampa Tribune's "Nine Lives" series focusing on the top recruits in Hillsborough County, may be tight lipped, but that hasn't stopped a lot of college coaches from talking about him. One of the USC coaches recruiting McAllister proclaimed him the best three-technique player they've seen in the country.

"And you know USC sees everybody in the country," Alonso assistant coach/recruiting coordinator Kevin Diez said.

USC is one of 27 Division I programs to offer McAllister a scholarship. He has whittled the list down to his top nine, which includes the Trojans, defending national champion LSU and FSU.

The Seminoles have been a favorite of McAllister since he was a kid. The feeling is mutual if a recent unofficial visit to the Tallahassee campus is any indication. Mobbed like a rock star, students were asking for his autograph.

"Somehow, someone got my phone number and called me," McAllister said. "They've also left messages on my MySpace page telling me I should go to FSU."

The phone calls have become so frequent that McAllister won't answer if it's an area code outside of Tampa. The mail's also been abundant.

"He might as well have his own mailbox," Daniels said. "There's so many letters from colleges I joke with the mailman sometimes and ask him, 'can I please get a bill?'"

The deluge began pretty much as soon as McAllister asserted himself on the Alonso football team, which occurred after the coaching staff figured out what to do with him.

"His first year, we put him at fullback on junior varsity," Diez said. "His first play from scrimmage, he takes it 80 yards right up the middle and never stopped. We kind of looked at each other and said, 'now what do we do?' Boneheads that we are, we left him on JV."

When McAllister finally moved up to varsity for a playoff game against Wharton, he made a play to solidify his spot on varsity.

"He goes and breaks the starting quarterback's arm on a blitz," Diez said. "We knew we had something special."

He's been that way since birth. McAllister bounded into the world weighing 8 pounds and two ounces and was 221/2 inches long.

Throughout the pregnancy, McAllister's feet were wedged against his mother's rib cage, causing his feet to turn sideways. For two years, he had to wear braces to correct the problem.

The oldest of four raised by a single mother, McAllister assumed man-of-the-house duties at an early age. When his mother was recently diagnosed with epilepsy, McAllister took on even more duties. But you'll never hear him complain.

"I know it scared him when I first started having seizures, but he never said anything," Daniels said. "He just started cooking and now he's teaching his younger brothers and sister how to cook."

The impact Daniels has had on McAllister can be seen by offensive linemen he stiff arms and some quarterbacks too - well, the ones that actually see him coming.

The name Katina, tattooed in black ink, takes up his entire right forearm. He got it on his 18th birthday in February. Daniels joked that the tattoo officially made him a "mama's boy," but McAllister doesn't mind that moniker.

"She's such a big part of my life," McAllister said. "My mom's been through so much I wanted to show how much I loved her."

And as usual, it was more important for McAllister to show it through actions, not just words.

Reporter Katherine Smith can be reached at (813) 259-7860 or ksmith@tampatrib.com.

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