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DeVall, Garcia Set To Lead Defense

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By ADAM ADKINS

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 4, 2008

PLANT CITY - Durant suffered a big blow with the loss to graduation of its captain and team leader, but Austin DeVall and Ruben Garcia are ready to fill the void.

That's a good thing, too, considering DeVall, a senior defensive lineman, and Garcia, a junior linebacker, are standouts on the Cougars' defense, which returns several starters and is considered the strength this year.

The tag-team effort by DeVall and Garcia is just fine to Coach Mike Gottman, who has seen tremendous leadership qualities in each player.

"No doubt about it," Gottman said. "Austin is the mainstay of that front. I think he's going to lead by example. I've challenged him to be more vocal and be a vocal leader up front there and get people excited about playing around him. Ruben is kind of a quiet kid. He needs to get more vocal and aggressive."

"They've got a ways to go, but they bust their butts and they get after it in every drill, every sprint and everything they do. I'm just trying to get them to inspire the guys around them."

Both players are ready to heed their coach's advice and instruction, and realize filling the leadership role could be among their biggest contributions this year.

"I think this is going to be a good position for me," DeVall said. "I think I am someone they can respect because I work as hard as I can."

Added Garcia: "I kind of feel like that in a way. I know I used to never step up and be a leader. I was never the one to be that vocal. I would just do my thing and do what I needed to do for the team. But I guess since Eric Councill left, after watching him and seeing him, I learned a lot from him and I'm trying to take in what he was doing and what he did the whole time in his past and just try to take it from there."

That doesn't mean they can't make an impact with their skill as well. Gottman is certainly counting on that.

DeVall will again be at end, a position he moved to in 2007 after being at quarterback his first two seasons. DeVall has bulked up this offseason in the weight room and has increased his speed, Gottman said, which should help increase his production in 2008. DeVall had two sacks in 2007.

"He has a lot of speed compared to a lot of other linemen, coming from a quarterback his freshman and sophomore year. I knew he had the size to do something else. Once he moved to D-line I think he was a big upgrade speedwise. He's been working hard in the weight room and just really picking up everything. Lately he's gotten a lot more physical on the line and is really standing out," Garcia said of his teammate.

Garcia, who led the secondary with 38 tackles from strong safety in 2007, will move to linebacker this year.

"He's physical. He's a big physical player. He lays the wood," DeVall said of his teammate. "He's one of the hardest hitters on the team, easily. I think he's just going to be knocking people out the next two years. He hit me once, and I felt it for like a week. I think that's one of his biggest things. If he hits you, you're going to feel it."

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