On a high school football team loaded with Division I prospects, these two players are at the top of the mountain. Brunswick High Pirates “Big Man” D’Antne Demery and Shawn Smith are two of the most highly recruited college prospects in the southeast, and both have offers from at least a dozen colleges. Demery verbally committed to playing football for the University of Georgia next year while Smith will wait until the season ends to make his final college decision. For now, both are seniors for the Brunswick High Pirates and mentors to a large contingent of future college recruits.
“They help them know what to look for and what to expect, and they help through the entire process,” Brunswick coach Larry Harold said. As mentors, Smith and Demery have to lead their teammates and teach them what will go on while they are being recruited.
“I have to set a good example,” said Smith, a 6-foot, 168-pound wide receiver with a 4.47 40-yard dash. “I do consider myself a mentor because players want to be in my shoes. They always tell me what they would do if they had the offers I have received. It makes me want to go even harder.”
His advice to future recruits is to concentrate on playing their game and to give it all they can. “Every chance you get just go hard because you could lose it at any time,” Smith said.
While Smith grabs headlines scoring touchdowns and making big plays for the Pirates, Demery is down in the trenches moving defenders out of the way. He is a 6-foot-6, 308-pound offensive left tackle and a mountain of a man-child who has been recruited since his freshman year. He has seen the good and bad side of the recruiting process and advises young players to not let it get to them. “I tell them to keep grinding and don’t let this recruiting thing get you all buzzed up,” Demery said. “Just do your thing on the field.”
The Big Man credited Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and offensive line coach Sam Pittman for guiding him toward Athens. “I just wanted to be part of something that is great,” Demery said. He had more than 20 offers and visited nearly a dozen schools before deciding to become a Bulldog. Now, he and Smart talk twice a week.
Smith has been through every phase of the recruiting process from initial contact to verbally committing to a school. He decommitted from the University of South Carolina in early October because he felt he was no longer a major part of their future plans. “I see myself playing in the spread offense, catching the ball in the open field, making defenders miss me, and scoring touchdowns,” Smith said.
At the midway point of the season, Smith had narrowed his choices down to Louisville and Mississippi State but was uncertain as to where he would eventually attend college. An elusive runner when he gets in the open, coaches will find ways to get the ball in his hands in the next few years.
Demery is surprisingly athletic for such a big man. He has outstanding footwork and speed for an offensive lineman. He is so athletic that he once did a backflip on a trampoline when he weighed 315 pounds. Brunswick radio announcers jokingly refer to the holes he creates for running backs as “Highway 77” because of the Big Man’s jersey number. In the classroom he holds a 3.1 GPA and is a quiet leader. “I’m a nice person when you get to know me,” Demery said.
Although they are being sought by colleges from around the country, both are enjoying their time as high school students and players. Georgia coaches encouraged Demery to just be a high school student and to deal with college when it’s time. Demery and Smith will always recall the fans, the coaches, and the brotherhoods they formed with their teammates. Smith says he will also remember playing against arch-rival Glynn Academy every year for the Brunswick City Championship.
Smith also tries to lead by example. A humble young man and hard worker, he doesn’t allow outside matters to distract him. Smith and Demery talk to each other every day and give one another advice and share stories of recruiting trips. Of course Demery has tried to talk Smith into attending Georgia with him next year, but so far he has not been successful. “You never know what could happen,” Smith said, laughing.
Brunswick has been known for producing top-caliber college players over the past few years, including current NFL players Justin Coleman, who played at Tennessee, and Darius Slay, who was a standout defensive back at Mississippi State. Demery and Smith are the stars of this year’s class, but the Pirates have a junior class that is already standing out.
“The class of 2018 is loaded,” Harold said. “It will have 35 seniors, one of the biggest senior classes Brunswick has ever had.” Among the up and coming Pirate players are major college prospects Sharrod Frazier, Kam Futch, Jaylen Jackson, Rudy Nixon, Kalvin Godette, Shawn Ward, Aubrey Williams, Jamarius Stevens, DJ Whitfield, and sophomore Warren McClendon, who has already received five SEC offers. All of them should be well prepared for the recruiting process with the help of the two Pirates seniors.
ITG Web Content
Leading The Way
Written by Rob Asbell
Photo by Michael Brinson
