2013 Spartan Nation Football Profile: CB #31 Darqueze Dennard
2013 Spartan Nation Football Profile: CB #31 Darqueze Dennard
Expectation: All American CB
Height: 5’11â€
Weight: 188#
2013 Eligibility: Senior
EXP: 3 Letters
Status: All American CB
Strengths: In the 1st quarter of the Northwestern game the Wildcats had the ball with 3:25 on the clock, a 1st and ten and at their own 2 yard line. The Cats ran a dive up the middle. Dennard comes from the outside CB spot and makes the tackle behind the line of scrimmage. That is a perfect example of his skills. He is fearless. He is not even close to the biggest person on the field, but no one has a bigger heart. While most DBs run from contact, he loves it. He has a motor and he has grit. He is a football player.
Weakness: In that same Northwestern game the Cats showed Dennard a ton of respect. Dennard was lined up in man on man coverage on the outside WR. They had his WR slant inside to get Dennard off of the main target. The MSU DBs read it perfect and the safety picked it up and took Dennard’s original assignment. When the Cats swung their slant man to the outside for a bubble, Dennard comes up to make the easy tackle and blew by and missed it. How is that a weakness? Dennard is very humble and doesn’t at times get how good he really is. Had he slowed down a half of step he would have made the tackle and avoided a nice gain. He has to trust himself more to make the plays.
Final Analysis: Dennard is an elite CB that will play in the NFL. He is the best CB in the Big Ten and doesn’t get the publicity that he deserves because he isn’t about himself. He is from a wonderful family of terrific people and he is a great young man. The only thing better than his play on the field is the young man he is off of it. He is exactly what you want in a Spartan football player; a great player and a better person.
Here is a great story to show his character. After he was robbed by a terrible pass interference call that cost MSU the Nebraska game I asked him about it. He told me, “I am angrier we lost than I got that penalty. I make mistakes, people make mistakes, the focus for me was a loss.†That my friend is called character and that is from a young man, not a 60 year old. He is a class act.
I had numerous NFL people ask me about him leaving MSU early last year. He could have and he would have been picked in the draft. When I asked him late in the year if he was going to think about it? "No way. I promised my family a degree and Coach D that I would play for him for four years. My word man, I have to keep my word."
Next up: S Isaiah Lewis
