Tommy DeVito Should Be Commended for Post Benching Approach
It is never easy being benched. Especially in major collegiate or professional sports. Everyone wants to play. That is why how one responds to a benching can say a lot about a person. Unlike other positions in football, quarterback is one where, generally, there is only one who plays. Other positions can rotate a bit so that some backups will see the field. That is usually not the case with quarterbacks.
Enter the Tommy DeVito and Garrett Shrader situations. As they went back and forth in the first three games, most expected DeVito to start game four against Liberty. Then came the surprise news that Shrader was getting the start, and he has played well enough to warrant remaining the starter.
There is no question that is not an easy situation for DeVito, who had been the guy the last two seasons, to handle. It would have been easy to become frustrated and immediately decide to enter the transfer portal. The portal has certainly allowed players to exercise that option. Instead, DeVito took a different approach.
"I could've easily gone two ways with it,” DeVito said in an interview with Brent Axe on ESPN Radio. “I could've easily just went into my shell and been like, ‘OK, I’m done, screw this. I’m not dealing with it, I’m done with the team.’ I wanted to be that guy to stay a part of the team."
In fact, DeVito referred to Alabama as motivation for how to handle a difficult situation.
"Going back and looking at the whole Tua, Jalen Hurts situation and how he handled it, that was kind of a role model in a sense for it as far as being a teammate and being that guy," DeVito said. "Same way that Tua and Jalen handled it. Tua went down in one game and Jalen came up. That's what it is, that’s the game. Injuries happen. Everything happens. So you never know when your number's going to be called."
Being a good teammate and putting others first is often easier said than done after being benched. Especially as a multi-year starter previously. Tommy, however, is both saying it and doing it. It also removes a distraction for the team to allow his teammates to focus on playing.
Devito could have easily stuck it out while also making press appearances venting sessions. He has not done that. Tommy's response, reaction and attitude toward arguably the most challenging time of his football career speaks to his maturity and character.
