Football has been very therapeutic in my life. Even in the grueling practices, summer two-a-days where we chugged water any chance we had to break and through a couple of injuries that were worse than simple wear and tear. It has been a place to unify where we all need it, to express ourselves when we can and consolidate the two where we don't do our best for ourselves alone, but for each other and our community, too. Our individual performances contribute to the greater cause.
My thread in the fabric of the game began on Saint Patrick's Day 1997. I was born to Harvey and Pauline Deringer in Slidell, Louisiana, a midsize town on the northeast banks of Lake Pontchartrain. I was the youngest of three after an older brother, Seymour, and an older sister, Saline. My father was a professional firefighter and my mother taught history and geography at Pope John Paul II High School, then at Marshall High in Texas. The three of us were raised in a firm Catholic teaching, as was tradition in our family and community. Reflecting back on it, we lived a fairly simple life from as far back as I can remember for a few years.
I had first gotten introduced to football up close and personal playing flag football starting when I was 7. Some of my classmates were getting involved in the local league and I insisted I play with them, too. I started out as a corner, running up against my friends and other kids in the parish. I had to look back later to see in photos we finished third, though I didn't care much at the time. I just liked playing, getting to meet other kids nearby and knowing more about my classmates' competitive sides.
Hurricane Katrina blasted our parish in 2005. My father had to stay close enough to respond once it was safe since he was with emergency services. My mother insisted he and the rest of us get out of its reach sooner rather than risk getting caught in a late panic jam. We settled for a few weeks out of the storm's path in Marshall, Texas, with my grandparents on my mother's side.
I thank God every day my mom insisted we get out early, even if it seemed ridiculous then. My father said he had never seen either anything as devastating or as dehumanizing as the fallout from the storm. Amidst assisting the search and rescue efforts, he did thankfully find quite a few alive in there. He said years after he also found his share of dead and a couple of encounters with thieves who lashed back at the rescuers.
We already had a lot of our necessities in Marshall and only returned once my father and emergency services confirmed it was safe. He confirmed there was very little to salvage out of our home, even including things we didn't need. Everything he cared to take back, he communicated a lot with my mother, and she talked with us about what was left over as well to be sure. Even if it upset me a little at the time I had lost pretty much everything I didn't bring, reflecting back, it could have been a lot worse.
Second grade year started off rough for a mix of reasons. The sudden displacement, losing what we couldn't take with us, knowing no one at school even though we had visited the city before...I remember my older siblings and parents would have to comfort me several times in the first few weeks as I came home from school crying.
My parents at least remembered how much I had loved playing flag football the year before. Despite wondering for a few days if I wanted to, I let them sign me up again. Once again, it helped open me up to the other kids to play with them, even if I didn't know any of them before. I came across a lot of my new classmates and once again had a lot of fun along with them. This time around, it made a bigger impact and helped turn around my outlook on the move. It was the first time I found a real common ground in what seemed like a foreign land to me.
Over time, I graduated up to tackle in junior high. Once we put on pads, the transition was jarring at first, especially since I had a harder time keeping up at corner. Once the coaches rotated me to linebacker, though, I had blast discovering the game all over again...until I broke a rib in 8th grade. I dove in to stuff a runner and his helmet crown connected with just the wrong area in my stomach. My season was over.
Going into high school, my parents were frightened I would get injured again. I had long since recovered from the rib fracture and, thankfully, it didn't damage my lungs. This time, I had to argue my case to keep playing. Once again, I got to play despite an interest in me sitting out. The transition to linebacker in junior high helped immensely in having to sit down and finally learn more complicated plays in Marshall's scheme.
I earned a starting spot freshman year as we won our district. I remained an understudy to upperclassmen in the rotation until halfway through junior year, when I got major game time the week after one of our rotation guys was suspended for drugs. Despite the fear I had stepping in, the linebacker corps remaining all reassured me they had my back. I felt great stepping into the role and helped us put on a crazy end-of-season swing. We were ousted in the second round of state playoffs that year.
I finally earned my first start senior year and remained a starter throughout the campaign. Sadly, it ended in round one of the playoffs. More important, though, I had helped leave a legacy left to me to continue - a legacy of nurturing the younger guys, building up their talents and helping them find their place in the team, even at our own expense. There are too many stories out there they don't tell of cutthroat ploys to get to start. We, the seniors, made it a point to make a first impression on our attitude.
"You may have been told by your families and coaches your whole lives you are special, going to do great things for this team. You may have it in your head you eventually 'deserve' the starting job you're after. The sad reality is not everyone will get to start eventually. Not everyone may even get to play to their satisfaction. You are replaceable in this team. We are replaceable. Help your backups and younger teammates so they can replace you when the time comes. We worked as hard as the rest of you to reach this point, this moment now. We have to count our fortunes that we didn't get injured, killed or discouraged. That we live where we do and have what we have. Don't lose heart if you don't get to start. Instead, take what you can and grow from that wherever you go."
I counted my fortunes as I didn't get hurt despite a couple of times where I stayed down a bit long. No concussions or breaks or twists, thankfully. In combination with my schoolwork, I had my heart set on and earned admission to the University of Texas at Austin. Once again, I had to start from the bottom and earn my place at the top, all the while not compromising what I told my teammates at Marshall. Despite the even worse cutthroat competition at Texas, I wouldn't yield and play that game.
I got my first chance to start my sophomore season, during the first game of the season against Rice. I broke my elbow halfway through and I was out for seven weeks. Once I had rehabbed, I was placed back into a reserve rotation to make sure I could still cut it. I had to work twice as hard in the offseason to dispel the specter of the injury. It paid off when I was named a starter, and I never looked back. I had my biggest games in my junior year against Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas Tech, and in my senior year, against Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State, TCU and against Oklahoma, when we won the Big 12 championship.
Once again, while it was nice to have done well on the field, it was off where I wanted to also excel should the football dream have fallen through. I earned a degree in accounting to cover getting a job. Practices in Austin were also brutal, and the coaching staff also had re-established a tradition of walking from the practice field to the stadium on game days, even in the early games where summer still lingered.
I always made it a point to ask guys to carry water, even if it annoyed them. I had heard one too many stories of heatstroke death with high school and college guys to let it go. It even happened to a high school rival I liked his freshman year of college, Ernest Werner. He underestimated how brutal Texas A&M would be, even worse than our average high school practice was. One day, he suffered a heatstroke, passed out and never woke up. I told every incoming freshman class about him until I graduated.
In my junior and senior years, despite not being able to be a big brother in my life, I had a good model from Seymour and Saline and emulated them looking after the underclassmen on our team. Football also made facing classes and doing well in them worthwhile, even in semesters where it seemed as though I would crack any second. The guys had my back, and I had theirs in turn. Even if we couldn't help too much between all of our different majors, we at least understood what it took to provide emotional support. Calm down, reassess later, realize it's not the end.
With everything settled and done here, I look forward to the DSFL Draft. I count all my blessings getting to this point, and I'm up for this new adventure to start from the bottom yet again.
(Ready to grade!)
My thread in the fabric of the game began on Saint Patrick's Day 1997. I was born to Harvey and Pauline Deringer in Slidell, Louisiana, a midsize town on the northeast banks of Lake Pontchartrain. I was the youngest of three after an older brother, Seymour, and an older sister, Saline. My father was a professional firefighter and my mother taught history and geography at Pope John Paul II High School, then at Marshall High in Texas. The three of us were raised in a firm Catholic teaching, as was tradition in our family and community. Reflecting back on it, we lived a fairly simple life from as far back as I can remember for a few years.
I had first gotten introduced to football up close and personal playing flag football starting when I was 7. Some of my classmates were getting involved in the local league and I insisted I play with them, too. I started out as a corner, running up against my friends and other kids in the parish. I had to look back later to see in photos we finished third, though I didn't care much at the time. I just liked playing, getting to meet other kids nearby and knowing more about my classmates' competitive sides.
Hurricane Katrina blasted our parish in 2005. My father had to stay close enough to respond once it was safe since he was with emergency services. My mother insisted he and the rest of us get out of its reach sooner rather than risk getting caught in a late panic jam. We settled for a few weeks out of the storm's path in Marshall, Texas, with my grandparents on my mother's side.
I thank God every day my mom insisted we get out early, even if it seemed ridiculous then. My father said he had never seen either anything as devastating or as dehumanizing as the fallout from the storm. Amidst assisting the search and rescue efforts, he did thankfully find quite a few alive in there. He said years after he also found his share of dead and a couple of encounters with thieves who lashed back at the rescuers.
We already had a lot of our necessities in Marshall and only returned once my father and emergency services confirmed it was safe. He confirmed there was very little to salvage out of our home, even including things we didn't need. Everything he cared to take back, he communicated a lot with my mother, and she talked with us about what was left over as well to be sure. Even if it upset me a little at the time I had lost pretty much everything I didn't bring, reflecting back, it could have been a lot worse.
Second grade year started off rough for a mix of reasons. The sudden displacement, losing what we couldn't take with us, knowing no one at school even though we had visited the city before...I remember my older siblings and parents would have to comfort me several times in the first few weeks as I came home from school crying.
My parents at least remembered how much I had loved playing flag football the year before. Despite wondering for a few days if I wanted to, I let them sign me up again. Once again, it helped open me up to the other kids to play with them, even if I didn't know any of them before. I came across a lot of my new classmates and once again had a lot of fun along with them. This time around, it made a bigger impact and helped turn around my outlook on the move. It was the first time I found a real common ground in what seemed like a foreign land to me.
Over time, I graduated up to tackle in junior high. Once we put on pads, the transition was jarring at first, especially since I had a harder time keeping up at corner. Once the coaches rotated me to linebacker, though, I had blast discovering the game all over again...until I broke a rib in 8th grade. I dove in to stuff a runner and his helmet crown connected with just the wrong area in my stomach. My season was over.
Going into high school, my parents were frightened I would get injured again. I had long since recovered from the rib fracture and, thankfully, it didn't damage my lungs. This time, I had to argue my case to keep playing. Once again, I got to play despite an interest in me sitting out. The transition to linebacker in junior high helped immensely in having to sit down and finally learn more complicated plays in Marshall's scheme.
I earned a starting spot freshman year as we won our district. I remained an understudy to upperclassmen in the rotation until halfway through junior year, when I got major game time the week after one of our rotation guys was suspended for drugs. Despite the fear I had stepping in, the linebacker corps remaining all reassured me they had my back. I felt great stepping into the role and helped us put on a crazy end-of-season swing. We were ousted in the second round of state playoffs that year.
I finally earned my first start senior year and remained a starter throughout the campaign. Sadly, it ended in round one of the playoffs. More important, though, I had helped leave a legacy left to me to continue - a legacy of nurturing the younger guys, building up their talents and helping them find their place in the team, even at our own expense. There are too many stories out there they don't tell of cutthroat ploys to get to start. We, the seniors, made it a point to make a first impression on our attitude.
"You may have been told by your families and coaches your whole lives you are special, going to do great things for this team. You may have it in your head you eventually 'deserve' the starting job you're after. The sad reality is not everyone will get to start eventually. Not everyone may even get to play to their satisfaction. You are replaceable in this team. We are replaceable. Help your backups and younger teammates so they can replace you when the time comes. We worked as hard as the rest of you to reach this point, this moment now. We have to count our fortunes that we didn't get injured, killed or discouraged. That we live where we do and have what we have. Don't lose heart if you don't get to start. Instead, take what you can and grow from that wherever you go."
I counted my fortunes as I didn't get hurt despite a couple of times where I stayed down a bit long. No concussions or breaks or twists, thankfully. In combination with my schoolwork, I had my heart set on and earned admission to the University of Texas at Austin. Once again, I had to start from the bottom and earn my place at the top, all the while not compromising what I told my teammates at Marshall. Despite the even worse cutthroat competition at Texas, I wouldn't yield and play that game.
I got my first chance to start my sophomore season, during the first game of the season against Rice. I broke my elbow halfway through and I was out for seven weeks. Once I had rehabbed, I was placed back into a reserve rotation to make sure I could still cut it. I had to work twice as hard in the offseason to dispel the specter of the injury. It paid off when I was named a starter, and I never looked back. I had my biggest games in my junior year against Oklahoma State, Kansas State and Texas Tech, and in my senior year, against Baylor, Texas Tech, Iowa State, TCU and against Oklahoma, when we won the Big 12 championship.
Once again, while it was nice to have done well on the field, it was off where I wanted to also excel should the football dream have fallen through. I earned a degree in accounting to cover getting a job. Practices in Austin were also brutal, and the coaching staff also had re-established a tradition of walking from the practice field to the stadium on game days, even in the early games where summer still lingered.
I always made it a point to ask guys to carry water, even if it annoyed them. I had heard one too many stories of heatstroke death with high school and college guys to let it go. It even happened to a high school rival I liked his freshman year of college, Ernest Werner. He underestimated how brutal Texas A&M would be, even worse than our average high school practice was. One day, he suffered a heatstroke, passed out and never woke up. I told every incoming freshman class about him until I graduated.
In my junior and senior years, despite not being able to be a big brother in my life, I had a good model from Seymour and Saline and emulated them looking after the underclassmen on our team. Football also made facing classes and doing well in them worthwhile, even in semesters where it seemed as though I would crack any second. The guys had my back, and I had theirs in turn. Even if we couldn't help too much between all of our different majors, we at least understood what it took to provide emotional support. Calm down, reassess later, realize it's not the end.
With everything settled and done here, I look forward to the DSFL Draft. I count all my blessings getting to this point, and I'm up for this new adventure to start from the bottom yet again.
(Ready to grade!)
[OPTION]S27: 16 GP | 164 Att, 675 Yds, 8 TD | 35 Rec, 234 Yds, | 22 PC, 3 SA
[OPTION]S28: 16 GP | 176 Att, 743 Yds, 6 TD | 38 Rec, 311 Yds, 1 TD | 34 PC, 1 SA
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]ISFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION]S24: 2 GP | 28 Att, 103 Yds, 1 TD | 4 Rec, 16 Yds, 1 TD | 3 PC
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]ISFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION]S24: 2 GP | 28 Att, 103 Yds, 1 TD | 4 Rec, 16 Yds, 1 TD | 3 PC
[OPTION]S25: 3 GP | 56 Att, 225 Yds, 1 TD | 3 Rec, 39 Yds | 3 PC
[OPTION]S28: 3 GP | 44 Att, 222 Yds, 3 TD | 9 Rec, 72 Yds | 6 PC
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S20: 14 GP | 241 Att, 1176 Yds, 14 TD | 9 Rec, 62 Yds | 10 PC, 3 SA
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]DSFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION]S20: 1 GP | 14 Att, 74 Yds, 1 TD
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]Awards and Honors:
[OPTION]Ultimus Champion: S24, S25, S28
[OPTION]ASFC Champion: S24, S25
[OPTION]DSFL Regular Season Stats
[OPTION]S20: 14 GP | 241 Att, 1176 Yds, 14 TD | 9 Rec, 62 Yds | 10 PC, 3 SA
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]DSFL Postseason Stats
[OPTION]S20: 1 GP | 14 Att, 74 Yds, 1 TD
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]Awards and Honors:
[OPTION]Ultimus Champion: S24, S25, S28
[OPTION]ASFC Champion: S24, S25
[OPTION]Ultimus Offensive Player of the Game: S28
[OPTION]NSFC Champion: S28
[OPTION]DSFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: S20
[OPTION]DSFL Pro Bowl: S20
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]Career Events
[OPTION]S20: Selected 38th overall by the Kansas City Coyotes
[OPTION]S21: Selected 32nd overall by the San Jose SaberCats
[OPTION]NSFC Champion: S28
[OPTION]DSFL Offensive Rookie of the Year: S20
[OPTION]DSFL Pro Bowl: S20
[OPTION]=======================================
[OPTION]Career Events
[OPTION]S20: Selected 38th overall by the Kansas City Coyotes
[OPTION]S21: Selected 32nd overall by the San Jose SaberCats
[OPTION]S28: Announced retirement, traded to Yellowknife Wraiths