Dontavius Russell recognized for value

[aubiefifty 18,117]

247sports.com

Senior DT Dontavius Russell recognized for value on Auburn Tigers defensive line

BySam Hellman

3-4 minutes

 

 

Manage

Every top college football team has the one or two guys that get almost all of the attention. Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham certainly deserves his share of the headlines after what he accomplished last season. But it takes a lot more than a quarterback to make a top program, and the Tigers have underappreciated and underrated players that work just as hard.

For Auburn, no player is more underappreciated than defensive lineman Dontavius Russell, according to ESPN.

“You'd think a 6-foot-3, 320-pound lineman with the quickness of Dontavius Russell would get more attention, but to be fair Auburn's defensive line is loaded,” ESPN writes. “Still, the senior nose guard deserves credit not just for anchoring one of the best lines in the country, but also doing his fair share of getting after it with 6.5 tackles for loss and three sacks last season.”

Underappreciated may be the perfect label for Russell given the nature of the nose guard position in college football. Russell has 37 games and 40 starts heading into his senior year under Gus Malzahn, but has never been a big stat guy. The stats go to other roles on the defensive line while Russell eats space inside at 6-foot-3, 320 pounds. Players like Nick Coe, Marlon Davidson and Derrick Brown project for big years on the defensive line just like Russell.

Russell red-shirted during the 2014 season after signing with the Tigers as a four-star recruit in the 247Sports Composite rankings. Russell was one of Auburn's top gets in a 2014 class that ranked sixth in the nation. He checked in as the nation’s No. 12 defensive tackle as a senior at Carrollton (Ga.) High. Over the last three seasons, Russell has 117 career tackles, 11 TFLs, five pass deflections and 4.5 sacks.

While Russell may not get enough respect given the nature of his position, film does not lie. Russell one of the best returning SEC players according to PFF College. Russell clearly has the respect of the locker room as last season’s Lineman of the Year. He earned an 83.2 grade last season. Russell has been hard at work looking for a impact fifth year. He jumped from 310 to 320 pounds in the offseason.

With an anchor like Russell and other veterans like Brown, Auburn expects an even better season in the trenches.

“I think we can be more dominant than we were last year," Brown said. “Every single day Coach G (Rodney Garner) just tells us when we come in the room to try to pick a certain area and try to improve on it. When you come out to practice, yeah, he’s yelling and fussing, but at the end of the day, you’ve got to choose to basically to be a man about things and not take it to heart and take it as corrective criticism."

247Sports

[McLoofus 35,182]

Guilty. I spend a lot of time thinking about our DL and I never give this guy the credit he deserves.

Maybe I'll make it up to him and make him my man crush this year if he's not already spoken for. 

[aubiefifty 18,117]

32 minutes ago, McLoofus said:

Guilty. I spend a lot of time thinking about our DL and I never give this guy the credit he deserves.

Maybe I'll make it up to him and make him my man crush this year if he's not already spoken for. 

i believe he is number five. i love watching him roll over qb's when they are tackled/ he always tries to get that shot in before the whistle blows...........

[McLoofus 35,182]

15 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

i believe he is number five. i love watching him roll over qb's when they are tackled/ he always tries to get that shot in before the whistle blows...........

Need more of that. Not necessarily Nick Fairley levels of drawing attention to yourself, but just playing through the whistle. I think we're headed in the right direction. 

[bigbird 60,926]

48 minutes ago, aubiefifty said:

i believe he is number five. i love watching him roll over qb's when they are tackled/ he always tries to get that shot in before the whistle blows...........

#5 is Derrick Brown

[aubiefifty 18,117]

1 hour ago, bigbird said:

#5 is Derrick Brown

ok.........mr brown is one of my fav players...........i nicnamed him roly poly cus he rolls over the qb's when they are down to let them know he says hello. lol   and no i do not think he is trying to hurt anyone.