- There’s not much sense in trying to outrun Devin Duvernay.
- Nobody has been able to do it in college football this year, not opponents, and certainly not his teammates. The freshman wide receiver hasn’t lost a race since high school — where he fell as a junior during the Texas Relays — but even then he bounced back to win the 6A UIL 100-meter dash. Duvernay’s official time clocked in at 10.27 seconds, good for third fastest in the nation.
- Duvernay’s mouth doesn’t have anywhere near as fast a motor as his legs; he prefers to let his work on the field do the talking. But don’t mistake that for a lack of confidence.
- When sophomore wide receiver Jerrod Heard said he could beat Duvernay in a race, the latter responded with a slight chuckle, saying he would outrun Heard wearing, “spikes, flip-flops, shoes, whatever.” And when the media asked if his brother and Texas cornerback Donovan Duvernay could lock him down, Devin had a similar reply: “I don’t think anyone can cover me.”
- Few have been able to cover Duvernay since he discovered his wheels at a young age. The Sachse native shined in high school, receiving an All-American accolade once and All-State honoree twice. By the beginning of his recruitment, Duvernay was the No. 36 prospect in the nation and No. 4 player in Texas according to the 247sports composite ranking.
- “[Duvernay] is a guy that is always a deep ball threat because he’s going to just run by people,” head coach Charlie Strong said. “He is really coming on for us, and he’s really going to be an outstanding player.”
- While he now trots onto the field in burnt orange every week, Duvernay originally intended to sport Baylor green. He committed to Baylor in Feb. 2016, but left the program after Art Briles was dismissed as head coach following the University’s sexual assault scandal.
- Duvernay was once again ahead of the pack following his release, this time in search for a new school. While the rest of Baylor’s recruits had to wait for their official release from the school on June 23, Duvernay was allowed to leave 20 days earlier due to an error in the school’s filing of his letter of intent. And once he became a free agent, Duvernay became one of the most sought after commodities in college football.
- “A couple of days after I heard everything about Art, [special teams coach Jeff] Traylor was on me hard, he had some players after me,” Duvernay said. “And I got to talk to [offensive coordinator] Sterlin [Gilbert]. I felt like he was trying to turn this program around and I was interested in that. That was a big part of my decision.”
- Duvernay’s decision to come to Texas has paid dividends for the Longhorns just six games into his college career. He’s hauled in two touchdown catches in the past two weeks, and looks to be a larger focus of the Texas attack moving forward.
- Heading into Saturday’s matchup with Kansas State, Duvernay is once again outpacing expectations despite his late commitment. He has already become one of freshman quarterback Shane Buechele’s most trusted threats, and with the pair set to be in Austin for at least the next two years, Texas’ passing attack looks to be in good hands.
- “He’s grown a lot in this offense in the short time he’s been here,” Buechele said. “It’s always fun just seeing him run under the ball and seeing what he can do after the catch.”
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Duvernay flashes for Longhorn attack
October 21, 2016
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