Don Hansen's Football Gazette
Covering...
NCAA 1-AA - 1-AA Mid-Major - Division II - Division III - NAIA - NCCAA
"Persistence Pays Off For Tim Devanney"
By Bill Albright
SLIPPERY ROCK -- If Tim Devanney was a young man who would throw in the towel when faced with adversity, he more than likely have been found sitting in front of a television set, watching a football game last Saturday night.
However, subscribing to the late Jimmy Valvano's motto of "don't give up. whatever you do, don't ever give up,", Devanney was seen running pass patterns for the Shippensburg in the Red Raiders big 28-21 win over Slippery Rock Saturday night at N. Kerr Thompson Stadium.
Coming out of Mifflinburg High School, Devanney found his way to south-central Pennsylvania and Shippensburg University.
Bound and determined to do his thing immediately for the Red Raider football program, Devanney, like many other young athletes, had to pay his dues while making the transition from high school to the college game.
"It has been just basically a case of paying your dues and working through whether you are playing or whether you are not on the field," explained Devanney. "The best thing you can do is be persistent through the whole process. Most people coming into a program get red-shirted, but I had a chance to play my freshman year. It was a time to work hard and learn the system."
Following learning seasons in 2003 and 2004, Devanney was all primed to step into a starting role for Ship. But as the case has been for many young athletes, the injury "bug" bit him and he missed the entire 2005 campaign with an ACL problem.
"It was just one of those things where you knew what you had to do when you have an ACL problem," said Devanney. "When you have an ACL, it is a matter of what kind of rehab you are going to have to do and for me, I had a little bigger problem that required two surgeries. I had ACL surgery, but the scar tissue that developed caused me more problems. That meant I had to have secondary surgery, but since that time, I have been just fine."
Returning for his redshirt junior campaign this year along with fellow classmate Patrick Ferguson (also injured in 2005), both Devanney (7 catches for 235 yards and 1 TD) and Ferguson (25 catches for 721 yards and 7 TDs), found a few bumps in the road.
In their absence during the 2005 campaign, the opportunity for a couple of younger Raider receivers was there, and Howard Chavous and Mike Harris came up with solid seasons for Ship, thus setting the stage for a very competitive battle for the starting jobs in 2006.
"During camp, it was a real fun camp for us," said Devanney. "With me, Ferg and Chavous battling for time, we all think we can not only play, but make plays. All three of us have started (at times) and we just got in there and competed and so far, it has all worked out for us. All of us get on the field and that makes for a good situation."
Going into the game with The Rock, Devanney had made numerous contributions to the Red Raider success in 2006 with five receptions for 84 yards and one score. His first catch of the campaign also resulted in his only touchdown of the season when he hauled in an 8-yard scoring aerial from quarterback Tony Gomez in a 35-0 season-opening rout of Mansfield.
In Saturday's win, Devanney didn't find the end zone, but he did catch a pair of passes from Gomez for 22 yards, his second reception covering nine yards in a drive that pinned The Rock deep in its own territory to set up the game-winning drive by the Raiders.
"I wouldn't say that I am satisfied with what I have contributed thus far," Devanney said. "But tonight, the important thing is that we got the win against a pretty good Slippery Rock team. They (Slippery Rock) were 4-1 before we played them. As long as we can win the game, what I contribute to the team doesn't really matter to me."
Like any other athlete, there is life after the football field. For Devanney, that means more time in the classroom as he plans to continue his education.
"I am definitely going to go to graduate school," he said. "My long-term goal is to become a college professor, probably in the field of criminal justice or something related to that. Right now, that is what I am looking toward, but who knows, maybe I'll end up taking some other route."
Regardless of what route Tim Devanney takes when he leaves Shippensburg, one thing is certain. You can be sure that the routes he runs on the football field will be good ones with specific objectives. They are catch the ball, get to the end zone and help the team win the football game.
Copyright © 2006 by Don Hansen's National Weekly Football Gazette. All rights reserved