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University of Minnesota Athletics
Player's Perspective - Deon Hightower
7/9/2008 12:00:00 AM | Football
GopherSports.com had the opportunity to sit down and have a conversation with senior linebacker Deon Hightower on July 9, about three weeks before the opening of fall camp. Hightower discussed a number of topics, including the linebacker corps and what the Gopher defense needs to do to improve in 2008. We also learned that Deon’s teammates don’t think he’s quite ready for Dancing With the Stars.
GopherSports.com: How has your summer been?
Deon Hightower: Summer has been good. (Strength and Conditioning) Coach Mark Hill, Coach Peoples and Coach Satchell have been working us real hard, putting us through some strenuous workouts. We’re going a lot of football-oriented stuff and they’re just pushing us to the limit.
GS: Have you spent the whole summer in Minneapolis?
DH: I went to Arizona for a few days. We got a couple days off for the Fourth. It was just a little vacation time and got to take my mind off football for a while. Other than that, I’ve been here and going to grad school and just knocking it away a day at a time.
GS: How has the transition been to graduate school?
DH: I graduated in May and it has been a big change. But a lot of the guys on the team like Steve Moore, Tony Mortenson and Will Brody are all in grad school. It has been a good transition. It is been nice having guys on the team who are also working toward the same goals in the classroom and on the field.
GS: How are you feeling right now, with less than a month to go before camp?
DH: Excited. The biggest thing is just going into camp healthy and as strong as possible. That’s the biggest thing.
GS: Are you in any different shape, better shape, than you were at this time last year?
DH: I would say I’m in better shape, just because of working with Coach Hill. Each year workouts have evolved and become tougher. He takes his job seriously, so he goes out and finds new things and better things each year that he brings to the table.
GS: Have you seen changes in strength and conditioning through your college football career?
DH: I think football evolves each year, with working out. Coach Hill changes things year to year, but it only gets better. He keeps certain things and changes certain things each summer. I think he tweaks it and works things out. I think he and Coach People sit in the weight room and try to figure out the toughest way to do things possible and put us through those.
GS: How is the Gopher linebacking corps going to be this year?
DH: The linebacking corps is going to be good. You got guys like Kevin Mannion moving from safety to outside with great, great footwork. He’s a terrific athlete. You got a guy like Steve Davis, who has transitioned from playing defensive end to linebacker. He’s a great, hard-nosed player. He was voted as a captain and I think he’s a guy we’re going to lean on in a time of need. Then you’ve got me, a returning starter who has played linebacker since I’ve been here. I just look forward to having a great season. With the defense as a whole, we want to be a run-stopping defense, make teams pass and then put pressure on the quarterback.
GS: What do you guys have to do to make this defense better this season?
DH: I think every yard is so important in college football. We need to work at the little things, the turnovers, the yards per carry, the yards after contact. Those things can be monumental. On a two-yard run, if you tackle him on the first contact, it is a great thing. But if you make contact after two yards and he goes for eight, that’s the difference between a first down and a punt.
GS: How are the new guys who are here already fitting in with the team?
DH: I think they’re getting settled in. Guys like Rex Sharpe, Tramaine Brock and Big Ced (Cedric McKinley) are guys who are coming in and working hard. I think that’s great, because competition is going to bring out the best in everyone. Those three guys are sticking out in my mind. They are guys on the defensive side that come in and watch film and come in do extra work outside of our normal workouts.
GS: Who’s going to jump out at people this season from this defense? Is anybody going to really surprise people?
DH: I think there will be a few guys who will be a surprise in camp, once it gets started. But I think some of the guys who are established or who have had good seasons in the past. Guys like Willie VanDeSteeg and Steve Davis, who was a Freshman All-American, those are the guys that are going to have to make plays when we need them.
GS: Let’s talk about Deon Hightower a little bit. What’s your personality like on the field?
DH: When I’m on the field, I don’t usually talk to much until I hit somebody. I actually like hitting. On the field, I’m more of a vocal person after I hit someone. I have to be vocal before the game. But sometimes (during the game), you have to zone in and focus on what you have to do. After I focus on what I have to do and lead by example, then I can talk.
GS: How about off the field? What’s your personality like away from the game?
DH: Away from the field, I’m real lax, real goofy. I just like to have fun, relax and spend a lot of quality time with my friends. We do stuff like game nights, go to GameWorks and things like that. Steve Davis is my new roommate. We’ve been friends and trying to become roommates for like the last year and it has finally come to pass. It’s good, because we’ll sit and watch film on the biggest, explosive runs from last year. We’ll also watch the best plays. I think Steve and I take the positive and the negative and build on it.
GS: What other things do you enjoy off the field? Do you have any hobbies?
DH: I like to watch movies. We play video games, PlayStation 3. I just like to surround myself with people who care about me and care about my well-being.
GS: Do you have any hidden talents? Is there anything people out there don’t know about Deon Hightower that is interesting?
DH: Not really. I do like to dance. I think I can dance good. But a lot of the guys make fun of me.
GS: What message do you have for Gopher Nation as the season approaches?
DH: The message I have for Gopher Nation is to pay attention to the Gophers this year, because we’re going to do big things.
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