D'Antne Demery focuses on football in the face of tragedy

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - For D'Antne Demery, the last year has been a mixed bag of emotions.

The four-star offensive tackle stacked up quite a few offers, committed to Georgia, and become a father to a little girl. Going to college and starting a family are two of the biggest life changing events a young man can encounter.

Tragically though, Demery also lost his mother along the way after an extended illness.

Losing the core of his support network has made Demery's work on the gridiron all the more important, however, as it provides moments of hyper-focus to the exclusion of everything else.

“I’ve really just been focusing on football," Demery said of dealing with the loss. "I just try to keep it off my mind. I’ve been staying focused on football.”

This week at the Army All-American Bowl has certainly been a welcomed distraction.

“It’s been an honor to be out here with all the Army people and getting this great experience," Demery said. "I’ve been out here with a lot of fellas that are like me, D1, and they’re great athletes. We’ve just been competing.”

One of the great athletes the Brunswick-based star has been competing against is Aubrey Solomon, and he hopes to continue the battles into college.

“We’re trying to get Solomon," Demery said. "We’re most definitely trying to get him. We’re just trying to get whoever wants to get on this train, the money train.”

Testing himself against high level competition, such as Solomon, should go a long way to improving Demery's skill, something he's already spent a sizable amount of refining.

“Dealing with pass rush was something I worked on, and my run blocking was something I really worked on," he said. "It was bad at one time. I got just got it right.”

That's certainly good news for the Bulldogs, as is the fact that Demery isn't looking to take other visits.

“No sir," he said. "I’m going straight to Georgia. That’s it.”

Demery's commitment to his family and to a his extended family of fellow Georgia commits appears unwavering. No doubt his mother is proud of him.