Rockwall Heath (TX) safety Deshon Elliott led his Hawks onto the field for a first round playoff matchup against Newman Smith of Carrollton. Elliott didn’t see a lot of action playing in deep coverage against a Newman Smith team that struggled to gain any positive yards. The Under Armour All-American did make an impact by breaking up an option pitch and forcing the fifth turnover of the first half which set up the Hawks with a touchdown on the next offensive play. Elliott and the other Heath starters sat out the second half as they cruised to a 48-0 win. We caught up with Elliott after the game and asked him to evaluate his performance. “I tried to do the best I could, I didn’t really have to do much because our d-line was so great tonight”.
Elliott was an early commit to the Longhorns and has been following them closely. Even though the Horns have had an up and down season, Elliott has been very impressed by what he’s seen from Charlie Strong and the defense. “I like how he came in and already got the defense together, because last season the defense wasn’t what it usually is, I’m sure the offense is going to pick up and they’re going to be a great team”. Elliott has also noticed the performance of true freshman safety Jason Hall and is encouraged by the prospects of playing early saying, “(Mykkelle) Thompson is coming out, so I feel like I can take the second safety spot and me and him can dominate on the back end.”
With the struggles the Longhorns have faced this season, some have questioned how Coach Strong and the new staff are selling their vision to recruits and sure enough Elliott had an answer. “They’re basically saying trust us man, they know what they’re going to do. They’re going to turn that program around and be the best program in the Big 12.” Elliott doesn’t have an official visit to Austin setup yet but mentioned that he spoke with his coach this week about it and is looking to schedule one after the season.
Elliott did say he planned on taking a few other visits. Some reports say he’s due to visit Texas A&M this weekend, but Elliott said he did not have any dates set up yet. His teammate Trevor Elbert is an Aggie commit and Elliott could be joining him in College Station this weekend. According to Elliott there is nothing for Longhorn fans to worry about, when asked if he was still solid to Texas the defensive standout replied with a re-assuring look and an emphatic “yeah”. Rockwall Heath will face off against Wylie in the second round of the 5A division I playoffs.
