Player Spotlight: "The Deacon" Dante McAlister
by JAMoney14 | 3 years ago | 0 Comments
"You haven't seen fear 'til you see my ass comin' your way"
a story by Jackson Grady
1,215 yards, 16 touchdowns and countless bodies left behind. How those numbers line up with the man behind them still boggles the minds of pro scouts and SEC defensive coaches alike.
6 feet, 6 inches, 286 lbs.
Anyone who's been paying attention to college football this year is already overly familiar with the Tigers of Auburn, boasting a 13-0 record and a 51-8 national championship victory over the Oklahoma Sooners. Auburn has often fallen in the shadows of the neighboring University of Alabama, but that has changed over the last several years, with no season more thoroughly demonstrating that fact than the 2022-2023 campaign.
The Tigers led all major conferences in offense and defense. Dominant on both sides of the ball. Dominant on the ground. Dominant through the air… and unlike the dominant Alabama teams of the 21st century… Doing it with swagger and flair.
Most of this dominance was bred from the 2019 recruiting class, thought even then to be a great group of 18 year olds. A group that included multiple 5-star high school prospects, including QB Devin Wagner and RE Jamie Chavez. There was one name on that list of prospects that was thought to be an interesting prospect, even if a little controversial.
Enter The Deacon. Dante McAlister.
Dante McAlister played 2 years at Jesuit High School, a top-tier high school football school in Florida. In those 2 years, Dante played offensive line, defensive line and a little fullback. Even as a freshman and sophomore in high school, Dante was a mountain of a kid. Standing 6’2 and clocking in at well over 230 lbs. Jesuit used his size the way their very traditional style would use any kid at that size.
Unfortunately for the coaching staff at Jesuit, that was never going to be good enough for The Deacon.
You see - Jesuit is a private, all-male, very Catholic school. The school makes it a point to remain grounded in their beliefs, beliefs that include humility and tradition. These are beliefs that Dante McAlister - let’s just say “doesn’t care for”.
At the age of 16, Dante McAlister was detained by school security at an early practice after body slamming one of his assistant coaches and pinning him to the turf by his throat. Needless to say, that was Dante’s last practice at Jesuit. Not only was it his last practice, but he was gone from the entire school the very next day. Local news stations in the area covered it in a way that most local news stations would, but interestingly, while they did reach out to Jesuit for comments (comments they never received, as nobody at the school would speak on the matter), they never did ask Dante what happened. I’m not sure if this is because they weren’t properly covering the story as they should have or they were already following Dante on Twitter.
At almost 4 in the morning, the very next day, Dante let it out on Twitter, demonizing his coaches and calling them condescending and accusing them of holding him back. I would show them all, but this one I think speaks for the entire series. While this image was archived *just in case*, it’s important to note that Dante never deleted any of the tweets and I’m sure he doesn’t regret a single word he tweeted.
The reason I’m sure of that is because, well, I’m writing this article about him and not any of those nameless coaches at Jesuit.
Dante stayed in town, moving close by, to Tampa Technical, a public school just 24 minutes down the road from his former home. Now nearly 6’5 and 260 lbs, he got right to work for the Tampa Tech Titans, becoming an instant force for their already-talented high school team. Unlike his time in Jesuit the previous two years, Dante was given the opportunity by his coaches to play pretty much wherever he thought he could. I’m not sure if you’ve picked up on this yet, but he thinks he can play pretty much everywhere.
And so he did.
Whether it was down in a 3-point stance on defense, standing tall at linebacker, taking direct snaps in the backfield or catching passes out wide, one thing was for sure - Dante McAlister wasn’t about to go back to sitting at left guard. His Junior and Senior years of high school weren’t always clean, as he was ejected from 3 games over the course of two years for his physical style of play and inciting fights on the field. He’ll tell you himself that he had a smile on his face the entire time.
But don’t get this twisted up, Dante just loved to fight. He loved physicality. He wasn’t dealing with any kind of mental, home, or educational struggles. That’s by his own admission. Dante came home every night to a loving family and did well in school. He wasn’t giving valedictorian speeches by any means, but well.
Those ejections didn’t do a thing to quell Dante’s passion or impact on the game. He would spend most of his Senior season at running back, carrying the load for the Titans offensively, oftentimes literally, as plays would end with 2-3 defenders draped on his back begging for him to trip on something.
McAlister was not just blessed with incredible size, but he also had the agility and speed to push that massive near-300 lb frame down the field at breakneck pace. That speed and comfortability moving around at his size coupled with his absolute love to punish opponents on offense or defense with unapologetic physicality is what set Dante apart then and it’s what set him apart in the eyes of Auburn Tigers scouts.
In the world of college football, where many coaches are near-condescending in the way they “handle” their players and very locked down into humility and tradition, it can be a bit of a turn off if you’re a guy who chokeslammed his high school ball coach like Glenn Jacobs in his prime. Despite that, Dante McAlister received offers from several high-profile schools, including Miami, Ohio State, and Oregon.
Notably, there was no offer from the University of Alabama.
I try and steer away from stories that seem too good to be true, but this one really is. Just like Jesuit was not comfortable letting Dante McAlister play his game and be the dominant personality that he truly is, Alabama had no interest in bringing in the 18 year old positionless mountain of a man to make it work.
It’s a good thing another team in Alabama channeled their inner Dante and didn’t give a f***. On February 2nd, 2019… Dante “Deacon” McAlister committed to Auburn University. I don’t have any reason to believe that it was to spite the college powerhouse in Alabama that refused to acknowledge him, but knowing the little I do about Dante, I think it’s fair to say it was a factor.
Flash forward to August of that year.
The Deacon was not penciled in at any position in general. Obviously, given his size and incredible speed, the coaching staff in Auburn were interested in a permanent spot on the defensive side of the football, but more than that, Auburn was tasked with managing an incredible incoming class of blue chippers, so Dante was slotted to be redshirtted.
Yeah, no.
Just days after announcing Dante’s redshirt status, the staff reneged, deciding to allow the 18-year old mammoth to suit up at linebacker as a true freshman. Now I’m definitely one to speculate and make things sound way better than they could have been. It’s absolutely possible that the staff looked at the size of their freshman and decided “hey this guy is bigger than half of our senior class”... but by now, I hope you’d realize that’s not what happened.
The Deacon immediately expressed his disinterest in sitting out a year as a redshirt freshman. Dante didn’t pin anyone down on the turf, but instead chose the diplomatic approach, in this case “diplomatic” meant barging into the head coach's office in the middle of the day to ask why he was being redshirted.
That Roosevelt-type of negotiation led to him having his redshirt status cancelled before it even began and the age of McAlister began.
As a true freshman, Dante logged 28 tackles, 1 interception and 1 sack on the season playing a variety of areas on defense as a spot defender.
You’re telling me this entire article is about a mediocre defender?
Hardly.
As a freshman, the viral video of the fiery Dante McAlister’s interception in an early season game against Kentucky caused Auburn coaches to ask “what if?”. The kind of question that has given us incredible careers. What if Tom Brady could play QB? What if Wes Welker could start in the slot? What if Richard Sherman wasn’t really a wide receiver? What if Bob Sanders could play safety?
What if Dante McAlister was a tight-end in disguise?
Apparently, that disguise was Solid Snake level, as Dante was immediately plugged into the tight end spot for his sophomore year, a change that admittedly, he was against.
“I’m here to hit people in the mouth, I don’t care where I get to do that, but it’s easier on defense”
Despite his reluctance, McAlister’s realization that you can, in fact, hit people in the mouth on offense, was huge. Not just for the player, but for the entire Auburn organization. At the same time that the coaching staff for the Tigers was figuring out where Dante should play, other absolute stars were coming into their own as 2nd and 3rd year players. Guys like Mobile Alabama’s own CB Oscar Springs. Guys like currently-#1-rated-QB-prospect Devin Wagner. Guys like walkon star and professional Mike Alstott impersonator Dillon Schultz. Dante, still coming into his own, was ejected from 2 games during the 2021-2022 season for instigating physical altercations. He did so with a smile on his face through and through. The Auburn Tigers finished the 2021 season 8-4 but were completely unprepared for the mayhem they were about to unleash.
Dante? He finished his sophomore year with 600 yards and 8 receiving touchdowns, grabbing 1 more touchdown on the ground on a weird wildcat run that you have to see to believe (video unavailable).
Things were not all cheery, however.
In the summer of 2022, rumors spread about McAlister clocking in at over 300 lbs before official practices began. I - uh - I’m pretty sure Dante heard about this and was none too pleased. The Deacon wasted no time cutting any excess weight he had in little time to prepare for a pivotal Junior season that NOBODY saw coming.
Coming into the 2022-2023 season, Dante McAlister did not stop utilizing his genetic makeup to the fullest extent, officially clocking in at 6’6, 286 lbs. The man was built like a tank and ran like one too. While mirroring the makeup of several of the league’s top interior defensive lineman, Dante continued to display levels of athleticism that would make LeBron James blush.
As the starting tight end in a dynamic, spread offense, the Deacon was able to play all over the field, spending time in split-back sets in the shotgun, spread out wide in heavy sets, and even naturally lining up in 3-point to help block out of singleback and rush sets. While the physicality and joy Dante took in punishing opposing defenders was well-known, his abilities as an over-the-top receiving threat were not. At 286 lbs, Dante McAlister routinely was able to get behind the secondary at the college level to take the top off of the defense and secure long passes.
Another lesser known, but probably-should-be-known aspect of Dante’s repertoire was his ability to run routes.
No.
I MEAN ALL OVER THE FIELD.
This skillset pre-snap combined with his immense size and aggression post-snap made McAlister an incredible force to be reckoned with throughout the season.
This is the part of the story that can be a little bit awkward, because there’s no dramatic climax where the Auburn Tigers fought back from a huge deficit in a title game or a pivotal come-from-behind-lead. The Auburn Tigers never trailed in any game they played at any point in the 2022-2023 season.
That continued through the college football playoffs and through a methodical dismantling of the Oklahoma Sooners in the college football national championship game. Dante McAlister was responsible for 81 yards and 1 touchdown in that game and as previously mentioned, scored 16 total touchdowns for the Tigers this year. There is no doubt that McAlister was the #1 receiving threat for Auburn this year, just ahead of WR Alex Shelby and another dynamic “do it all” player that will be entering this year’s class, HB Rudy Calloway.
In his senior season, McAlister logged 1,215 yards and 16 touchdowns on 81 receptions and 19 carries. McAlister set the single season record for receiving yards and receiving touchdowns in a season for Auburn and is now 2nd place behind 2017’s Ryan Davis in receptions in a single season. All of this from a player who was once relegated to the defensive line because of his sheer size.
That said, this level of dominance still leaves questions from many RZ pro scouts. Questions like: “With so much talent on one team, how can we be sure which ones are pro ready and which ones aren’t?” and “How would this team fare if the defense didn’t consistently set them up with great field position?” and “How much of Dante’s success is attributed to Devin Wagner?” and “Should we really believe in a rough-housing hardo who’d rather get in a bar fight than study film?”
(These are not random quotes, they are taken directly from experts appearing for RZNetwork draft coverage. Your guess is as good as mine.)
These questions baffle some, but one thing is clear… This Auburn team is one of the greatest of all time, perhaps too early to crown them as the most dominant team in college football history, but still unquestionably one of the best and on that team was a guy who loves to scrap. A guy who loves to work and punch you in the mouth. A guy who has never had a legal issue in his life, yet can still be questioned about his disciplinary issues. A guy who showed his poise and ability to stay around for all 13 games in a 13-0 season with no ejections.
Call this what you want, but this story is not a story of a player who defied all the odds. This is not a story of a player who overcame devastating personal tragedy in his life. This is not a story of a player who the fans rallied behind in the face of hardship.
This is a story of Dante “Deacon” McAlister, who told you he was going to fuck you up and then proceeded to fuck the world up.
After the season ended, Dante has committed himself to a strict weight-maintenence regiment and has even clocked in as low as 271 lbs at his Auburn pro-day. He also ran a startling 4.59 40 yard dash at that same pro-day.
He is currently projected to be a 2nd-3rd round pick in the S72 draft. I just hope whoever doesn’t take him realizes what kind of trouble they're in for when he steps into their stadium.