Creary’s actions speak louder than his words
By Adam Carrington
MDJ Sports Correspondent
Defensive backs coach Spencer Smith
is reminded of NFL standout Richard
Sherman when he watches Kell senior
cornerback DeAndre Creary play.
It is Creary’s ball skills and intelligence
KICKOFF 2021 103
that resembles the five-time Pro
Bowler drafted by the Seattle Seahawks
in 2011, not his personality.
What he doesn’t have is Sherman’s
trash talking persona.
Creary rarely speaks when he is on
the field. He prefers to lead by example
and let his performance do the trash
talking for him.
“The one thing about DeAndre is that
if he does talk trash, you can’t hear
him,” Smith said. “So he never gets in
trouble for it. To me, that makes him
possibly the best trash talker out there.”
Creary also has an understanding
of route concepts and down and distance
to go with his ball skills and intelligence.
He is coming off a breakout 2020 season
with six interceptions in helping
the Longhorns finish with a 6-4 overall
record and a berth to the Class AAAAAA
state playoffs.
With this being his final season in a
Kell uniform, teammates are looking
to him for leadership.
“I don’t really talk a lot,” Creary said.
“I don’t really socialize like that, but
people follow what I do. They see that
I lead by example. Younger players I
can talk to. I can tell them what I do
and what I had to do when I was in
their position.
“I tell them to follow in my footsteps
and show them what not to do and
what to do.”
Creary started playing football at
8-years-old with the Acworth Warriors
where he was a linebacker. Then
he moved to running back and receiver
before giving cornerback a shot. It
ended up being the position he fell in
love with.
“I feel like I get to play a big part in
the defense,” said Creary, who is getting
interest from Georgia Southern,
Georgia State, Liberty and Coastal
Carolina. “I can take away from the
quarterback. I can score touchdowns,
make a big impact on games.”
When asked about his strengths at
cornerback, Creary said he can attack
the ball and guard whoever he is assigned.
In regards of improvement, he
wants continue building his ability to
force the issue — intercepting passes
and forcing and recovering fumbles.
His composure is also a strength.
“The one thing about DeAndre is that
he never gets too high or too low on a
play,” Smith said. “If he makes a mistake,
he’s never too low. He just goes
out and makes the next play. As a defensive
back, that’s something that you
have to be able to do.”
Creary is expected to be at full strength
going into Kell’s season opener against
McEachern on August 21 after spending
the first half of the summer recovering
from a hip flexor injury.
“He’s a special young man and works
hard,” Smith said. “Whoever (college)
gets him is going to get a hungry football
player who is ready to maximize
his potential. I think he’s definitely a
Division I football player.”
/WWW.altcommunities.com