Gailliard expects a lot from himself
By Adam Carringtion
MDJ Sports Correspondent
Many would agree that
Darius G ailliard has been
raised well.
The senior Sprayberry defensive
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end is known for doing his
chores, doing his homework,
paying attention in class and
giving his all on the football
field and getting home at a
reasonable hour.
Not only does he check all
the boxes in all those categories.
He’s also determined to
get an Ivy League education
while playing football, a path
former Yellow Jackets’ running
back Isaiah Abbey has
taken to Harvard.
O ne can attribute his positive
upbringing to his parents.
Well, yes and no.
With both parents serving
in the Army and away
from their kids for the maj
ority of the calendar year,
his older sister, Tatyana,
does the parenting.
“She’s a really good person,”
G ailliard said of his
25-year-old sibling, a K ennesaw
State graduate who
works at an accounting firm.
“She cooks for me. She’s a
good sister slash mother, and
I really appreciate that. We
go out and eat sometimes.
We have a dog that we walk.
We have a patio. We sit out
there and talk a little bit.
She’ll ask me if I’m okay or
if she needs to help me with
anything.”
It’s not that his parents are
absent from his life. He says
his mother, Tyeez, calls daily
to check in on him. While
he does not talk to his father
Cordell, who just retired from
the army, on a daily basis,
G ailliard said he is looking
for housing nearby to be close
to family.
He says he does talk to his
dad often enough to keep him
abreast on his academics and
on football.
G ailliard is a three-year
starter who recorded 45 tackles
and 5.5 sacks last season.
His stats were not as
high as they were two years
ago when the Yellow Jackets
made a run in the state playoffs,
but much of that had to
do with grooming a younger
and less experienced squad
around him.
This season, G ailliard is determined
the Yellow Jackets
will return to the postseason
now that he and his teammates
are a year older and
stronger.
He will likely need to take
on a leadership role for that
goal to come to fruition.
“I don’t know if I’ve met
a high school kid that is as
mature as Darius and that is
serious about handling his
business in the classroom and
on the football field,” coach
Brett V avra said. “I haven’t
met somebody with that exact
mentality. I think part
of it stems from his parents
being in the military. That
discipline. That structure.
It’s been really good for our
program. He does everything
right.”
A lot of that is where his
older sister comes in.
G ailliard said his sister gives
him responsibilities such as
making sure the house is clean,
washing the dishes after dinner
and taking the trash out
when required.
He also said there are days
when she won’t let him sleep
all day.
“She’s raising me like I’m
her son so I’ll know what
to do in the future and not
be stressed after school,”
G ailliard said. “She’s really
good at disciplining me
and everything.”
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