Commitment Report: Douglas Sutton (MPLS Southwest-2020)
Turning around a high school program is no easy task, and the class of eventual seniors that heads the turnaround are generally an uncelebrated bunch of athletes that get lost in history once a program finds prosperity. However, these athletes…
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Continue ReadingTurning around a high school program is no easy task, and the class of eventual seniors that heads the turnaround are generally an uncelebrated bunch of athletes that get lost in history once a program finds prosperity. However, these athletes go on to grind and persevere to find achievement at the next level playing football, as well as in the classroom, and are critical in installing a culture of success in a college program. This is especially important at the junior college level, as two-year institutions and the quick turnaround of the JUCO lifestyle make it much more difficult to implement sustained gains. Luckily, Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference competitor Iowa Central just landed a lock-down tackling machine in Minneapolis Southwest LB/DB Douglas Sutton. The 5’8, 180 lb. athlete helped the Lakers turnaround a 1-7 season his freshman year to a 7-3 2019 season this past fall as a senior. He totaled more than 200 tackles in his prep career and was kind enough to give Northstar Football News some of his time to talk about which programs his final decision came down to, why he wanted to go the JUCO route, what position he’ll play at ICC, and more! Enjoy. Senior Highlights
NFN: Hello and congratulations on the commitment, Douglas! Start by telling me about the recruiting process as a whole. When did you start hearing from schools, how did that happen, what did it feel like, and were some interesting/important parts of the recruiting process for you?
Sutton: “The recruiting process is hard work. It starts off easy with creating your film and sending them out to coaches but sometimes you don’t here back from many coaches and sometimes it’s not even the top school you want to go to but the hard part is you have to realize that there’s thousands of other football players all around so why should the coaches pick you to attend their school. For me, I had a lot of coaches who talk to me but it was just talk and I didn’t officially start talking about going on to the next level until Augsburg coaches contacted me and invited on for a visit in December. Right after is when I got my invited to attend Iowa Central on a visit. My coaches helped me through the entire thing as Robert French my defensive coach got ICC up to my school to talk with me and my head coach Josh Zo made it possible to attend the visit by taking me out there. I was excited at a point I didn’t even think I was going to play at the next level the season was over and i haven’t even spoken with coaches so for everything to hit all at once was overwhelming. My inspiration is my mother and big brother they have helped me in so many ways and my brother played football but he never got to see the next level so I’m making them proud.”
NFN: What made you commit to Iowa Central? What did you like about the program, and made them stand out for you?
Sutton: “I was debating between IC and Augsburg, but when I went to IC it was Justice Clegg who really got to me. The dedication and love that he shows for his players is what I want in my coaches and he kinda reminds me of my head coach Josh Zo by how welcoming he is. There’s a lot of coaches in the world but to find one that has that connection with their players is hard to find.”
NFN: what appealed to you about going to JUCO route and what does Iowa Central offer that’s intriguing in terms of junior college specific factors?
Sutton: “I wanted to go JUCO because I feel as if I haven’t hit my prime and I still have a lot of football left in me. With some hard work and extra help from IC I believe they can help me achieve my football goals.”
NFN: Tell me about your season as well as Southwest’s? What were some big games and how was your career personally?
Sutton: “The season was great I miss it so much. This year we went 7-3 and that’s the best Southwest have did in years my freshman year we went like 1-7. Southwest as a school is a great place, the staff is cool, the teachers are nice once you get to know them. The biggest game we had was against North High, Southwest has never got to play North in my high school career and we had the skill and the confidence that we could be the team to knock North off the top. We fought the entire 4 quarters in that game and you could see the dedication for victory in my teammates eyes. It was a good game but we did lose but in my opinion that is the best game of hs football that I have ever played. For me the season didn’t go how I wanted it to during my time at Southwest I have been moved from LB to DE back to LB I played every position 110% and didn’t care who I lined up against but my senior year we tried something new and put me out to DB because of my size and at first I didn’t like it but Coach was determined to turn me into the best corner SW has seen and after working on my craft I started liking DB more and more until finally I got the hang of it and became a lockdown cornerback. It was sad to miss all the action that goes down in the box but I love that 1V1 feeling when I line up against a wr and lock them down.”
NFN: What position will you be playing in college? And what kind of player is Iowa Central getting?
Sutton: “I will be playing DB at Iowa Central and you will see a dominant men on the field and anybody who lines up against me will find that out I hate losing and I don’t lose often I’m coming for that title as #1 DB.”
I’m psyched that Sutton is betting on himself, and I’m pumped to see where his career takes him at Iowa Central.