DeShields is a good two-way player who got varsity work on both sides of the ball last year and held up well. Offensively, he’s a patient runner who lets things develop and doesn’t force runs that aren’t there. I like him even more on the defensive side, though. He has good reaction speed, does a nice job finding his way through traffic to get to the football, and looks comfortable moving around the field. Late in the season, he was getting teammates lined up, helping guys get set before the snap, and started taking on more of a leadership role. Those are the little things you like seeing from a young player as his confidence grows.

Saurin DeShields Saurin DeShields 5'8" | 180 lbs | DB/RB Madison Southern | 2029 State KY is a run-stopper at the safety position. A textbook tackler, DeShields wraps his defenders up and doesn’t let them go. Has a good sense of sniffing out plays, finding the ball, and initiating contact. His size allows him to hit his opponent low, showcasing his power and driving ballcarriers backward at the point of contact. Has a high football IQ and doesn’t give up on plays. Doubles as a dynamic running back for Madison Southern’s offense.

Doing my initial observations of Region 3 during warmups, despite being on the smaller side, DeShields caught my eye with his build. Being a shorter, muscular kid he looks more like a Running Back than an Outside Linebacker (after watching his regular season film, he’s certainly more of an RB) but he made several nice plays on the defensive side of the ball. The quickness and vision he uses as a RB translated well to his play as an OLB by taking good angles towards the sidelines to make stops on outside runs. Additionally he was able to clean up the mess when the opposing WRs made a catch and started to run up field.