Three-star offensive lineman, Deandre Duffus, goes in depth on his decision to commit to Maryland

Photo Credit: @deandreduffus

Three-star interior offensive lineman, Deandre Duffus, will be taking the next step of his football career 14 and a half hours away from home at the college level. The offensive lineman from Hollywood, Florida committed to the University of Maryland on July 3rd, and he joined me Thursday night on Instagram Live to discuss what made Maryland the school for him, and more.

Deandre Duffus Interview

https://www.instagram.com/tv/ChI6CHwhwO_/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Deandre Duffus is a six-foot, four-inch, 230-pound offensive tackle from Chaminade-Madonna Prep in Hollywood, Florida. He is ranked as the No. 93 interior offensive lineman in the country, the No. 171 recruit in Florida, and the No. 1,219 overall recruit in the country.

Despite making the decision to commit to a school so far from home, Duffus’ relationship with Coach Brian Williams, the Defensive Coordinator at Maryland, and their ties to South Florida, made that decision not so overwhelming.

“Coach Brian Williams and Coach Braswell, the Defensive Coordinator and O-Line Coach, I felt like they were really real,” Duffus said. “Coach B [Brian Williams], he’s from down here, he’s from the Miami, South Florida area, and he was talking my language, so I’m close with him. And Coach Braswell also coached NFL, so that NFL experience, he knows what it will take me to get to the next level.”

Along with the coaching staff, Duffus was able to strengthen his relationships with his fellow Maryland commits during a visit this summer. “The relationship is good. I think it was two weeks ago, three weeks ago, I went up for the cookout, and I got to talk to a lot of the recruits,” Duffus said. “We had fun, we played basketball, got in the pool, so I feel like it’s a close knit group.”

It seemed Duffus was going to choose to go to a school far from Florida no matter what, as his second choice was the University of Indiana. Duffus’ teammate at Chaminade-Madonna Prep, William Larkins, a three-star offensive lineman, is committed to Indiana. “The other school I was really interested in was Indiana, that was one of my top options,” Duffus said. ‘You know William [Larkins] is committed to Indiana, and Coach Hiller, the O-Line Coach, I had a great relationship with him, I liked the way they ran their offense. So Indiana was definitely my other top option.”

But Duffus still has his senior season in front of him, in which the expectations are set high. Chaminade-Madonna Prep is coming off of a 3A State Championship, and a GEICO Bowl Series win in Las Vegas over Highland High School from Arizona. He expects nothing different from his team this season, regardless of their strength of schedule increasing. “We got a pretty fun schedule,” Duffus said. “Our first seven games are all top-tier teams, teams that have been deep in playoff runs, and won state championships, so I’m ready to go against them.”

Duffus is ready for his senior season, and the opportunities that are ahead during his senior year and beyond. After his senior season, he hopes to make the long trip to Maryland with a state championship ring on his finger.