Revis headlines Gryphons athletic defense

Rocky Mount High School’s Detrell Revis sits for a portrait before practice on Tuesday afternoon.

Detrell Revis was cold.

The Rocky Mount High junior was starting to lose feeling in his fingertips, so he slid on a pair of gloves over a pair he already had on, then jogged to a patch of grass about 30 yards behind the defense and waited for the punt.

It was Dec. 2 and the Gryphons were in the process of picking up a third-round 3-A playoffs win over Southern Guilford. The RMH defense bottled up a run and forced the Storm to punt to a normally steady Revis. But the Gryphons return man couldn’t feel the ball through his two pairs of gloves and fumbled.

He couldn’t believe it. Revis had this empty look on his face as if an epic argument was going on in his head. He kept wondering why?

“That was the first time I ever dropped a punt,” Revis said. “First time I ever fumbled. I won’t do two gloves again. It was a learning experience all around.”

It was a rare mistake for the Gryphons’ most electric player. But if coaches know anything about Revis, he’s already learned and moved on from the experience. Coaches rave about his knowledge on the football field, while their minds race to take advantage of his incredible athletic ability.

“He learns fast on the field,” RMH assistant coach Jermaine Jones said. “He’s probably the best athlete on the team because he can adapt to anything. His football IQ is so great.”

Revis sees the field different than most. He played quarterback in middle school, and it was during that time he taught himself how to read what is happening in front of him. He was a dangerous threat at the position because of the way he used his legs to run out of trouble, and how he understood what was a good decision and what’s not.

That has translated to his play at free safety, where he is adept at defending the pass as well as stuffing the run, highlighted by his being tied for the team lead in tackles with defensive lineman Rod’quon White with 88. He has a team-high eight interceptions, including one he returned for a touchdown. As a returner, Revis has 390 total return yards on 16 chances. He’s gotten so successful setting up the Gryphons’ offense with good field position, that teams quit kicking to him entirely.

Because of that, the Gryphons work on recovering pooch kicks at the start of each practice.

“Teams stopped punting it to me,” Revis said. “I don’t go for it when they kick it short. I don’t want to make any mistakes. I be watching other folks to see how they do it, and I watch film on myself. If you study what you do, you’ll get better at it.”

He can also make plays on offense. He took his first reception of the season 99 yards in the triple-overtime win against Havelock last week, showing off his speed as he ran past the Storm who were simply trying to perserve the win.

“I don’t know what they were thinking guarding him like that,” RMH receiver KK Edwards said. “As soon as he lined up the way he did, I knew (Revis) was going to beat them.”

Revis popped up on the coaching staff’s radar during the 2014 season, his freshman year. It happened on a play during practice where Revis raced across the field to deliver a big hit on a teammate. Revis then recalls the coaching staff talking with him and telling him to be ready to play on varsity.

“Coaches were telling me, ‘You made a good tackle, a big hit.’ They wanted me to suit up for varsity,” Revis said. “Then the next day, Friday night, I got in on defense and made a big hit against Northern Nash in the final game of that year.”

Revis has been on varsity ever since, including winning a starting role his sophomore year as the starting free safety. He finished his first full varsity season with more than 100 tackles, including a season-high 12 in the state championship game. Now, Revis will lead the Gryphons defense this Friday in a rematch of last year’s title game against Belmont South Point.

“Revis has been in enough big games, being a young kid, that nothing is too big for him,” Jones said. “His sophomore year there was no doubt that he was the next guy in line.”

By PATRICK MASON
Sports Writer for Rocky Mount Telegram

Thursday, December 15, 2016