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Tampa Bay quickly becoming defensive back central

 
Pinellas Park High School DB Zamari Maxwell is notorious for pulling down interceptions when the ball is thrown his way. Maxwell, a senior, is hoping for another great season with Pinellas Park. (Dirk Shadd, Times)
Pinellas Park High School DB Zamari Maxwell is notorious for pulling down interceptions when the ball is thrown his way. Maxwell, a senior, is hoping for another great season with Pinellas Park. (Dirk Shadd, Times)
Published Aug. 25, 2016

Zamari Maxwell lines up in his stance, crouched, his fingers twitching. The Pinellas Park High senior spends nearly an entire game backpedaling. If he plays well, he is invisible. If he makes one mistake, one slip, it will show up on YouTube or his opponent's Hudl account for everyone to see.

"I don't really feel any kind of pressure," Maxwell said. "That's what I'm used to. It's part of the position I play."

Maxwell is a defensive back. His job is to interrupt routes, blanket his opponent, make that receiver a non-factor. Maxwell does his job well. But to be in the spotlight, Maxwell has to get his hands on a ball the quarterback throws in his direction.

He excels at that, too.

Last season, Maxwell had seven interceptions, tied for fourth-most in the state. The total is even more impressive when you consider the Patriots played just 10 games.

"I like everything about the position I play," Maxwell said. "But what I like most is being able to make a play that changes the game."

The Tampa Bay area has plenty of game changers in the secondary. Five of the state's top six returning interception leaders are locals: Armwood's Mekhi LaPointe (a state-leading 10 last season), Northside Christian's Demetrius Jackson (seven), River Ridge's Alex Kostogiannes (seven) and Cambridge Christian's Derrick Powell (seven).

Given those numbers, it is no wonder defensive back is now the game's glamour position.

No team can have too many of them, especially with wide-open offenses that use four- and five-receiver sets. The good ones allow defensive coordinators to blitz more, to be more creative.

Standouts in the secondary also play a role in victories.

The five players who were among the state's leaders in interceptions helped their teams go a combined 34-6 in the regular season a year ago. LaPointe and Powell led Armwood and Cambridge, respectively, to undefeated regular seasons and state championship game appearances in their classifications.

"The two most important positions on a defense are on the line and in the secondary," said Preston Jackson, a former defensive back at Hillsborough High and Notre Dame who runs the recruiting service Big County Preps. "You need someone who can rush the quarterback and get the ball out of his hands quickly, and you need someone who can take the ball away. Those are the two positions that are in high demand at every level. You see it when the draft rolls around."

Just look at the last two area players taken in the first round of the NFL draft.

In 2015, former Lakewood High and University of Florida defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. was selected third overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars, the highest ever for a local player. This year, former Wharton and Gators defensive back Vernon Hargreaves was selected 11th overall by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the second-highest local pick ever.

Hargreaves was among six defensive backs taken in the first round in 2016. Last week, he had two interceptions in a preseason game against the Jaguars.

The area also is having an impact with college secondaries. Richmond's David Jones, a former standout at St. Petersburg, led the FCS (Division I-AA) in interceptions last season with nine, including an NCAA record-tying four in a game.

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Jones, a redshirt senior, is ranked as the second-best college safety by NFL scouts and is projected as a third-round pick.

Hargreaves and Jones can put up big numbers in large part because the passing game is more prevalent in the NFL and college.

Defensive backs are such a commodity that college programs often convert their most versatile high school recruits. Two former Largo standouts, Marcus Paschal and Leonard Johnson, were quarterbacks for their alma mater. They became defensive backs in college (Paschal at Iowa and Johnson at Iowa State), then NFL players.

Paschal currently is the coach at Largo.

Even Maxwell knows a little something about playing out of position. He's also Pinellas Park's starting quarterback this year.

Clearwater Central Catholic's CJ Cotman is a four-star athlete who can play a multitude of positions. But once he arrives at Tennessee next season he will settle on one: defensive back.

Players no longer resist being put in the secondary. They know they can make plays — and become stars — on that side of the ball.

But it took a while for defensive backs to have that kind of cache in high school.

"The position in high school has completely changed," Preston Jackson said. "When I played there might have been two or three teams on the schedule who threw the ball 30 times a game, Now, most teams are throwing the ball every other play."

With more passing attempts come more opportunities for defensive backs to make plays. It is not just with interceptions. Those in the secondary can also provide instant offense by returning picks for scores.

Last season, Maxwell returned three of his seven interceptions for touchdowns.

And big plays can be made even when the ball is not in the air.

Armwood coach Sean Callahan, whose teams routinely field some of the stingiest defenses in the area, said the safety position LaPointe plays is critical because he is "the unblocked man" and free to make the tackle.

"Mekhi is known because he had all those interceptions, but he does so much more," Callahan said. "He calls the plays for us, and is really our last line of defense.

"He does a lot. That's why defensive backs are important."

Contact Bob Putnam at bputnam@tampabay.com. Follow @BobbyHomeTeam.