Alfonzo Dennard’s most poignant advice to his cousin, Michigan State cornerback Darqueze Dennard, helped him explode as a college football sensation last season.
Yet, Alfonzo’s most valuable lesson came during Darqueze’s current pre-draft process: Keep a clean profile off the field.
“He just told me to continue doing what I’ve been doing,” Darqueze Dennard said. “I haven’t been in any trouble or anything like that, so he just told me to keep my nose clean.”
Alfonzo Dennard, of course, was arrested a week prior to the 2012 draft for assaulting a police officer in Lincoln, Neb., which caused the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year and potential second-round pick to plummet to the Patriots in the seventh round. He was found guilty in February 2013, was arrested again in July for suspicion of driving under the influence, a violation of his probation, and served 38 days in jail, which he completed last week. He was also given three years of probation.
Darqueze Dennard, the 2013 Jim Thorpe Award winner as college football’s best defensive back, is widely viewed as a first-round pick and one of the two best corners in the draft, along with Oklahoma State’s Justin Gilbert. Dennard’s ascent for the Rose Bowl champs can be credited, in part, to Alfonzo’s football wisdom. The elder Dennard shared some cousinly love by teaching the Spartan how to watch film and attack his opponents.
“Before the season, I was asking how you watch film, what you look for, what you think of this receiver or how you’d handle him,” Darqueze Dennard said. “I ask, ‘What do you see? What can I do to help my game?’ Just telling me to be a student of the game. Get into the film and dedicate yourself to the grind with all of the little things.”
As a result, Darqueze Dennard was the most intimidating presence in Michigan State’s “No Fly Zone” defensive backfield that helped the team win its final 10 games and thwart Ohio State in the Big Ten title game.
Dennard, a strong, 5-foot-11, 199-pounder, is known for his man coverage skills. He visited the Steelers last week and has official pre-draft trips on tap with the Jets, Bengals and Rams. Though it’s unlikely the Dennard cousins will reunite in New England, the Patriots met with Darqueze Dennard at the combine, a month before signing cornerbacks Darrelle Revis and Brandon Browner. Dennard boasted an ability to play safety, so he could be an option for the Pats if he slides to the 29th pick.
That’d be a dream scenario for the Georgia natives, whose relationship has tightened in recent years when they found out they were cousins. Darqueze connected with Alfonzo, and the pair maintained a bond through phone conversations. Darqueze said they grew closer when he got to Michigan State because they could really relate over their football journeys.
Interestingly, the cousins actually pronounce their last names differently, with Alfonzo accenting the first syllable and Darqueze emphasizing the last, though it wasn’t always that way.
“It’s kind of funny actually,” Darqueze Dennard said, “because my name growing up was Denn-ard, but my mom, I don’t know what happened, got upset with my dad or something. So when I came home one day, she just changed it. She said, ‘Say your name Den-nard.’ It’s kind of weird. That’s what happened.”
But the blood is thicker, and as a result, Alfonzo Dennard is serving as mentor to his cousin, one life lesson at a time.
“He just taught me to have fun with (the draft process),” Darqueze Dennard said. “Don’t allow all of the outside stuff to really affect you and things like that. Just have fun with it basically, control what you can control and stay positive.”
