Don’t get Andre Debose wrong: His time away from football last year with a lingering hamstring injury wasn’t exactly a picnic. There were bouts of depression and emotional phone calls home and the questioning, on occasion, of his talents.
But if there was a positive byproduct of the injury, a silver-lining to the waiting and the uncertainty, it was this: The hype machine that churned so furiously upon his arrival in Gainesville — the hyperbole and the Percy Harvin comparisons and the expectations that seemed to grow by the day – slowed down a bit.
“I think it was a blessing in disguise,” Debose said Tuesday at the Florida football team’s Media Day in the Touchdown Terrace, “because coming in as freshmen, we have a lot of hype. (And) it just kind of calmed everything down.”
Yeah, Debose wasn’t exactly thrilled with the level of attention he received as a multi-faceted playmaker out of Sanford’s Seminole High. He appreciated it, certainly, but for a true freshman living on his own for the first time and trying to find his way on a team filled with former prep standouts, the pressures of trying to replace one of the most versatile stars in recent college history proved a bit too much.
“Here you are, 17 years old, and you’re the next coming, and everyone’s anointed you — whether you like it or not, they’ve anointed you,” said wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni of the Harvin comparisons. “And he didn’t like that, to be honest with you. He didn’t want to be anointed. He wanted to be Andre.”
Now “100-percent” healthy, and with expectations at least tapered a bit as he prepares to make his collegiate debut Sept. 4 against Miami of Ohio, Debose is looking to establish himself as a prominent component of the team’s new-look offense — a role that will likely come as a slot receiver who’ll also run the ball on occasion.
He said Tuesday that the speed that made him a game-changer in high school is back — he’s running at full speed now, he says, and has been 100-percent healthy since the end of spring practice – and if the praise heaped upon him Tuesday by teammates and coaches in any indication, there’s a good chance he’ll be utilized in a variety of ways this fall.
“He’s been making plays,” said freshman wide receiver Quinton Dunbar.
The return to health has represented a welcome development for Debose following what has been a tumultuous past year and a half — a stretch that included some particularly rough patches.
“There was a lot of times that I hit rock bottom,” he said. “I had to call my parents and have them talk me up, and just reassure me, tell me to stay humble and stay positive about everything, and (that) everything happens for a reason.”
As time went on, however, and his confidence in the injured leg has increased, so, too, has his outlook.
Said Azzanni, “When you have an injury that takes that long to heal, you don’t see the light at the end of the tunnel. He’s got a light now, and now he’s picking his game back up, he’s picking his attitude back up, and he’s doing a nice job.”
The hype hasn’t disappeared, of course. He’ll still enter this season as one of the most intriguing players on the roster, and from the start his performances will likely be subject to harsh fan scrutiny.
But Azzanni’s approach has been simple: Keep the talented receiver focused on football, and the rest will take care of itself.
“I’m just trying to keep blinders on him right now,” Azzanni said. “Let’s just focus on your get-off, let’s focus on your breaking point. Forget everything else, forget the media, forget the Percy Harvin comparisons. Let’s just go play ball.”
— Gator Country reporter Dugan Arnett can be reached at dugan@gatorcountry.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/duganarnett.