By Mick McGrane, GoAztecs.com Senior Writer
(@MickOnTheMesa)
The story begins atop a mobile tower extending nearly 22 feet above a goalpost's uprights, a camera perch routinely occupied by Aztec football video coordinator Brian Murphy.
It was August of 2006, the opening of fall camp, and a 6-foot, 185-pound wide receiver from Oak Park High in Ventura County was hopeful of finding a roster spot as a walk-on. Trouble was, he'd been tardy in making his wishes known to the football office and was informed that the 105-man roster was already complete.
Refusing to let his dream die, Doug Deakin told coaches he'd do anything to stay as close to the team as possible.
"They asked me if I was afraid of heights," Deakin said at the time. "At first, I didn't really understand. I told them, 'No, not necessarily.' That's when they told me they wanted to introduce me to Brian Murphy."
Murphy found Deakin engaging, an aspiring player who despite his small-school background was willing to push himself to the brink, to take his game to a new level — one approximately 40 feet off the ground. For the duration of the 2006 season, the camera tower would serve as Deakin's vantage point, allowing him to size up the competition while gaining a newfound appreciation of the game.
"He was the hardest working kid I've ever had," Murphy recalled. "He shot every practice, every scrimmage and never complained. And for a kid to be in the situation he was, where he'd obviously rather have been on the field, he always did it with a smile on his face.
"For him, it was kind of like being grounded and watching the other kids play outside through the window."
The only window Doug Deakin peers from now is in his office. Given the green light by coaches to join the team in 2007, his is a story of determination, of sheer will and want, of going from walk-on to scholarship player to team captain.
And in 2018, being a first-year special teams coach/tight ends coordinator who knows full well the path of observer to overseer, a path that includes once being nominated for the College Football Rudy Awards, an honor recognizing student-athletes who demonstrate excellent character, contribution and commitment as members of their teams.
In short, the perfect man for the job, one who worked with SDSU's special teams and defense as a graduate assistant from 2011-13 before spending the past three years as the program's assistant director of football operations.
"Special teams is how I got on the field," Deakin said. "I wasn't as good as (former wide receivers) Vincent Brown or DeMarco Sampson. It was tough to break the two-deep at wide receiver, because those guys were something else. Special teams were my niche as far as filling roles that are required of you. That's why I enjoy coaching it, too, because you've got defensive guys, you've got offensive guys, but at the end of the day it all gets back to fundamentals, teaching defensive guys how to block, teaching offensive guys how to shed blocks and tackle. It really gets back to the basics of football, and you're working with all sorts of different players.
"The thing you learn about football is that there's a place for almost any type of guy, whether you're a fast guy that's maybe short in stature or you're a big, strong guy. Everyone can have a role and be exceptional in it."
Including coaches. In filling the position previously held by now-Montana head coach Bobby Hauck, Deakin has taken over for a man who in his first season in 2015 guided SDSU's special teams to a ESPN national efficiency ranking of No. 23 after an average ranking of 79.3 the previous six years. Kick returner Rashaad Penny was named the Mountain West Special Teams Player of the Year three times, while Donny Hageman became the first Aztec kicker to earn all-conference honors since 2010. Long snapper Jeff Overbaugh has played for five NFL teams, most recently with the Atlanta Falcons.
"You don't try and fix too much of what's already working really well," Deakin said. "When you talk about filling somebody's shoes, those are Shaq-sized (Shaquille O'Neal) shoes to fill. Bobby was very good at diagnosing weaknesses of other teams, of being complex but simple. Those are things I'm looking to carry over, because the most important thing is that the guys are confident in their assignments and can execute those assignments."
Exhibit A came in last week's win against Air Force, a thorny affair that included a blocked punt by sophomore Kaelin Himphill, the team's first blocked punt in four years. The block was returned for a 19-yard touchdown by sophomore safety Trenton Thompson with eight seconds left in the half, marking SDSU's first blocked punt returned for a touchdown since former linebacker Freddy Keiaho accomplished the feat 13 years ago. For his efforts, Himphill was named the MW Special Teams Player of the Week.
But as was the case with Deakin, attempting to prove his worth at a position already crowded with talent, Himphill is the backup to middle linebacker Kyahva Tezino, who may be on his way to being named the league's Defensive Player of the Year.
"Kaelin is on special teams because he's not a first-team linebacker right now," Deakin said. "But he's an aggressive player who's going to give you everything he's got. He's that hustle type of guy who is going to give you exactly what you need.
"What you ultimately find is that the guys who aren't starters want to get on the field any way possible. They're so hungry to try to prove what they can do, and that has been a big benefit here in terms of special teams. Guys really buy into it and want to show that they can play. And they can play, it's just that sometimes there's a guy who's better at their particular position, be it on offense or defense. They're still totally capable football players and they get to showcase that on special teams."
Rest assured their efforts do not go unnoticed by head coach Rocky Long, a regular at every special teams meeting.
"Most of the guys that we recruit out of high school, other than being return guys—a lot of them are return guys because of their skill—most of the guys we're recruiting aren't playing special teams in high school," Long said. "So to evaluate a player for special teams, he's got to be a quality athlete that doesn't mind contact, because (in) most special teams play, you have to be an athlete where you can run fast enough to cover, you have to be physical enough to get off of blocks or avoid blocks, and then you've got to be willing to tackle somebody. And then when you're on the coverage teams or when you're on the kicking teams, obviously you have to do some things like block and get in the right position to allow the return man to maybe have some progress. So you look for really good athletes that don't mind contact to be on special teams."
"I think it's a team attitude," Long added. "I think some guys like to play no matter what, and so they're looking to be on every special team, as well as play on offense or defense. And then there are some other guys that have to realize how important it is. Now, we have some starters on our special teams, but if you have good team spirit, then they're willing to do it because they know how important it is to any success you might have."
Few special teams players in the nation have had more success this season than senior kicker John Baron II, who already has been tabbed the league's Special Teams Player of the Week three times this year. Baron, who ranks second among all FBS players in career field goal percentage (min. 20 FGM), has connected on 10-of-12 (.838) attempts and has been perfect on 11 PATs. He is one of just five kickers in the nation with three field goals of at least 50 yards and one of three that is 3-for-3 from 50 or more yards.
"The coaching staff did a great job of identifying John out of high school," Deakin said. "You could tell, even then, that there was a big difference with the way the ball boomed, the way it made a different sound when it came off of his foot then it did with other kickers. I am amazed in the sense that we knew he was a good kicker, but what makes great kickers ultimately comes down to what's between their ears — how they feel about themselves, their self confidence and their ability to let it rip, to take the next rep and learn from the kicks they miss.
"I just think he's got something special. He's confident in himself, but he's also a football player in the sense that he's out there with one objective, and that's to hit it between the uprights and help us win games. His teammates pick up on that and rally behind him."
Even if they're not full-time starters.
"We've established a culture here with our special teams," said Deakin, who along with offensive line coach Mike Schmidt and defensive line coach Ernie Lawson is one of three full-time assistants who played at SDSU. "Special teams are such a factor in games, and they're very important to our guys. When we recruit, we want to know if kids are playing special teams, because we see that as being a situation where their team can't afford not to have them on the field. It's also a great way to evaluate how they play in space. Can they tackle if they're an offensive guy? Can they get off blocks? Special teams are very important to what we do as a program, and Coach Long has set the tone ever since he's been here. It's critical to our success."
It's also the story of Doug Deakin.