Q&A with Iowa Western DL coach Aaron Terry
Texas Tech's coaches are looking to close strong in the 2020 class, and the newest commitment is a big one both literally and figuratively.
After putting up 58 tackles, 9.5 sacks and 17 tackles for loss this season, Iowa Western C.C. defensive end Devin Drew won the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year, and to learn more about Drew we reached out to his defensive line coach at Iowa Western, Aaron Terry.
On the field what kind of player is Devin Drew? Is he more of a pass rusher, run stopper or can he do it all?
"Yeah, he can really do it all. He's really, really coachable. He was second on our team in tackles and he led our team in sacks with nine and a half. So he can really do both. He's a technician, he's coachable, just every day he wants to get better and he works on his fundamentals.
Devin is a outstanding football player and an even better person. He is a work horse and was the most dominant player on the field all year long."
Both on and off the field how has Devin grown since you got him as a freshman last year?
"Devin is a pretty mature kid and he's been awesome since day one. He was a middle linebacker in high school and he actually walked on to our program. His first year here he started number six on the depth chart and by the end of the season he was a starter for us. Just really mature, nothing really fazes him. He doesn't worry about any outside voices, he just focuses on what he has to do and he works hard at it."
Does Devin remind you of anyone you've coached before or anyone currently in college or in the NFL?
"He really stands out by himself. He's really versatile with what he does, he can play inside, he can play out, he's a one of a kind type of dude. It's been really good to coach a guy like that because it makes my job a lot easier.
The things he does and the type of person he is, awesome kid, he works his butt off and for me he's a once in a lifetime kid. It was awesome to coach him and I think Texas Tech really hit the jackpot with him."
Drew was the Defensive Player of the Year for your conference and he had a few other nice offers but I would say he was still underrated by most schools. Why do you think that is?
"Absolutely and I'm not sure. I talk with a lot of different schools, from the Big 10 to the Big 12. Texas Tech actually came up and watched our game against Butler CC and he really dominated the game from start to finish. Had 12 tackles, four sacks, five TFL's and they were like 'wow, we need this kid, he's definitely a difference maker' and they were really the first Power 5 school to pull the trigger. A lot of other people were flirting with him and Maryland came in kinda late in the picture but I think by that time coach Wells and the rest of the staff had already built a pretty good relationship with Devin.
I don't know why he didn't have more offers than what he had but obviously everything happens for a reason and I think with that new staff down there he fits well with them and they'll take care of him. It's going to be awesome to watch him play at the next level."
Do you have any other recruits at Iowa Western that Texas Tech fans should keep an eye on?
"Yeah we do, I've been fortunate enough to have a really good group. We have Fitzroy Gardner, he'll actually be a May grad and he has a handful of offers already, some Power 5 offers.
We also have two defensive tackles that will be returning that will be big time guys next year. Isaiah Coe, he's from Chicago and then Almosse Titi, he picked up a lot of offers this year. It was a situation where we thought he was going to be able to get out now, he has to graduate and will come back for another year but he has a handful of offers right now."