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South Fayette junior anticipates living up to his billing

By Eleanor Bailey almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.Net 8 min read
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Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

Nate Deanes is expected to be among the top players this football season. Last year as a sophomore, he led South Fayette in rushing with 602 yards on 129 carries and four touchdowns. He also a top receiver with 318 yards on 27 catches. Deanes also is a returning starter on defense. He had 36 tackles and two interceptions as a free safety for the Lions.

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By Eleanor Bailey/The Almanac

South Fayette’s Nate Deanes makes his way through an opening before being tackled during football action last season. Deanes rushed for over 600 yards and added more than 300 yards receiving to lead the Lions. He returns for his junior year this fall.

When he inherited the No. 1 football jersey at South Fayette High School, Nate Deanes did so reluctantly because the junior was aware of all its trappings and expectations.

“People might be surprised to know that my favorite number is four. Not one,” Deans said. “I loved the No. 4. I wore it all my life in basketball and football but it was passed down to me.”

Before he went off to Princeton, Charley Rossi bequeathed No. 1 to Deanes. When Rossi wore the digit, he set the standard for receptions with a school-record 140 career catches for 2,156 yards.

Rossi also starred in the Lions’ last WPIAL championship appearance at Heinz Field in 2018. As a pint-sized sophomore, he caught three passes for 70 yards, including the game-winning score in an upset win, 31-24, against Thomas Jefferson.

“Charley told me to wear (No. 1) when he graduated,” Deanes said. “He was a great leader as a player and in the classroom. I try to emulate him.”

Rossi played an instrumental role in helping Deanes become one of the top players to watch this high school football season.

As an incoming freshman two years ago, Deanes was the new kid on the block. He had moved from Canonsburg and transferred out of the Canon-McMillan School District.

“Since I moved to South Fayette, Charley took me under his wing,” Deanes said.

In 2020, Deanes started four games. Last fall, he started every game.

As a sophomore in 2021, he was the Lions’ leading rusher with 602 yards on 129 carries for four scores. He also ranked as the team’s third-leading receiver with 318 yards on 27 catches.

Additionally, he contributed 250 yards on special teams.

On defense, he started all nine games in the secondary. As a free safety, he recorded 36 tackles and intercepted two passes.

“Nate’s a playmaker,” said SF skipper Joe Rossi. “In open spaces, he can make you miss.

“Nate’s has a good blend of athleticism and his football IQ is high. He sees the game and knows the game.”

Deanes learned the game at his father’s knee. Nick Deanes played football and basketball at Brashear High School and his mother, Romina, was a cheerleader at Keystone Oaks.

“She’s my No. 1 fan,” Deanes said of his mom.

After Deanes decided soccer was not for him, his dad signed him up to play football when he turned 6. He competed for the Lil Macs in the Canon Mac Youth Football Association, which is the feeder system for the C-M high school program.

“I loved it right away. I loved the physical aspect of the game and the atmosphere,” he said. “There’s nothing like Friday night lights and the crowd.”

With his best friend Rossi as his role model, Deanes has blossomed into a leader on and off the field for the Lions.

An honors student, with only one B in his academic career, Deanes aspires to attend an Ivy League school, too. He has drawn interest so far from Yale, Lehigh and Sacred Heart as well as some other small schools.

His 5-8, 175-pound stature is not a hindrance.

“I feel I have the work ethic,” he said. “Heart over height is my motto. I believe if I work hard, then I can play anywhere.”

Deanes added that Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Rondale Moore is an example of that philosophy. It’s also a tenant of the sports lesson he has learned in his career.

“Never give up, no matter what,” he said. “Whether on the field or in the classroom. If you make a mistake, come back and keep grinding. Keep working hard.”

In 2022, Deanes is striving to achieve many personal as well as team goals. The main objective is to help the Lions gain a playoff spot. Last year, they lost their final five games, finished 4-6 overall and failed to enter the WPIAL postseason.

“Personally, I would like to be an all-state athlete but the important thing is to help the team have a bounce-back season,” Deanes said. “We are not used to missing the playoffs.

“We are all working hard and we are all determined to make sure that doesn’t happen again. There’s no messing around. We are taking every session and each practice seriously.”

Deanes is taking his off-field preparations equally in stride. He’s “eating right” and getting plenty of rest.

“It’s not just what you do in the weight room and having a great work ethic,” he said. “How many hours of sleep and what you put into your body play a role in how well you perform and how successful you are.”

Coach Rossi anticipates Deanes will be the “centerpiece” of SF’s success this autumn because of his commitment to excellence.

“It starts with Nate. He’s a great leader and a great kid. When kids see your best player working the hardest, they follow and your team can’t help but become better.

“Our goals for Nate this season are No. 1 to lead this football team and No. 2 to distribute the ball to him in many ways on offense. On defense, as a free safety, he’s our quarterback, making the coverage calls and using his IQ to get everybody properly aligned.

“For us to be good,” Rossi continued, “Nate needs to have a good year and make things happen.”

Deanes embraces those expectations. He can handle the pressure. He says he has had some first-hand experience being a role model for his younger brothers, Alexander, 14, and Kameron, 5, while his older brother, Nicholas, 22, is away at Slippery Rock University earning his college degree.

“It’s been craziness with all I do but I think my younger brothers look up to me and I want to set a good example. I want to be a role model here at South Fayette as well. I’m an upperclassman now and I feel I should be a leader for the younger players.

“I’m pretty calm and collected,” Deanes added of his demeanor. “I just be myself. I don’t think too much about it. Just be me and block out all the noise, the hype and the hate, and focus on what I have to do and what I have to become.”

Deanes eventually hopes to become a professional football player upon graduation from college.

“Obviously, that’s the dream. I want a shot at the NFL,” he said. “Football doesn’t last forever though. That’s why is it so important to get into a good school and get a good degree.”

While playing football in college, Deanes will major in education. He plans to become a PE teacher and eventually a high school football coach.

“I could see Charley and I running the South Fayette program,” he said.

“I’d love to be like Coach Rossi. He’s my role model, too. He does all this for the kids. He takes time away from his own family and kids for us because he loves this program. He puts his sweat, heart and tears into this program because he want to make us better players and people.”

Age: 17

Birthday: May 2

Parents: Romina and Nick

Siblings: Nicholas, 22, Alexander, 14, Kameron, 5

School: South Fayette

Year: Junior

GPA: 3.65

Sports: Football, basketball, track

Activities: Ping pong club, Young Life

Career plans: “Earn a degree in education, hopefully at a good college like an Ivy League school and become a teacher and coach after exhausting all my football playing options.”

Food: Steak

Color: Green

Restaurant: Fusion Japanese Steak House

Music: R&B

Book: “I love reading books about events in of the past, before I came into this world. I find it interesting as I need to now what happened in past so I can pave a better path and be a role model so the bad things like the Holocaust don’t happen again.”

Movie: Spiderman: Far From Home.

Favorite athlete:  Portland Trail Blazers guard Damon Lillard.

Who would play you in a movie: Arizona Cardinals safety Damon Moore.

Dream Destination: Hawaii. “I love the beach and clear water. I’m not a fan of the ocean when I can’t see my feet.”

Person you would like to have dinner with: Michael Jordan. “I feel like he would have so much to talk about. He knows the struggle and work ethic you need to have in order to get to highest level.”

In 15 years, I will be: “In the NFL. That’s the dream. After that living in Pennsylvania and hopefully teaching and coaching football at South Fayette.”

Nate Deanes has Sept. 23 circled on the calendar.

That is the day South Fayette hosts Canon-McMillan at 7 p.m. in a non-conference football clash.

“I can’t wait for Week 5,” he said. “I am so psyched.”

Deanes is anxious and excited about the confrontation because he used to live in Canonsburg.

During the summer between his eighth and ninth grades, Deanes moved to South Fayette.

“I played with all those guys. Some of my friends are still there,” he said. “So it’s going to be a fun battle.”

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