TOP 20: Dontavius Russell
Dontavius Russell doesn't generate large tackle or sack stats. He doesn't make many highlight reels. He doesn't even get much notice when it's time for postseason conference awards.
Yet Auburn defenders can't stop talking about the senior defensive tackle.
"You'll see me celebrating after a big tackle, but Dontavius is a big reason why us linebackers can make the plays we do," middle linebacker Deshaun Davis said earlier this week. "He takes on double teams. He never stops going at them. He's a problem for those guys, the offensive linemen. They have to worry about him and that gives me a chance to do my job better."
Russell will finish his final college season as one of the most experienced defensive linemen ever to wear the Auburn jersey. He's started 37 games so far — and is all but guaranteed to start at least 12 more this fall. He's been starting since his redshirt freshman season in 2016 and his reputation, at least in the eyes of defensive line coach Rodney Garner, has done nothing but grow since those early days.
In a sense, there is no better match than Garner and Russell. Garner is a tough-love coach who uses amplitude to get his point across. He's big on personal accountability. He uses intimidation as a technique; bluster is his paint brush. Some players struggle to understand the rage because they cannot discern the message from the anger. Russell never had that problem, however, and chose Auburn partly because he appreciated Garner's style.
The Georgia native quickly acclimated to the way Garner expects his linemen to play and practice. That's why he was in the starting lineup during his first varsity season. Russell is a relatively quiet person, in stark contrast to Garner, but maximizes effect with the words he chooses. He's direct. He has no time for idle chatter. His parents instilled a rigorous work ethic into Russell at a young age and that's who he became — a young man affixed to his chosen tasks.
That focus turned Russell into an excellent defensive lineman. There are things to like about him as an athlete, of course, like his upper-body strength, his fitness, an improved ability to repel blockers with his hands. In short, he brings the pain snap after snap. There is no quit in Russell.
With that said, his agility isn't remarkable. He doesn't offer much burst off the line of scrimmage, which limits his ability to create pass rush up in the middle. That weakness, such as it is, doesn't matter much in Kevin Steele's defense because there are so many different ways the Tigers can create pass rush. They don't have many options when it comes to interior linemen being able to collect two blockers. Or interior guys who can fit multiple run gaps during the same play. That's a skill that only a handful of college linemen can manage with any kind of frequency. That's what Auburn wants — and gets — from Russell.
The downside for Russell is that nobody outside of the football complex is keeping stats on number of run gaps fitted, number of double teams collected, number of times the pocket is affected by Russell's bull rush. Dirty work like that doesn't get much notice outside of scouts. Russell doesn't live the life of a star football player. At the same time, I don't think he pines for adulation.
He just wants to play football and win games and get paid to play the game after his Auburn career ends. He's played a lot. He's won a lot. Now it's time for him to put together another solid season in the trenches and make his way to the NFL.
ON THE UP SIDE: Strength, fortitude, durability, experience
ON THE DOWN SIDE: Explosiveness, pass rush
VOTING RESULTS: No. 5 (Jeffrey Lee), No. 6 (The Bunker and Bryan Matthews), No. 9 (Jay G., Tate)
PREVIOUS RANKINGS: No. 11 in 2017, No. 10 in 2016
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