Devante’s Diary: A big weekend and some big news to share

Welcome to the Thanksgiving Edition of my diary.

We have a big weekend ahead, obviously. We practiced a little earlier on Wednesday so the team can get together on campus for a Thanksgiving dinner, which is great because a lot of our families are not here with us. Then, we’ll practice early on Thursday and I’m lucky enough to have my mom here for Thanksgiving and she’s cooking! My favorite things to eat on the holiday are pecan pie and sweet potato pie and I can’t wait.

Looking back at our trip to Hawai’i, it was a great football game but ended up as a tragic loss for the Rebels. We didn’t see it coming after we went down to score with 15 seconds left. We played well overall but hurt ourselves a few times that kept us from finishing some drives and scoring more points. It was definitely tough watching them catch that final pass after watching that clock not wind down fast enough. I can say it’s one of the best games I’ve ever played in and also one of the toughest losses I’ve ever been a part of.

I had an 81-yard play that led to our second touchdown. It was a nice ball thrown by Lebow (quarterback Jared Lebowitz). I caught it and stiff-armed the defender. There wasn’t anyone close to me so I took off running. The jets were on for a good 60 yards but the legs were getting a little tired and I glanced over and saw someone coming at me who was moving pretty fast. I got tackled by a guy who I later found out from my teammate, Maike Mataele, had won the 100-meter dash – so he was one of the fastest guys in all of Hawai’i, which I guess makes it a little better.

This week, of course, is the big one against Reno, and it’s going to be a great day. They are a well-coached team with a lot of good players and we know we have to come ready to play. We have a lot of seniors this year and for many people it’s their last game playing football and we need to go out with a bang.

Helping get our cannon back last year was big. It’s very important to our team to keep it in Las Vegas. The names of all the seniors who won the Fremont Cannon over the years are on plaques hanging at the entrance of our practice fields. Seeing the names of those who did it before us is a big deal. Getting my name up there by winning Saturday would be great and help us leave a lasting legacy here.

It’s going to be an emotional night. My senior-year checklist is getting shorter and shorter. I just had my last Tuesday practice and pretty soon I’ll be warming up for my last college game. I feel lucky that it’s going to be at home and against our big rival. We really couldn’t ask for a better setting. My mom and dad will be there Saturday to meet me on the field pregame and they’ve only been to one of my games in Las Vegas before this one.

I have some big news to share with you right here in my diary as I have been invited to play in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on January 24. It’s something I’ve been working for and it’s an accomplishment that I’m really proud of. In the team meeting on the field after practice, Coach Hauck was holding a Fed-Ex envelope from the Senior Bowl and he kind of called me up and let me know. He said I’m the first player he’s ever sent as a head coach. I was happy and the team was really happy for me so it was a great moment. Now I need to keep working hard and go down there and represent UNLV the best I can.

We will talk to you next week but I want to wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving and we’ll see you out at Sam Boyd Stadium Saturday night!

—Devante

UNLV ends its season by hosting Nevada, Reno on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. PT at Sam Boyd Stadium. The game can be seen on ESPNU.