Derby, Kansas, operates like a football factory.
From the time children are second graders in peewee leagues, they’re learning the same calls, plays and formations they’ll eventually need to know when they take the field for Derby High School, the only high school in the small town.
And in recent years, the factory has been producing.
The teams have played well, snagging two state championships in the last three years and an 8-0 start to the 2016 season. The players themselves have demanded attention from recruiters, bringing national scouts to the Wichita suburb. And thanks to Florida tight end DeAndre Goolsby, the factory is especially adept at producing college-ready tight ends.
“(He) made the TE position sexy again,” Derby coach Brandon Clark wrote in an email.
Before he came through, Derby ran a spread offense that didn’t use tight ends much. But since his days staring at Panther Stadium, Goolsby has become an inspiration for the town’s young football hopefuls.
“He’s the legend in Derby who resurrected the tight end position and made youth across Derby wake up every morning wanting to be just like him,” Clark wrote.
Now at Florida, no one in Gainesville wakes up wanting to be like DeAndre. But his success has continued at the position he built back home, and it’s showing on the stat sheet.
“I think he’s starting to scratch the surface as to how good a player he can be,” Florida coach Jim McElwain said.
Goolsby is Florida’s second-leading receiver so far this season, amassing 215 yards on 25 grabs with a touchdown. But unlike in Derby, the tight end position at Florida was sexy long before he arrived.
Dating back to UF’s 2006 National Championship team that featured standouts Tate Casey and Cornelius Ingram, UF has also produced NFL talent like Jordan Reed and Aaron Hernandez.
But since Reed’s departure after the 2012 season, the position has been lagging.
In 2013 and 2014, Florida’s best pass-catching tight ends both amassed fewer yards than Goolsby already has halfway through this season.
Last season things started to return to normal when graduate transfer Jake McGee took over. Even Goolsby hauled in 277 yards worth of passes.
But this season, Goolsby has emerged as the favorite target of quarterbacks Luke Del Rio and Austin Appleby, hauling in the most passes (25) on the team.
And McElwain has taken notice of his improvement.
“He’s got a long ways to go,” he said, “but he’s a lot better than what he was.”
Clark, however, said he knew Goolsby was going to be great as soon as he arrived at Derby as a freshman.
“You could see it,” he said during a phone conversation.
He couldn’t hear it, though. Because aside from Goolsby’s size — he’s 6-foot-4 today — and natural athleticism, the most noteworthy thing about him was that he never said anything.
“He was this guy that just kinda showed up,” Clark said. “And he didn’t say much and just kept working, and … kids just started taking notice of him in games and stuff. And he kinda just became a role model by the way he was playing.”
While he hasn’t reached role-model status at UF, the junior is on track to have the best season of any tight end at Florida since Reed. But Clark, who saw his potential early, wouldn’t be surprised if Goolsby manages to re-do what he did back home.
“You see some guys leave the state and you kinda get the feeling that they’re gonna be back after a couple years,” he said. “But as soon as DeAndre… picked Florida, I knew right then he was gonna last there and do a great job.”
Contact Ethan Bauer at ebauer@alligator.org and follow him on Twitter @ebaueri.
DeAndre Goolsby runs to the end zone during Florida's 13-6 win over Vanderbilt on Oct. 1, 2016, in Nashville.
