Interview: 5-Star 2020 Clemson DT Commit Damonte Capehart Updates Season with IMG
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG
When the 2018 high school football season had closed, 13 teams in South Carolina had lived through the horror of Class of 2020 defensive tackle Damonte Capehart. Capehart was an unstoppable force for Hartsville High School helping his team to a perfect regular season with a run to the 4A semifinal round in the playoffs (12-1). Before his reign of terror as a junior began, he shut down his recruiting process committing to the Clemson Tigers. Now the five-star talent is lining up for national powerhouse IMG Academy inflicting his pain on teams throughout the nation with a singular focus on being national champions.
When the 6-5, 301-pound, tackle lined up in Hartsville’s 3-4 base last, he was credited with 40 tackles, 19 tackles for a loss, and seven sacks. But even those numbers seem to be far off his total production on the field. Using a fast get off, his bull rush, getting skinny, or a delayed burst throwing off offensive tackles off their rhythm, Capehart was in the backfield on every play creating chaos. The tape doesn’t lie, and even Capehart describes his strengths as being “a good pass rusher that can play fast and physical.”
Five-star recognition has not led to complacency on the field for Capehart. To get ready for his senior season with the Ascenders, Capehart worked on “being able to better break the game down” and “being able to think better on the move in-game.” The big question over the summer, what would Capehart do stepping up a level against top competition week after week?
Each season IMG Academy sets up a national schedule playing teams from all over the country, and the 2019 season is no different. The schedule kicked off against Venice, a 7A Florida semifinalist last season, coming away with a 46-7 win. After downing the Indians, IMG took on Miami’s Northwestern, the defending 6A state champs and current No. 20 ranked team in the country (MaxPreps), posting a 24-7 win. When asked how the team is looking thus far, Capehart chimed, “We look decent. We have some things to fix, but we are alright.”
Being under the bright lights as the No. 4 ranked team in the country has not hindered Capehart’s roll on the gridiron. In the two games played this season, Capehart has 11 tackles and two tackles for a loss even with being on the sidelines much of the second half. Capehart credits his offseason workouts to “playing much quicker than before.”
Being a powerhouse program seeking a national championship means having to leave Bradenton to fill in a full itinerary. On Friday, the Ascenders travel to Philadelphia to take on No. 11 St. Joseph’s Prep and then head to Maryland to face No. 22 nationally ranked St. John’s. There is no break in the lineup with Miami’s Booker T. Washington (Sept. 27), No. 1 St. Frances Academy out of Maryland (Oct. 18), and Hoover High School (Nov. 1), ranked No. 3 in Alabama, still left to play. The only thing on Capehart’s mind the rest of the way is “being the best player I can possibly be” before heading to Clemson as an early enrollee.
Photo credit: twitter.com; Damonte Capehart (2018)