Powell’s strides continue in football, turning into a star at Round Lake
Round Lake senior wide receiver Devin Powell is making it look easy this season.
But Powell just as easily could have been preparing for basketball at this point in the year.
“There have been some interesting ups and downs,” he said. “Going back to previous years, football always came second to basketball, and I didn’t know if I wanted to play. I will say that junior year is when I first fell in love with football, when I felt a culture shift.”
That culture shift coincided with the arrival of a new staff led by coach Randi Dey. But Powell still needed to be convinced to continue playing football. He had suffered a dislocated hip during his freshman season, and the injury sidelined him for much of the basketball season too.
“That injury really messed with me,” Powell said. “It was demoralizing. My parents had spent a lot of money on AAU basketball over the years, and I took the injury almost as a sign that I shouldn’t play (football).”
Powell’s classmate Evan West, who debuted as Round Lake’s quarterback last season, helped change his mind.
“It wasn’t easy getting him back into football,” West said. “I had to talk to him a lot, but I’m glad I did. He finally came around, and look at him now.”
Indeed, the 6-foot-1, 165-pound Powell looks unstoppable for the Panthers (2-1, 0-1). He has 27 catches for 491 yards, totals that include 12 catches for 150 yards and three touchdowns in a 28-27 come-from-behind win over Streamwood in Week 2 and 11 catches for 298 yards and three touchdowns in a 57-26 Northern Lake County Conference loss to Grayslake Central last week.
With that kind of production, Powell will have opportunities to play football in college. He has an offer from Judson and interest from several other programs.
“It’s been a while now that I realized maybe I could take this somewhere,” he said. “I still love basketball, but it seems like football will be better for my future. I’m truly thankful for all of it.”
That includes Dey’s expectations.
“Football always seemed easy to me, so I didn’t think I always had to show up, or I would leave early for basketball,” Powell said. “But coach doesn’t do things that way. Now I feel the importance of valuing my time in football, and I really worked hard this summer. I feel so stupid for not doing it last year.”
Dey is glad Powell stuck with it.
“It was a bit of a journey to show him why he should be bought in,” Dey said. “He was only halfway in last year. Football wasn’t one of his top priorities, and we had to work through that.
“The big thing with Devin is that he’s a competitor and wants to do his best at all times. He just didn’t know what that looked like.”
The Panthers and their opponents are seeing what that looks like now.
“We spent countless hours together this summer, and the opener wasn’t what we hoped it would be, but the last two weeks he’s been a primetime player,” West said. “Having a weapon like Devin is the ultimate security blanket, knowing that basically any ball I throw, he’ll catch.
“Honestly, the other night I underthrew a couple of passes, but he came down with them.”
Powell’s confidence soared during Round Lake’s first foray into 7-on-7 football over the summer.
“I handled everyone there,” he said. “No defensive back could step in front of me, and we took advantage.”
Powell credits Dey for pushing him and his teammates in the weight room and in conditioning drills.
“Coach puts us through these brutal workouts,” Powell said with a slight chuckle. “They’re actually horrible. We’re doing military circuits and all kinds of crazy stuff. But I look at myself in the mirror now and say, ‘Thank you, coach Dey.’”
Powell is also grateful for the opportunity to make an impact.
“I love this community, and I love being a representative of Round Lake,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to prove people wrong and show that I can be great at something. It means a lot to be able to show others that it can be done.”