'Man of my word': Bellville's DJ Sanders honors pledge, signs with A&M
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BELLVILLE, Texas — The telephone calls and text messages never really stopped. But the volume of calls and messages increased dramatically over the last 24 hours.
DJ Sanders’ phone continuously buzzed on Tuesday night. College football recruiters were making final attempts to convince the four-star defensive tackle to renege on his commitment to Texas A&M.
The calls and messages kept coming until 7 a.m. on Wednesday.
“I got a message from the Texas defensive line coach this morning,” Sanders’ stepfather Corey Franklin said. “He was asking, ‘What do we have to do?’”
Nothing could be done. Sanders was committed to Texas A&M. No words could change his mind because Sanders had given his word.
So, about a little more than an hour later, Dashon Jarcquel Sanders wore a Texas A&M jacket as he sat before an enthusiastic audience in the Bellville High School gymnasium to announce he signed with coach Mike Elko’s Aggies.
“I just told (rival coaches) I’m going to stay committed to A&M,” Sanders said. “It was hard to keep it, but I’m a man of my word. My family always says to be true to your word. I have to stand by that.”
What’s that? An athlete putting character over cash? Honor over a payday? How antiquated is that idea?
In this day of NIL, athletes frequently seek a better, more lucrative deal. A coach from a rival program is always lurking close by to offer one.
Elko is fully aware of that. He knew rivals would try to steal Sanders. Every program covets a 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman who moves like a running back.
“As the (recruiting) process goes on, it becomes a money grab,” Elko said on Wednesday afternoon. “You see people throwing more and more and more to try to get kids to change their minds.
“We want kids that are about value. We want kids who are about a little bit more than that. I think it validates when all of those kids sign with us that we picked the right character kids, the right character families.”
Sanders certainly qualifies. Even as calls multiplied and offers increased, Grady Rowe, who has coached the Bellville High football team for 14 years, doubted anyone could change DJ’s mind.
“A lot of schools made some last-minute effort the last couple of weeks,” Rowe said. “You can’t blame them. That’s the game.
“Never any doubt in my mind that DJ was going to stay true to his commitment. I think that says a lot about him because there are some pretty big opportunities for an 18-year-old kid to make those decisions.”
Four years ago, Rowe knew Sanders eventually would have to make such tough decisions.
The Bellville Brahmas were in need of a defensive end in an August scrimmage with Navasota. On a whim, he put in Sanders, who was then a 6-foot-2, 260-pound freshman.
“We couldn’t find a defensive end, so we brought him up,” Rowe recalled. “He was going against a D-1 (scholarship) offensive tackle. DJ pushed him into the backfield and got to the quarterback. I turned to our coaches and said, ‘Boys, we’ve found one.’”
A few weeks later, Rowe met with the Sanders family to tell them to prepare for a recruiting process that would get crazy over the next three years.
Rowe was prophetic. Sanders may be the most highly recruited football player Bellville has ever produced.
That’s incredibly high praise, considering Bellville’s past. Running backs Ted and Ernie Koy were stars at Texas in the ‘60s and played in the NFL. Bellville natives Bill Zapalac, Ken Hackemack, Hunter Goodwin and Emmanuel Sanders — DJ’s cousin — also reached the NFL.
But others saw what the future had in store for DJ much earlier.
Connie Sanders-Franklin, DJ’s mother, saw it in the first seconds of his life.
“Since the womb,” she said. “He was a 10-pounder. He was born to be on the field.”
Sanders grew so big, so fast that his mother had to provide proof he was eligible for little league sports teams.
“I used to have to carry around his birth certificate because people didn’t believe his age,” Connie said. “They thought he was way older than his age.”
His grandfather and little league football and basketball coach, Howard Bryant, saw what the future had in store a few years later.
“DJ did not want to play (little league) football at all because he was so much bigger than the other kids. He wanted to be a running back,” Bryant said. “We made him play in the seventh grade, and it took off. In the eighth grade, I think it clicked that being a big kid wasn’t a bad thing.”
It certainly wasn’t. Sanders was an unstoppable force for Bellville High. He’s a two-time All-State selection and likely will make it three when this year’s team is announced. As a junior, he played a major role in helping the Brahmas reach the state championship game.
“Some of the plays you see…,” Rowe said. “He scored three touchdowns on defense in the last two seasons. Two of them, he stripped away from the running back and then took off. Nobody was catching him. This year, a fumble right at the pile, and he scooped it up and scored.
“We thought about putting him at running back. We put in some pass plays for him at the goal line. But he was too valuable on defense.”
Elko recognized that value right away. When Elko accepted the job as A&M head coach last December, he put Sanders high on his list of recruiting priorities.
Sanders committed to the Aggies last August. Though so many temptations were offered, Sanders never wavered in his commitment.
“He was brought up to let your word be your word,” Bryant said. “DJ is that kind of kid. It’s not about money all the time. It’s about him being happy, and he’s happy with A&M.
“I told him to follow his heart, and it would lead where God wanted him to be.”
Aggies everywhere are undoubtedly thankful God apparently wanted Sanders in College Station.
