Stanley 'the other guy' on talented U of L line
By Eric Crawford
ecrawford@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Of all the sounds on the football field, Montavious Stanley likes one the best.
Not the train whistle signaling a touchdown at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Not the roar of the crowd.
No, the University of Louisville senior defensive tackle lives to hear the sound of panic in opposing offensive lines.
"You start hearing, 'Who got 92? (Stanley's number) Who got 58? (defensive end Elvis Dumervil's),' " Stanley said, smiling. "They'll be trying to find where we're lined up. 'Where they at? There they go, slide protection here, 92 and 58 over there, slide, 92 back over here, slide here.'
"When we start hearing that, we get juiced up. We know they're worrying."
Opposing offensive lines have been fretting about Stanley all season. He's having his best season as a Cardinal, ranking third on the team with 41 tackles, including eight behind the line of scrimmage. He has 41/2 sacks and has recovered three fumbles.
But for a man who is tough to miss on the football field -- he's 6 feet 2 and 320 pounds -- he's been overlooked at times, playing just inside Dumervil. While Dumervil has captured national headlines with 20 sacks, he throws much of the praise to Stanley.
"You can't get an outside pass rush unless you're getting great play inside, you just can't," Dumervil said. "I have no doubt that Montavious having a great season has let me get the sacks I've gotten. If you focus on one of us, the other one, or somebody along that D-line, is going to make you pay. Montavious is a great player."
Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino said Stanley's ability to push the pocket -- making it difficult for the quarterback to step up and avoid pressure from the outside -- has been a major factor. But he added that Stanley is doing plenty of other things for the defense.
"The first thing he has done is that he's matured on and off the field and become a true leader for us … ," Petrino said. "He's done a great job pushing the pocket and been very productive getting his own sacks. And he's done an excellent job in the run game. He's learned how to keep his shoulders square and shed blocks and come up and make tackles."
Stanley's first trip to U of L was not as a football player. He went to one of Denny Crum's basketball camps, and coach John L. Smith, who was known to wander down to take a look at the camps for reasons other than an interest in basketball, wound up taking a liking to him.
At 240 pounds when he arrived, Stanley first was seen as a defensive end by the coaching staff. He then came under the wing of Dewayne White, who was on his way to an early entry into the National Football League draft.
"Dewayne had played some D-tackle, too, so he told me to always pay attention to what they were doing, because I might go inside," Stanley said.
He began to get bigger and stronger, but Smith's staff put an emphasis on keeping his weight down and his speed up.
When Jason Veltkamp arrived as strength coach before last season, a new philosophy was unveiled: Let the big man grow. Now he's 80 pounds heavier than he was when he walked on campus and 40 pounds heavier than he was two years ago. But he still moves with good speed.
Stanley grew up in Albany, Ga. His nemesis all through childhood was none other than Deion Branch, now a star receiver with the New England Patriots.
"We played against each other in everything," Stanley said, "unless we were just on the playground, and then we tried to get on the same team."
They didn't know at the time they were part of what would become a fertile ground for U of L football. In addition to Branch and Stanley, current Cardinals Joshua Tinch and Kurt Quarterman also were growing up in Albany.
"We were trying to start a little pipeline," Stanley said. "But a couple of guys broke that. We won't say no names, but Albany has been pretty good to Louisville."
And Stanley has been particularly good. He said he doesn't mind the spotlight going to Dumervil.
"I know how hard Elvis has worked," he said. "He came from third string. He deserves everything he gets, and I'll just be happy and I have fun celebrating with him. We both take the most pride in winning ahead of everything else."
With just two home games left, Stanley said he's happy with the note his U of L career will end on.
"I'm not satisfied yet, because I haven't had the kind of breakout game I wanted," Stanley said. "But the year is going good now, we're playing pretty well and the defense is getting better and better. I've been thinking about it. Just two games left here. I just want to make sure we go out and play those games the right way."
ecrawford@courier-journal.com
The Courier-Journal
Of all the sounds on the football field, Montavious Stanley likes one the best.
Not the train whistle signaling a touchdown at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. Not the roar of the crowd.
No, the University of Louisville senior defensive tackle lives to hear the sound of panic in opposing offensive lines.
"You start hearing, 'Who got 92? (Stanley's number) Who got 58? (defensive end Elvis Dumervil's),' " Stanley said, smiling. "They'll be trying to find where we're lined up. 'Where they at? There they go, slide protection here, 92 and 58 over there, slide, 92 back over here, slide here.'
"When we start hearing that, we get juiced up. We know they're worrying."
Opposing offensive lines have been fretting about Stanley all season. He's having his best season as a Cardinal, ranking third on the team with 41 tackles, including eight behind the line of scrimmage. He has 41/2 sacks and has recovered three fumbles.
But for a man who is tough to miss on the football field -- he's 6 feet 2 and 320 pounds -- he's been overlooked at times, playing just inside Dumervil. While Dumervil has captured national headlines with 20 sacks, he throws much of the praise to Stanley.
"You can't get an outside pass rush unless you're getting great play inside, you just can't," Dumervil said. "I have no doubt that Montavious having a great season has let me get the sacks I've gotten. If you focus on one of us, the other one, or somebody along that D-line, is going to make you pay. Montavious is a great player."
Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino said Stanley's ability to push the pocket -- making it difficult for the quarterback to step up and avoid pressure from the outside -- has been a major factor. But he added that Stanley is doing plenty of other things for the defense.
"The first thing he has done is that he's matured on and off the field and become a true leader for us … ," Petrino said. "He's done a great job pushing the pocket and been very productive getting his own sacks. And he's done an excellent job in the run game. He's learned how to keep his shoulders square and shed blocks and come up and make tackles."
Stanley's first trip to U of L was not as a football player. He went to one of Denny Crum's basketball camps, and coach John L. Smith, who was known to wander down to take a look at the camps for reasons other than an interest in basketball, wound up taking a liking to him.
At 240 pounds when he arrived, Stanley first was seen as a defensive end by the coaching staff. He then came under the wing of Dewayne White, who was on his way to an early entry into the National Football League draft.
"Dewayne had played some D-tackle, too, so he told me to always pay attention to what they were doing, because I might go inside," Stanley said.
He began to get bigger and stronger, but Smith's staff put an emphasis on keeping his weight down and his speed up.
When Jason Veltkamp arrived as strength coach before last season, a new philosophy was unveiled: Let the big man grow. Now he's 80 pounds heavier than he was when he walked on campus and 40 pounds heavier than he was two years ago. But he still moves with good speed.
Stanley grew up in Albany, Ga. His nemesis all through childhood was none other than Deion Branch, now a star receiver with the New England Patriots.
"We played against each other in everything," Stanley said, "unless we were just on the playground, and then we tried to get on the same team."
They didn't know at the time they were part of what would become a fertile ground for U of L football. In addition to Branch and Stanley, current Cardinals Joshua Tinch and Kurt Quarterman also were growing up in Albany.
"We were trying to start a little pipeline," Stanley said. "But a couple of guys broke that. We won't say no names, but Albany has been pretty good to Louisville."
And Stanley has been particularly good. He said he doesn't mind the spotlight going to Dumervil.
"I know how hard Elvis has worked," he said. "He came from third string. He deserves everything he gets, and I'll just be happy and I have fun celebrating with him. We both take the most pride in winning ahead of everything else."
With just two home games left, Stanley said he's happy with the note his U of L career will end on.
"I'm not satisfied yet, because I haven't had the kind of breakout game I wanted," Stanley said. "But the year is going good now, we're playing pretty well and the defense is getting better and better. I've been thinking about it. Just two games left here. I just want to make sure we go out and play those games the right way."
posted by The Gryphon at 10:12 PM
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