The smile rarely leaves D.J. May’s face, which is a rarity in the rough-and-tumble sport of football.
“I don’t know what it is,” said May, a Federal Way High School senior. “I’m just always smiling. I’m just a happy person and don’t let things get me down.”
But May and the rest of his Eagle teammates have a lot to be happy about these days. Sixth-ranked Federal Way is a perfect 10-0 this season and gearing up to host the Eastlake Wolves (9-1) at Federal Way Memorial Stadium in the opening round of the Class 4A State Football Tournament at 7 p.m. tonight, Nov. 12.
“He is always smiling. There is never a bad day for D.J. May. He’s always just happy and bright and sparkling. He sparkles all the time,” longtime Federal Way head coach John Meagher said with a laugh.
May has also been sparkling on the football field this season for the Eagles, who finished unbeaten during the regular season for the first time since 1976. The 5-foot-11, 187-pound tailback led the Eagles into the state playoffs last week with 220 yards and four touchdowns during a 41-14 win over Snohomish.
On the season, May has tallied 1,288 yards on just 123 carries, including 21 for touchdowns.
“He works really hard,” Meagher said. “He is an extremely hard worker and isn’t your normal high school kid. He is physically gifted, but trains himself hard. He watches what he eats and is special in his preparation and that makes a difference in the strength department.”
But even with those gaudy numbers and May’s prototypical tailback size, they haven’t translated into any offers from college football programs, something that baffles Meagher.
“I don’t have a great understanding of that,” he said. “I guess as far as Pac-12 schools, he may not be fast enough to play tailback or something? They have their recipes and their guys. But there’s no doubt in my mind that he can play tailback at the next level at a (Western Athletic Conference) or Big Sky school. He just needs the first domino to fall and a lot will follow.”
During Meagher’s 17 years at Federal Way, he’s seen a lot of talented running backs walk the halls, including guys like Shaun Bodiford, Anthony Dotson, Andre Piper-Jordan, Andre Barrington and Trenton Pinson, to name a few. But he wouldn’t trade May for any of them.
“D.J. is a tailback that we haven’t had,” Meagher said. “As coaches we have had a lot of conversations and I feel like he’s the best. None of those guys played tailback in college. They all switched positions. I think D.J.’s a tailback at the next level.”
“It doesn’t bug me that much,” May said about his lack of college options at this time. “I just know that I have to work harder to get an offer. Things will work out if I keep working hard.”
May burst onto the football scene during his junior season for the Eagles. After spending his freshman year at Beamer, May transferred to Federal Way before the 2009-10 season but couldn’t play for the Eagles’ varsity squad as a sophomore because of district transfer rules.
“It was definitely tough sitting out that year,” said May, who is involved the AVID program at Federal Way. “I remember going to the Homecoming game and watching from the sideline and going home and crying, thinking this just sucks. But everything has worked out.”
But when he finally got on the field as a junior, May was an immediate star in the backfield.
As a junior, May finished the season with 1,310 yards on the ground to finish third in the South Puget Sound League South Division. May also finished with 11 touchdowns on the ground and two more receiving, despite the Eagles finishing just 4-6 on the season.
He was a first-team, All-SPSL South selection and had a pair of 200-plus yard rushing games.
“Obviously, he is a great athlete,” Meagher said. “But football-wise, he hadn’t had a lot of experience. He didn’t have the football part down. But he is a very fast learner. You give him something to do and he picks it up so quick.”
After starting the season with just 106 yards after the first three weeks, May erupted for 182 against Emerald Ridge in the fourth week of the year and the rest is history. He was over 100 yards in five of the Eagles last six games, including 266 against Jefferson.
“I just started running harder,” May said. “The first couple games were my first year playing varsity and I didn’t know what I could do. Against Emerald Ridge, I just got more comfortable.”
“He is not even close to the same player,” Meagher said. “It’s amazing to watch him now. He has a burst from first to fifth gear. He’s just got that extra speed. But he can also get the tough yards as well and that makes him special on the football field.”
May followed up his junior year by making more noise during the spring and summer camp series around the Pacific Northwest. At the Nike SPARQ Combine in Oregon this summer, he clocked a laser-timed 4.49 in the 40-yard dash, which was the third best at the combine, which included 600-plus of the best recruits on the West Coast.
He was also named the Most Valuable Player in the running back category at the prestigious Northwest Elite Football Camp in Sammamish, which included 365 participants from Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska and plenty of college recruiters.
“The coolest part about D.J. is that he hasn’t let it affect him one single bit,” Meagher said. “I have had a number of kids in his situation before and it’s a real emotional, demanding roller coaster ride. The demand to perform to get a scholarship can weigh kids down. They think they have one bad game and can’t get a scholarship. They lose focus on team goals, which is a negative thing. That stuff is not an issue with D.J.”
May hopes he can just keep on smiling all the way to the Class 4A state championship.
In injury news:
• The Eagles will be playing without their inspirational leader against Eastlake. Starting middle linebacker/offensive lineman Jordan Pulu broke his ankle in the first quarter of last week’s win over Snohomish.
“I just feel bad for him,” Meagher said. “All the coaches were torn up when they heard he broke his ankle. Jordan is such a great kid and cares so much. He is a great teammate.”
According to Meagher, Pulu broke his ankle on the third play of the game against Snohomish, but continued to play most of the first quarter during the Eagles’ 41-14 victory. The 6-foot-1, 235-pounder has already committed to play next season at Washington State University and has led the Eagles in tackles the last two seasons.
“It’s unbelievable that he played for a quarter,” he said. “That tells you about his will and determination.”
In other injury news, it looks like Portland State-commit Uso Olive will play against Eastlake. The 6-foot, 310-pound defensive tackle missed the Snohomish game after suffering a knee injury during a mid-week practice.
“He has been getting progressively better each day and that’s big,” Meagher said. “He has nothing torn and has a stretched ligament of some kind.”
Junior linebacker/fullback Rod Jones suffered a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter of the Snohomish game, but it also looks like he will be back for Eastlake. Jones will, most likely, replace Pulu as the Eagles’ middle linebacker. Jones is also second on Federal Way’s team with 10 rushing touchdowns on the offensive side of the ball.
