Program Spotlight: DeMario Pressley

By Annabelle Myers

Raleigh, N.C. - They say that behind every good man, there’s a good woman.

In the case of DeMario Pressley, there are two.

Pressley, a senior defensive tackle for the Wolfpack, has a bright future in front of him. He’s starred under the bright lights of Carter-Finley Stadium and in April, he will undoubtably follow in the footsteps of recent NC State defensive linemen and hear his name called in New York City at the NFL draft.

He’ll hear his name called in an even more important environment next month, when he walks across the stage of the RBC Center to receive his degree from NC State. In addition to starting for three years for the Wolfpack on the football field, he’s completed all of his academic requirements in just three-and-a-half years.

Yes, DeMario Pressley is definitely a young man with an infinite number of possibilities in front of him as he waits for his name to be called from one podium in December and another in April. He’s a testament to the benefits of hard work and treating people the right way. He should be very proud of himself and his accomplishments.

But when asked about what he’s accomplished, Pressley quickly deflects all the credit to two very important women in his life: his mother, Gail, and his grandmother, Joan Brincefield, who he calls Granny.’

Pressley’s mother was just a young teenager when her son was born. But unlike most girls that age, she was determined to be a mother and she was determined to finish high school. And as her son can attest 22 years later, what Gail Pressley is determined to do, she does! Young DeMario and his mother lived with his grandmother while she finished school, and although times were tough, there was a great deal of love and fun in their home.

Pressley’s mother may have been younger than those of his friends, she was definitely the toughest mother on block. “I wasn’t really a bad child,” he remembers, “but I just got into a lot. At times I hung around the wrong people and that changed my behavior a little bit. I was disrespectful and talked back to my Mama some when I was younger, but she nipped that in the bud real quick.

“It was just me, my mom and my grandmother for a long time,” he continues. “My mom raised me as a single parent and she went to school while raising me. And even though she was young, she had a vision about what what she wanted me to accomplish. Since I was a little kid, she was always and still is, very strict.

“There were times when I was growing up that we were struggling. She would work two jobs and sometimes the only times I saw her were before I went to school in the morning and on weekends. She was always a hard worker, but I didn’t know at the time that she was doing it for me. I think at times I may have taken her for granted. I always wanted the new shoes and stuff like that and she worked her butt off to get me that stuff.”

Gail Pressley’s emphasis on the importance of academics didn’t apply only to herself, but also to her growing son. “I couldn’t bring home any F’s, D’s or C’s,” says her son. “If I did, I would be on punishment. In middle school, she would take my video games away or some other punishment. She would NOT be happy. I sometimes felt like it wasn’t fair, but now I know it was for my own good.”

Those strict standards didn’t change when her son went to college either. It’s not a pleasant memory for Pressley. “NC State always mailed my grades to me here, but this one time, they got mailed home for some reason. She called me and she didn’t say hey or anything. She just said Boy, you got a D!’ She really got in me. I tried to explain to her that college was a little different, but she told me I had to pick it up. Now she lets me slide with a C, but still no D’s are allowed.”

School wasn’t the only area of DeMario Pressley’s life that his mother was diligent in monitoring. When he was in high school, he wasn’t allowed to hang out with just anybody. If a friend was coming by the house to pick him up, they couldn’t just pull up in the yard and honk the horn. Instead, they had to come in the house and let Mama Pressley check their drivers licenses! And although some parents may use sports as a form of babysitting service when their children are young, Gail Pressley made sure that her son kept his priorities straight in spite of his athletic success.

“I liked football, but I could never play because I was always overweight for my age group. I was the little fat kid for a while,” he admits. “I would go to practice, but I couldn’t play in the games because I was a lot of pounds over the limit. I couldn’t play until middle school.”

When he finally was able to play, Pressley saw action as a fullback, tight end, offensive guard, defensive tackle and defensive end in middle school before moving on to high school. It didn’t take long on the JV team for the coaches to realize that they had a budding star. “I would look at the ball and just run,” Pressley remembers. “I could beat anybody. I remember in my very first JV game, we played Southeast Guilford and I had five or six sacks.

“So after the game, the coaches asked me if I would like to play on the varsity. I was excited! But I told my mom and she said No, we’re not going to have that yet.’ She thought I was too young. I was disappointed, but hey, that’s my mom. I would tell her how I felt and she would tell me how she felt, then she would tell me that what she says, goes. So I stayed on the JV team for the whole year and then I moved up to varsity for the playoffs.”

Pressley says that the coaches tried at first to convince him mother to allow the move. “I think they saw the same thing I saw real quick - that there was no changing her mind. But I had a great year - I think I had like 18 sacks, so I know it was for the best.”

When Pressley finally made the move to varsity, he says he “soared.” He was a Parade All-American, a first-team All-USA choice by USA Today, the 2003 North Carolina Gatorade Player of the Year. He was all-state twice and rated the top defensive lineman in the country by several recruiting services as a senior. The letters poured in from almost every major school in the country, all vying for his talents.

But of all the letters that came from the football powerhouses and the superstar coaches, the one that meant the most to Gail Pressley was one from Florida International University. “She was so proud of that letter,” Pressley remembers. “They talked all about my academics. They said they were more impressed with my grades. That meant a lot, because the football stuff came naturally, but the academics were something I had to work for.”

A major reason that Pressley chose NC State from the myriad of schools that recruited him was that his family would be able to attend his games. They have become a familiar site at Carter-Finley Stadium and and at road games all over the country. “Granny is crazy at the games,” laughs Pressley. “She never holds her tongue. I had both of them on me all the time growing up ... I still do!”

So as his senior season draws to a close and as he finishes the final coursework for his degree, Pressley is understandably looking back to all of the sacrifice that got him to where he is today. “Graduation is what means the most to me,” he says, “because I know that my mama will be proud of me. I know I have a good chance of going to the NFL but I always promised her that I would get my degree, so it will mean the most to her.”

When Pressley takes the field every week, the eye-black he wears sports two words, “Family First,” in honor of his Mama, Granny and stepfather, Abou, who joined the family when Pressley was in high school. “He really took me under his wing,” he says. “He was just as strict as my mama, but I could tell that he was helping her, mentally, physically and emotionally. The stresses of having to do everything by herself weren’t there any more, so I will always appreciate him for that.

“When I put on that cap and gown next month and if I’m fortunate enough to have my name called in the draft, I will owe so much of it to them,” he says. “I dedicate any success I’ve already had and any I’m going to have to my family. I owe so much to them.”

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