Gophers defensive tackle Deven Eastern transforms into player with NFL aspirations

Gophers football coach P.J. Fleck leads what he describes as a life program, one that focuses on the development of players in four ways: academically, athletically, socially and spiritually.

The theory is that someone who pays attention to the details in those four categories will emerge as a high-end performer on the field and an upstanding citizen off it.

It can be a challenging program with strict rules, such as sitting in the front row and wearing collared shirts in the classroom. Fleck has emphasized that his program is not for everyone.

For Deven Eastern, however, the Gophers program was just what he needed at the exact right time.

Eastern, a fifth-year senior from Shakopee, has developed into a defensive tackle who has been a three-year starter for the Gophers with NFL aspirations. He’s done so by transforming himself from a teen who battled emotional and behavioral disorders to a 6-6, 315-pound stalwart who has become a team leader.

“We have high standards, and we have coaches that are willing to develop you every single day,” Eastern said during an interview at Team IFA headquarters in Minneapolis. “At times, it can be difficult when you’ve got guys always pushing you to be your best.

“But just being around a culture that’s built on growing and giving your all eventually pays off. I have a lot of respect for P.J. Fleck and the Gopher staff for what they’ve done for me over the years.”

“I don’t know if I’ve seen a player in 13 years being a head coach that’s made a bigger and stronger and greater 180 than Devin Eastern,” Fleck said. “You watch how he plays — he’s relentless. You watch what he does off the field, and it’s all serving and giving."

While Eastern has benefited from the structure of Minnesota’s program, the Gophers, in turn, have a productive player who occupies the tough areas in the middle of their defense. The run-stuffing Eastern ranks seventh on the team with 29 tackles, is tied for sixth with four tackles for loss and is tied for fourth with 2½ sacks.

He posted his best game of the season, according to Pro Football Focus, with a two-tackle, one-sack, two-hurry effort that earned an 88.3 defensive rating by PFF in a 23-20 overtime victory over Michigan State on Nov. 1. Last week in a 42-13 loss at No. 7 Oregon, Eastern had five tackles, including one tackle for loss.

“To have that type of game [against Michigan State] where he takes over from the start … that’s who we know Deven to be," Gophers defensive coordinator Danny Collins said. “And he’s got to do it on a consistent basis.”

Fleck sees a player who’s steadily improving and who has an NFL upside.

When he’s playing well, Eastern knows what traits serve him the best.

“Very disruptive. Hard to move on the point of attack,” he said. “I’m gonna bring it every single play. So, 60 minutes of violent football.”

Eastern’s route to major college football wasn’t without its bumps, on and off the field.

He dealt with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and oppositional defiant disorder during his middle school and early high school years. Ray Betton, football coach at Shakopee High School, became a mentor who would dispense tough love.

“If you meet him now, and he tells you about a little bit of his past, you’d be like, ‘Wow,’ ” Betton said. “… I saw the transformation start to happen after his 10^th-grade year. In eighth and ninth grade, it was rough. And 10^th grade was rough, too, because he sustained an injury early in that year and was away from football.”

With the help of Betton and former Vikings long snapper Mike Morris, who ran early morning weightlifting sessions that Eastern attended, the maturity began to show as Eastern kept working in high school.

“All of a sudden, everything clicked,” Betton said. “He started coming to the weight room. And, you know, he wasn’t all the way there. … He still had things he needed to work on. But he really just started making the change.”

As Eastern’s play developed in high school, colleges started to take notice. Nebraska and Missouri also offered scholarships to the four-star recruit, but his mind was made up on the Gophers from the start.

“I’m glad I was able to stay home and find a program that was interested in investing in me as a person and a football player,” Eastern said.

Engaged to Leilani Starns, Eastern will pursue an NFL career once the Gophers season is over. He’s a marketing major who has an interest in a real estate career after his football-playing days are complete. Betton, for one, is eager to see where Eastern’s journey leads.