It’s Saturday night in Death Valley, and 102,321 fans are screaming as the Tigers are on defense.
It’s so loud you can feel it in your chest.
But somehow, even inside this historic venue – known for its noise and overserved patrons – one side of the field is entirely silent. Not even a peep.
How is that possible? Meet Mansoor Delane, the culprit, who was told by an SEC head coach before a game this season not to worry; the ball wasn’t coming his way.
Delane, the senior corner from Silver Spring, Maryland, signed with LSU in December as a transfer from Virginia Tech, where he spent the first three years of his collegiate career. He was highly-touted as the No. 1 corner in the portal, looking for a bigger stage and a larger platform to showcase his talents.
BUT WHAT THE WORLD IS SEEING on Saturdays, as Delane shuts down opposing receivers and shoots up NFL Draft boards, is nothing new to those who know him best.
For Kyle Schmitt, head coach at Archbishop Spalding High School in Maryland, Delane was “one of the best players we’ve ever had” in a program that spits out Division I prospects and prides itself on defense. Spalding gave up just 34 points total last year.
A private Catholic school in Severn, Md., Spalding is where Delane spent his sophomore through senior years of high school. His freshman year was spent at the Landon School, an even smaller college preparatory school in Bethesda, where his older brother, Zayd, attended two years before him.
Landon was known for lacrosse, not football. Their games were played on Thursday afternoons, not on Friday nights. Offseason workouts were limited. Film sessions were lonely. That’s when Delane, a budding star committed to his craft, knew deep down a change had to be made, sooner rather than later.
“My older brother, he went to Landon and I saw how they went through the recruiting process,” Delane said. “I wanted better for myself. I had some family friends that went to Spalding and recruiting was going really well for them. I saw a great opportunity over there and great coaching. So I took that leap of faith to transfer.”
Spalding had everything Delane was looking for. A winning football culture, a staff committed to constant improvement, and competition, with future D1 players like Zakee Wheatley (Penn State) and Lavain Scruggs (Maryland) pushing him every day in practice. For Delane, it didn’t take very long to realize: this wasn’t a lacrosse school anymore.
“He was looking for a higher level of football,” Schmitt said. “I think when he came it was a bit of a football culture shock (at Spalding). He had been at a smaller school at Landon. It was a different environment.”
It was a whole new ballgame. His sophomore year at Spalding, Delane was benched. The talented cornerback – who Schmitt now categorizes as a “model” for his current and future players – was too often caught up in the opponent, his own play, and the wrong details. He learned the hard way.
“It’s almost like he had to learn that lesson,” Schmitt said. “We find, often times, that the bench is the best place to learn lessons. It’s such a credit to him and his family. He wasn’t a kid that, at the first sign of adversity, was jumping or transferring schools. He didn’t blink. The fire burned brighter and he wanted to make sure that didn’t happen again in his career.”
“It humbled me,” Delane said. “You never know it all. I learned that. Just coming in and being a sponge to all my coaches, it felt like that was a great learning lesson right there.”
MANSOOR WAS A QUICK LEARNER. Most players his age would pout after being benched, but he got motivated. Most would quit, but he went back to work. That, Schmitt says, was the sign of a mature young man who came from a great family.
From that point forward, Delane was relentless in his preparation, fearless in his play, and unwavering in his pursuit of excellence. He became a leader by example. He became someone who could Master the Mundane, an internal motto for those inside the Spalding program. He became someone who had a short memory on the field, and could be coached hard off it.
“He’s a guy that covered all his bases,” Schmitt said. “He wanted to watch the opponent. He wanted to see what they did. What we tried to teach him was to internalize that in his preparation for himself. Whether it was footwork, hand placement, eyes – we talked so much about eyes. He was a player that grew there so much. It was the unrequired work. He’s a guy that outside of our place wanted to be a better player.”
Delane blossomed from his sophomore to senior year. A wide-eyed sophomore who transferred from a small school left Spalding with an “overwhelming bravado.” It’s a confidence that, Schmitt says, Delane had at a young age, but didn’t always believe. But his growth – specifically from a strength standpoint – turned belief into proof. He was becoming a star.
“(His confidence) was there when he was young, but I don’t know if he believed it yet,” Schmitt said. “He was callused. He was hardened. He believed in who he was and what he was about as a player. But it’s always been there. There’s a foundation now that’s a little unbreakable. He willing to take on any challenge. He’s willing to play against the best in the country. I think that’s a big reason he is at LSU. The confidence was there. But now the proof is there.”
PROOF WAS EARNED through big time plays, like the game-saving third down stop Delane made at the goal-line against Gonzaga, a top-ranked WCAC opponent, his senior year. It was a defining moment of his Spalding career and a play that helped get Spalding over a hump to win a game it would typically lose.
