Devin Ducote plans to honor past, build bright future at Parkview Baptist
by William Weathers // GeauxPreps.com Contributor
For nearly a decade, the career path Devin Ducote followed suggested that he was going to coach on Saturdays rather than Fridays.
He patiently climbed that less-than-glamorous ladder, working in both on-the-field and off-the-field roles, including a span of positions working at LSU, Auburn, Kansas, and Central Florida.
“I thought I was going to be a college football coach, but God had other things planned,” Ducote said.
His own father, Lynn, showed him the blueprint of a coach’s life, having coached both football and track in the Baton Rouge area, a vocation the younger Ducote came to appreciate during his playing days for legendary Kenny Guillot of Parkview Baptist.
Ducote, a three-time All-Southland Conference safety and three-time team captain at Stephen F. Austin, returned to the high school level, serving as the defensive coordinator at Catholic High and West Feliciana. The latter school eventually promoted him to head coach, where he served for two seasons.
When Parkview Baptist found itself with a need for a new football coach when Stefen LeFors left in May to become head coach at Division III Gallaudet University, the school turned toward one of its own – an ascending star in the local coaching ranks.
Less than three months after heeding the call of his alma mater, the 37-year-old Ducote will guide Parkview Baptist into its fall camp on Monday, where the Eagles look to capitalize on his synergy, organization, and vision.
“There were others that recommended if we could get Devin, that would be a great fit,” said Parkview Baptist athletic director Danny Smith, who coached Ducote and was the program’s defensive backs coach until this season. “A lot of the applicants had ties to Parkview, and they’re great coaches.
“Devin just had that fit and was what we needed at this particular time,” Smith said. “He’s come in and hit the ground running and has had a vision of developing the program from within. He’s connected with the middle school, all the way up to the high school. That was big for me.”
As a tip of the cap to Guillot, who coined the phrase ‘Old School’ to depict the program’s work ethic, Ducote reprised the mantra with his own spin.
“Old school, new soul,” he said.
Ducote wants a program that plays complementary football where a physical-style offense, led by a run-oriented quarterback, can wear down opponents and have an aggressive defense that plays with a similar mentality, with solid special teams play.
“Part of my DNA is how we want to play football,” Ducote said. “We want to honor the past in how we do things. It’s such a natural fit because it fits my personality. We want to be physical, we want to play with elite effort, we want to play with connection, passion, and intensity. That’s who we are as coaches. It’s also what this place was built on. It all ties together.”
Guillot elevated Parkview Baptist’s program during his 15 seasons at the school. The Eagles were 164-31 and won four state championships before he stepped aside and was the school’s athletic director until 2018.
His former defensive coordinator, Jay Mayet, maintained the school’s level of excellence with another state championship in 2015 and a runner-up showing a year later.
Guillot passed away in 2021, but his presence inside Parkview’s locker room lives on with a larger-than-life image under the heading: ‘Our Brother’s Keeper’.
“You don’t want anyone walking past that wall not knowing who Coach Guillot is and what he’s done for this program,” Ducote said. “We don’t want anyone walking past those state championships not knowing how they got one. It’s trying to put some testimony in front of them, give them some history.
“To know where we’re going, we have to know where we’re coming from,” Ducote said. “They have to know why we believe in this kind of football. Why we know it wins, and how do we sell it.”
This year marks a decade since Parkview’s last state championship – a 24-21 victory over St. Thomas More in the Division II select bracket under Mayet. The Eagles last played for a title in ’16 – losing 54-29 to the Cougars.
Parkview made consecutive appearances in the state quarterfinals when LeFors, a former Christian Life Academy and Louisville standout, took over the reins and led the Eagles to six straight playoff appearances.
LeFors was 47-24, guiding Parkview to four state quarterfinal trips in six years. The Eagles exited in last year’s regional round with a 42-0 setback against The Dunham School.
“The program’s in good shape, coach LeFors did a great job,” Smith said. “We had success, making the playoffs, and we appreciate everything he did. We’re excited for the opportunity he has. When opportunity presents itself, it’s going to be an opportunity for someone. This is an opportunity for coach Ducote. I don’t think we’re far off of where we want to be.”
Ducote led West Feliciana to records of 9-3 and 7-5, both times advancing to the Division II non-select regionals, and was content to continue building on the foundation he had established.
LeFors’ departure to coach at the collegiate level was unexpected, forcing Smith and some of the school’s administrators to move swiftly and find a successor.
“God continues to open doors,” Ducote said. “Coach LeFors leaves for a college job, and Coach Smith is the athletic director, and he coached me here. That meant something to me. Looking back and saying you have a chance to help your alma mater. I couldn’t say no.”
Smith recalled a moment during his time on Guillot’s staff while coaching Ducote, then a sophomore, during a state playoff game.
Parkview’s defense allowed a touchdown on a pass play where Ducote committed to covering one of the play’s two routes, leaving the other wide open for a score.
By halftime, Smith, who was in the press box, took a direct route to Ducote, who stopped him in his tracks.
“He said, ‘Coach, I know what you’re going to tell me,” Smith said. “My eyes were wrong, and he said it’s not going to happen again. Here’s a sophomore telling me what he did wrong and would correct it. That’s just the type of player that he was.”
The vacant job at Parkview drew ‘double-digit’ applicants, Smith said, who wound up interviewing five to six candidates – some with existing ties to Parkview – before selecting Ducote.
“I felt it was important we connect with someone with some Parkview roots,” Smith said. “Having been in this (coaching) for 43 years, he’s got those qualities that he brings to Parkview that can be long-term. One coach I talked to said that if anyone had the demeanor, the drive, and passion that Coach Guillot had, it’s Devin. That was a great compliment.”
Ducote believed his message of having a group of sharp, tough, and driven players resonated with those on the search committee. The element of physical play, long a staple of success under Guillot and Mayet, was another key element.
“They also gave me the freedom and autonomy to build the program the way I wanted to,” Ducote said. “This is special because we get to truly build our future starters, we get to build relationships with them from the ground up.
“Look at the perennial powers who get to do that year in and year out, they have impacts on the feeder programs and relationships with those young kids,” Ducote said. “I probably could have stayed at West Fel for a long period of time and did something we were all excited about. It was too hard to say no to this because it is home.”
Ducote, who also played basketball, wrestled, and ran track at Parkview, was a standout defensive back at cornerback and safety under Guillot.
He signed with Stephen F. Austin and finished his career with the second-most tackles (414) in school history, one of three players to ever register more than 400 tackles.
Ducote also holds school marks for the third most assisted tackles (238) – one of two players to ever surpass 200 assists – along career tackles for losses (42) which is third best, total tackles in a season (147) which is seventh best, and tackles in a single game (13) which ties him for 10th best.
Ducote was a three-time member of the All-Southland Conference team, including a second-team honor in 2009.
He earned both his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees from Stephen F. Austin, where he also launched his coaching career as a graduate assistant/restricted earnings job for two seasons.
“I saw the time commitment my dad made to it and how hard it was for him and our family,” Ducote said, his father, who coached at Tara, Denham Springs, Woodlawn, and was the head coach at Belaire in the mid-1990s. “It was so impactful. He was a mentor, along with coach Guillot. Once I went all in, I’ve been chasing this thing. It’s a passion.”
Ducote ventured closer to home and joined the staff of then LSU head coach Les Miles as a graduate assistant for two years, and then went to Auburn as a defensive analyst, Kansas to work with special teams, once again for Miles, and then Central Florida as the director of recruiting and player personnel.
“It really changed my life,” Ducote said of his time at LSU, which included working as a special team’s graduate assistant and close with assistant Bradley Dale Peveto. “Just to see the total commitment to being the best version that you could from a player standpoint and being in the (meeting) room with all of those coaches.
“I was around John Chavis, Cam Cameron, Les Miles, Bradley Dale Peveto, Frank Wilson, Brick Haley, Corey Raymond, Steven Ensminger, Sr., Kevin Steele, and Ed Orgeron,” Ducote said. “They exposed me to high-level football, coaching, and developing. Just being around the student-athletes.”
He became the defensive coordinator under head coach Hudson Fuller at West Feliciana in ’20, where the Saints went 12-1 and lost to Lutcher, 35-21, in the Division II non-select state semifinals.
Ducote joined forces with fellow Parkview Baptist graduate David Simoneaux, where Catholic won the Division I state select championship in ’21. The Bears were 12-1 and defeated Jesuit, 14-10, at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium.
When Fuller left to become head coach at Catholic, West Feliciana promoted Ducote to head coach – the first such job of his career. He guided the Saints to a pair of state regional showings, solid showings in District 6-4A, and 16 wins, but felt the pull to return to his alma mater.
“There are jobs you can learn from and there’s jobs you can make a difference in,” Ducote said. “All of those years in college football, I was learning, and now I feel it’s my time to give back and go help coaches develop and chase their dreams and help the kids chase theirs. That’s the most impactful thing.
“The kids at West Fel bought into some of the things we talked about,” Ducote said. “That’s why it was so hard to leave. There’s a lot of great kids there that wanted this kind of football. To be tough, hard-nosed, consistent, and take demanding coaching for long periods of coaching.”
Four assistants followed Ducote to Parkview and have helped implement new schemes on offense and defense they believe will help return the Eagles to the top of the Division III select bracket.
“We’ve spent time with them, coached them hard, and love them afterward,” Ducote said of the players. “We wanted to honor the past and respect the young men here. We had 1-on-1 meetings with them, took time with them, whether it was to go eat or do community service.”
Quarterbacks coach/assistant head coach Justin Moreau was among those who left West Feliciana to join Ducote, along with defensive coordinator Vince Thomas, defensive line coach Alex Greavis, and offensive line coach Josh “Chop” Wilson.
Ducote also retained four assistants to join his first Parkview staff. Parkview alum B.J. Wilson will coach the H-backs, Ben Crump, wide receivers, Stuart Salling, linebackers, Cole Fournet, cornerbacks, Devon Gipson, defensive line, and Bryan Villa will oversee the school’s middle school program.
“Every coach is here because they believe in Parkview Baptist football,” Ducote said. “Those guys that are pouring into these young people on a daily basis, preaching a message of faith. How are we going to instill behaviors to create these habits that are going to allow you to have success on Friday night? That’s repeated over time, and then you have to get lucky, too.”
One thing Ducote noticed in the days after his acceptance of the job was that a school, its alumni base, and supporters had a healthy desire to achieve on a grander scale.
“I’ve gotten feedback from stakeholders, the kids, parents, and faculty,” he said. “They talked about the things that were being done well and the things they could do better. We have like-minded people. These people are hungry to play championship-level football.”
There was weekly attention to detail over the course of the summer, installing parts of the offense and defense, where players would have a baseline to draw from when fall camp began.
Parkview’s offense won’t resemble the familiar flexbone under Guillot, but it will rely on the interior play of its offensive lineman to create running room and opportunities for the team’s skilled players to flourish.
“It honors how this place was built,” Ducote said.
Senior quarterback Logan Sorrel, a recent commitment to Kentucky in baseball, will take over the team’s quarterback position and have sophomore tailbacks Marquise Franklin and Sevin Domingue along with senior wide receiver Landon Ripple.
Seniors Willie Williams and Logan Parker are a pair of 300-pound linemen with the kind of experience to control the line of scrimmage.
“Logan was an outside linebacker last year,” Ducote said. “He had a great offseason. He’s strong and physical. It will be a quarterback-driven Gun ‘N Run. It’s a system we’ve tweaked from West Feliciana and made it our own. There are some new things we’ve picked up from some old Parkview football. We’ll be multiple and in the shotgun.”
Ducote said his defense will be a pressure-based, 3-4 hybrid that will mirror the offense in its ability to be multiple.
“We’ll do whatever it takes to win games on offense and get stops on defense,” he said.
The Eagles will have three defensive starters back: junior linebackers Peyton Jenkins and John Lee, and junior cornerback Grant Herrington.
They will also have juniors Noah Borill at defensive tackle and Landyn Smith at noseguard, along with sophomore Carson Grantham at tackle, and sophomore Blane Burrell will join Jenkins and Lee at linebacker, and sophomore Cruz Maddie at cornerback.
Senior placekicker Gavin Higgins has already committed to LSU.
“Devin just has great qualities, and that’s why we’re excited to have him,” Smith said. “He has his own style. He’s not just a great football coach, but his passion and relationship with Christ was big. He exemplifies that with the way he lives his life.”
Parkview has four weeks until its fall scrimmage at Lakeshore on Aug. 21 before hosting its ‘Red Stick Rumble’ jamboree on Aug. 28 against Brusly at 7:30 p.m. after University and Dunham open at 6 p.m.
The jamboree concludes on Aug. 29 with Madison Prep facing Catholic High at 6 p.m.
“In 2001, coach Guillot showed it could be done at Parkview,” Smith said of the school’s first state title. “That’s the vision, and it’s going to take everyone. I know he’s excited about the challenge and the opportunity. There are some very good days ahead of us.”