John Deraney knows pressure. Every second he steps on the field for the football team, thousands of people are praying his kicks sail true or that he falls on his face. Every time he laces his shoes and dons his No. 12 jersey, he knows he’s going to face some tough situations.
Yes, John Deraney knows pressure.
But whatever weight he feels on the field doesn’t compare to what he’s facing away from football. In late July, Deraney’s father, Rick, who has multiple sclerosis, received care at a hospice in Deraney’s home state of Georgia. Hospices focus on palliative care for terminally ill patients — meaning they attempt to make life more comfortable for dying patients.
“He was put in a hospice, and he got better over a week’s time. So they moved him back home,” Deraney said. “The doctor said if anything gets worse, then he’d have to come back in.”
The fifth-year senior said he keeps up with his dad through his mom because his dad doesn’t like to talk on the phone.
“MS has affected his speech and his hearing, so it’s kind of hard for him. But if you’re face-to-face with him, you can understand what he’s talking about because you can read his lips,” Deraney said. “I miss him. I miss him.”
But Deraney doesn’t let his father’s illness devastate his life. Instead, he said he turns it into motivation on the field.
“I look at it like it’s only going to make me work harder and get better for him,” he said. “That’s what he wants me to do.”
But the 6-foot-4, 224-pound kicker’s personal life isn’t, by any means, entirely tragic. He is engaged to his high school girlfriend Brittany Parker, who is a senior in nursing at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, just outside of Charlotte.
“Things are going good,” he said. “We’re really busy with school right now, so at times it’s kind of hard. She’s trying to finish up her nursing degree, but we’ll get a lot done in between semesters when we’re both at home.”
And on the field, Deraney’s coach said he could be the team’s most valuable player.
“John Deraney is probably the MVP of our team if we stopped the season right now,” coach Chuck Amato said. “You know what? We can’t say where we’d be without him because he’s a part of our football team. It’s called together. He’s with us, and he’s doing his job. He’s kicking. He’s putting them out. He’s doing everything.”
Deraney, who handles all of the Wolfpack’s kicking duties from punting and placekicking to kickoffs, said he feels comfortable on the field just because he’s been doing it for so long.
“It’s experience,” he said. “I’ve been doing all three for three years. It’s about going out there and being able to relax and forget about the last kick.”
Amato echoed the value of Deraney’s experience.
“He’s a fifth-year senior,” Amato said. “It makes a lot of difference. People who play with fifth-year seniors have such an advantage.”
The technology education major added he’s most comfortable kicking field goals and with his 54-yard boot against Southern Mississippi, he has evidence to support his confidence.
“That one kick was probably as far as I’ve kicked a football,” he said. “It probably would have been good from about 65 [yards]. That’s about as good as I’ve ever kicked a football.”
But with the Florida State game Thursday night, Deraney’s punting will be a focus of the Seminoles after they blocked two of his punts in last year’s matchup.
“It’s in the back of my mind,” Deraney said. “Looking back at the film, it was my fault because I covered too much ground when I punted the ball on both punts. I’ve got to be aware of how much ground I’m covering when I punt the ball.”
With a father battling multiple sclerosis, a wedding to plan and full-time kicking duties in the ACC, John Deraney knows pressure. But the devout Christian said when the world has him cornered, he turns to his faith for answers.
“I rely a lot on my faith. It’s in God’s hands,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do. Worrying isn’t going to do any good. The only thing I can do is put it in the Lord’s hands and move on.”