No matter what they tell you, size always matters. Liberty Middle School offensive lineman Devin Durden has the size, quickness and tremendous work ethic of a future Division-l offensive lineman.

Durden helped his team win a Newton County middle school championship this past season and earned multiple honors from borntocompete.com (B2C). B2C selected Durden to the All-B2C team for middle school players, named him a finalist for the offensive lineman of the year award and ranked him the eighth best player in the Class of 2019.

Tabria Colston, Durden’s mother, has three boys – with Devin being the middle child – and all of them play football. Coming off his visit to Florida State he’s already ahead of where his older brother Daniel Durden V – currently a freshman lineman at Valdosta State – was at his age.

Colston says Devin has really come along these past two years. She says that because of Durden V’s passion for football, Devin is much further along and better because of it.

“I keep them active. My first one just kind of held on to football. I guess being out there with him every Saturday and the practices it’s almost like it’s expected at this point from all of them. It’s like our little tradition we passed down,” Colston said.

“I just wanted to be like him and did everything he did,” Devin added. “I just did what he did. When he went to practice, I tried to go practice with him. He lifted weights, I lifted weights. I just do whatever he does.”

Colston says that of her three children, Devin is the quiet one. She says he’s humble and stays to himself – a homebody. Colston added that she wants Devin to use his athletic abilities to get a degree.

“The NFL is such a small, minute population,” Colston said. “I want him to be able to at least obtain a college degree. Be able to go off to school and gain his degree from this. If nothing else, he’ll have that to show.”

Devin was able to witness firsthand just what a college scholarship can do for someone when he visited Florida State over Spring Break.

“It was a good experience. They were showing me what college ball is like and how they do things down there. They go hard down there and I just like the way they play ball. It was nice,” Devin said.

Devin says he didn’t get a chance to really speak with a lot of the coaches, but they showed him a highlight film of Florida State plays and what they can do with their players – it was right up Durden’s alley.

Devin says he wants to do things no other offensive lineman has done. By the end of his high school career, Devin says he wants all of the schools to want him and that he wants to have the most scholarship offers of anybody in his class.

“Do what nobody’s ever done. Set goals for other people to look up to me,” Devin said in reference to his goals entering high school.

“I’m proud of my son. I’m so proud of him. I tell him he can achieve whatever he sets his mind to. Just set his mind and do it. I’m so proud of him, and I just want him to reach whatever he can, ” Colston said passionately.

Devin is a top tier talent for his age and if he keeps his strong work ethic and continues to stay humble, the sky's the limit for the middle brother of the three Durden boys.