Les DeVall (1972) - Southern Miss M-Club Hall of Fame

Les DeVall

Induction:
1972

Down through the years there have been outstanding, skillful and talented running backs that have carried the football for Southern Miss. But there is a group that in their own way was just as skillful and talented, but never carried the ball as much.
   One of those players was L.C. (Les) DeVall, who as a blocking back for the team in 1940 and 1941 earned himself a niche in the school’s football history.
   As a blocking back DeVall was responsible for helping open the holes needed for the other running backs of that era, players like Joe Vetrano, Dipsey Dews, Art Van Tone and Tuffy Johnson, all who join DeVall in the Southern Miss Hall of Fame.
   Ask those who played with or against DeVall and they will tell you different stories. If you played with him you are full of stories of his devastating blocks to spring his teammates for long gains or even of how when he got a chance to carry the football how difficult he was to bring down.
   Those that played against will tell you how deep down inside they hoped maybe the play would go the other way and they wouldn’t have to worry about a hard charging DeVall heading straight for them and trying to knock them down.
   But regardless of what view you took of DeVall, one thing was for certain, in his own right he made as many contributions to the success of the team as anyone of the era.
   The 1940 team under Coach Reed Green was a solid ball club and DeVall and his teammates would go on to have an 7-4 season. The four losses that year were by a total of 19 points. The offense was one of the most productive in recent years for Southern Miss and the season included a 38-6 win over Spring Hill College and a 41-0 win over Delta State.
   On defense where DeVall would see playing time in the secondary, the team had two shutouts and allowed four other teams just a single touchdown.
   The 1941 team, with World War II fast approaching, had a magical year, finishing 9-0-1. The only blemish on an otherwise perfect season was a 0-0 tie with Southwestern Louisiana in the eighth game of the season.
   That 1941 team with DeVall as one of its stars opened the season with a 70-0 win over Georgia State and five other times that year scored over 20 points.
   On defense DeVall and company had four shutouts and allowed only 40 points, with no opponent scoring more than a touchdown on them in a game.
   DeVall left a great legacy for those blocking backs or fullbacks that followed him at Southern Miss and his approach to the game and to his position and his willingness to do whatever it took to help the team win, is still remembered today.
   He was one of the unsung heroes of the Southern Miss teams just prior to World WarII. Lost in the excitement surrounding some of the exciting backs of the era, but responsible for their success.
    DeVall also starred for the Southern Miss basketball team during the 1940-41 season.