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CHATTANOOGA---Three or four. What a shocking reply to a simple question posed to Chattanooga Mocs force of nature Devonnsha Maxwell. How many scholarship offers did you get out of high school?

"There were a couple of DIIs and Eastern Illinois," Maxwell explained. "Eastern called my mom's phone, and she said, 'somebody wants to talk to you'. I end up getting the offer and she's like, 'Illinois? Can't go…too far.' She told me to stay ready. Then Chattanooga came along. I didn't know anything about it, but I like to believe it was fate.
 
"I mean it was meant to be intentional."
 
To be fair to recruiters and coaches throughout the southeast, he wasn't quite D-Max then. The talent was certainly there, but the size of near 300 pounds now is about 60 more than he arrived with in the summer of 2017.
 
You can't measure what could be. He wasn't a finished product by any means but all the makings were there. What made the difference?
 
"It's a testament to him and his work ethic," D-Line Coach Nick Davison shared. "People miss (in recruiting). I'm glad they did and that he's with us. His attention to detail is the biggest thing I've seen since I've been here (Jan. 2021).
 
"It's something we preach to him. It's the details that makes the difference and separates him from everybody else."
 
He's risen to third all-time in sacks (27.5) and tackles for loss (38.5) in the storied D-Line history at Chattanooga. He's just a half-sack outside the top 5 all-time for a season with 10 thus far. More amazing is that nine of those 10 have come in the fourth quarter when he's supposed to be worn down. Instead, it's him who drains offensive linemen.
 
"It's just relying on my technique and my training, you know," Maxwell added. "I know I'm looked upon to make those plays in the fourth quarter. I just take pride in that, and I just keep working on chopping the tree down no matter what."
 
It's been an impressive run considering he is consistently focused on by opposing offenses. They know where he is at all times. One offensive lineman who knows a lot about him and is one of the best to do it, Mocs senior Cole Strange, had a lot to say about going against Devonnsha day-in, day-out.
 
"I think it's definitely safe to say that a lot of the reason why I've gotten a lot better is because of him," Strange said. "He is very difficult to block. Going through camp and after practice each day, like, I'm confident going into the game that whoever I'm going to be playing, I'm prepared because I go against him every day. Even whenever we went against Kentucky, I had a couple of scouts come by and tell me that, you know, they had a couple of good defensive linemen, and for a second I thought to myself, like, oh, man, it's not like I've never seen anything like this before, because I feel like I see it every day in practice.
 
"He's strong. He's fast. He's got really good hands. You know, he's quick. He's got good balance. And there's no question, he's gotten a lot better since he's gotten here. Because whenever he got here, we're both about the same size, which is like maybe 260. And now, he's like, I don't know exactly how much but I know he's a lot heavier, probably right about 300. But I can't say enough good things about him.
 
"There's no question, he's the best one in our league."
 
High praise that Maxwell quickly deflected. It started with his initial defensive line coach Brian Cochran who was the first to see his potential. He followed with tutorials from stalwarts Isaiah Mack, now with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and "pops" himself, Derek Mahaffey. He obviously learned those lessons well.
 
Defensive back Jordan Jones has seen first hand over the last four years just what makes Maxwell special.
 
"It's his hard work and dedication to the team," Jones answered quickly. "You don't just form into a great player. It takes work...it takes being humble. You come in every day and put in the bricks and lay the foundation to accomplish all the things he's accomplishing.
 
"He's just harvesting all the seeds he's planted throughout that hard work."
 
Will he catch Keionta Davis' 13.5 sacks in 2015? He has 15.0 in his last 10 contests with five in four games in 2020-21. It's a dominating run that puts him in the stratosphere of Davis and all-time SoCon sacks leader Davis Tull '15 who accumulated 37.
 
Owning the line of scrimmage is an age-old formula to success. With the likes of Devonnsha Maxwell, success in that manner is inevitable.
 
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