Ask Fitzgerald Purple Hurricanes running back Nate Inman what defense was the toughest for him and his teammates this past season and he quickly tells you, “Tift County’s.”

So, since Inman led the Tiftarea in rushing during the 2005 football season, maybe it is appropriate that he is joined by a member of the Tift County Blue Devil defense, Larry Dean, as the 2005 All-Tiftarea Players of the Year.

Dean is the All-Tiftarea Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight season, while Inman is the All-Tiftarea Offensive Player of the Year for the first time.

A senior, Dean will head to Columbus Monday to get ready to take part in the GACA North-South All-Star Game that will be played Thursday.

Success has come in twos for Dean. Not only did he get the All-Tiftarea honor for the second year in a row, but 2005 also saw Dean repeat as first-team All-State, as well as Region 1-AAAAA Co-Defensive Player of the Year.

“It feels good (to get the honors),” Dean said.

Tift County head coach Jay Walls said, “Larry is definitely deserving of any honor he gets because the kid works as hard as any kid I have ever coached. His love for the game is also as great as any player I have ever coached.”

The 2005 season saw Dean garner 100 total tackles, including seven for loss yardage; intercept three passes, break up six passes and recover one fumble.

Dean’s performance helped the Devils be ranked for most of the season. Tift also made it to the first round of the state playoffs, falling 6-3 to the Region 2-AAAAA champion Stephenson Jaguars. Stephenson went on to fall 14-0 in the state semifinals to eventual state champion Lowndes High.

“That was the highlight of the year for me, making the playoffs,” Dean said. “(But), the lowlight was losing in the playoffs.”

He added, “You never like to lose, but I think we did prove we were a pretty good team in that game.”

Echoing what his coach said about him, Dean said he hoped he “left a legacy of leadership and a strong work ethic” at Tift County.

“I also hope the young players will just have my love for the game,” Dean said.

The Tift senior said he is talking to various colleges about playing football at the next level.

While Dean is a repeat performer as the defensive player of the year, being named All-Tiftarea Offensive Player of the Year was a new honor for Inman.