Robinson High's Duclos Brothers Have Last Chance to Shine Together

Robinson High's 2012 football team will feature two brothers experiencing what might be their last chance to play together.

Carlos Duclos is the older brother but hasn't been the bigger brother in a few years. He and younger brother Michael both played on the defensive line together in Pop Warner for the South Tampa Titans as kids, and Michael admits to being on the chubby side at that age. The added weight, however, was all that kept them together that year; a year later, Carlos moved up in age group.

Neither brother really recalled that Pop Warner season as teammates with much nostalgia.

"I think we went one round in the playoffs," Michael said.

They probably had no idea that youth league season might become one of their last together. Carlos is two grades ahead of Michael, and thus, they missed playing in middle school together at Monroe.

Fast forward to 2011, and the brothers' big hope was that they would have a couple years to play together on Robinson's varsity team. But two things needed to happen to make that a reality: They both needed to stay healthy, and freshman Michael needed to make varsity, no small task for any incoming freshman.

Well, Michael not only made varsity, he was second on the team in rushing (481 yards) and second in rushing touchdowns, with eight. But the first half of the scenario failed to hold up — during Robinson's preseason game against Seminole last year, Carlos suffered what head coach Mike DePue described as a "devastating" knee injury that would force him to miss the entire 2011 season.

"It was kind of a freak injury; it happened when he was down, and somebody fell on him," DePue said. "Usually, you don't get (your knee) hurt when you're on the ground, it usually happens when you're on your feet."

This year, Carlos says that his knee is "about 90 percent." Michael quickly stepped in and said that Carlos' knee was probably more like 95 percent. Carlos recently timed out with a 4.4 in the 40-yard dash.

The brothers play on opposite sides of the football now — Michael at running back and Carlos at corner.

"Carlos is a spark-plug, lock-down, cover corner," said DePue. "Michael is just a beast."

Michael has stacked on at least another 10-15 pound of muscle on his already fire hydrant-like frame this year, while Carlos is built more like an Olympic gymnast, each well-suited to their roles on the team.

It's a big year for both brothers but especially for Carlos, who, after playing sparingly as a sophomore and having missed all of 2011 doesn't have a lot of game footage or statistics to woo college recruiters. He hopes to change that this year, and he'll have his little — er, bigger — younger brother with him.

"Not everyone has a chance to do that," said Carlos. "We feed off each other's energy, drive each other."

Said Michael: "I play harder in his presence."