Brothers Derick and Dakarai Shanks combined for four touchdowns in Spain Park’s 55-0 blowout win at Calera. The Jags played host to Briarwood last week and will play host Friday to rival Hoover to open Class 7A, Region 3 action. Journal photo by Jordan WaldBy Rubin E. Grant
Tim Vakakes did everything in his power to leave the Shanks boys behind when he left his job as head football coach at Jackson-Olin in Birmingham to become Spain Park’s football coach following the 2021 season.
Vakakes had known Derick and Dakarai Shanks for several years, watching them play Little League football in Wylam in western Birmingham because it was a feeder program for Jackson-Olin. He also got to know the boys’ mother, Tiffany Coleman.
He let her know that he was moving to Spain Park and tried to persuade her to leave her sons, both running backs, at Jackson-Olin.
“She delivers mail in Hoover and when I got to Spain Park, she told me she was thinking about bringing them over here,” Vakakes said. “I talked her out of it. I told her to give the new coaches a chance. But after spring training (at Jackson-Olin in 2022), she said she wanted to bring them over here.”
So, the Shanks moved into the Spain Park school district in July 2022 and the Shanks brothers rejoined Vakakes with the Jaguars.
Vakakes was somewhat uneasy about how the brothers would adjust to being at Spain Park, but his concerns were unfounded.
“I was concerned about Dakarai because he was younger and had a mind like a pit bull,” Vakakes said. “I wasn’t sure how he was going to make the transition, but he got over here and settled right in.
“The teachers love them and both of them smile a lot. They’re loving life over here. Their mom has done an outstanding job raising them.”
The brothers indeed are enjoying being at Spain Park.
“It felt great coming here,” said Derick, a senior. “When I got here, it was like I was on a sinking boat and they pulled me in. My whole mindset is different.”
“I’ve made some new friends and I’ve learned better things since I’ve been here on and off the field,” said Dakarai, a junior.
The brothers are 16 months apart. Derick celebrated his 18th birthday on Aug. 29. Dakarai will turn 17 in December.
They spent their childhood years in Augusta, Georgia, before moving to Birmingham in 2015 when Derick was 10 and Dakarai was 9. They are extremely close.
“Me and Dakarai have an inseparable bond,” Derick said. “I was the first one who started playing football and Dakarai used to come watch me. He had fun watching me, then he started playing.”
Breakout Season
Both had solid, if unspectacular, seasons with the Jags in 2022. Derick ran 79 times for 441 yards and three touchdowns; Dakarai ran 71 times for 343 yards and two touchdowns.
They gave an indication in the Jags’ first game this year that they were ready for a breakout season, combining for four touchdowns in Spain Park’s 55-0 blowout win at Calera. It was the Jags’ most lopsided win since 2007, when they routed Carver-Birmingham 69-0.
Derick, coming back from an off-season wrist surgery, ran 12 times for 139 yards and two touchdowns, including a 45-yard scamper in the third quarter. Dakarai had two rushing touchdowns, covering 8 and 13 yards, and finished with 44 yards.
The brothers have similar builds – Derick is 5-foot-10, 196 pounds and Dakarai is 5-9, 192 pounds – and similar running styles.
“They run the ball with venom, they run the ball with venom in their veins,” Vakakes said. “Dakarai likes to punish people. Derick has better vision, but Dakarai has good vision, too. Both of them catch the ball out of the backfield. They’ve got good feet and speed. I think both of them are SEC-type running backs.”
The brothers said there are minor differences in the way they run.
“I’m very versatile,” Derick said. “In tight spaces, I can get through there. I think I’ll be really good on third downs.”
“I’m reliable,” Dakarai said. “I run very hard and I can get the tough yards, especially in the red zone.”
The Jags played host to Briarwood last week and will play host Friday to cross-town rival Hoover to open Class 7A, Region 3 action.
The brothers have set modest goals for the season.
“I just want to get in the 1,000-yard club, score a bunch of touchdowns and have a positive mindset,” Derick said.
“I want to score over 15 touchdowns, help my team bond together and have fun,” Dakarai said.
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