EXCLUSIVE: Ex-Gamecock star Demetris Summers planning how to give back

Former University of South Carolina running back Demetris Summers knows firsthand how easy it is for young people to lose their way. 

The 2002 Parade Magazine All-American was South Carolina’s all-time leading high school rusher when he committed to the Gamecocks the next year. His record of 9,076 career yards and 127 career touchdowns at Lexington High School ranked him as the nation’s 9th-best player.

Summers also dominated on the basketball court, helping Lexington win a 4A state championship.

Twenty years later, the New York Times named him USC’s “Biggest Bust” ever.

Summers was USC’s second-leading rusher his freshman year. But he was cut from the team after his sophomore season when he failed drug tests.

Then, in 2017, he pleaded guilty to manufacturing and distributing crack cocaine. He served nearly seven years behind bars.   

The 41-year-old now is determined to guide the next generation by starting a youth summer football camp this summer and, eventually, a separate youth mentoring program. 

“I was really kind of lost, didn’t know what direction to go, or nothing, and I ended up in the streets because that’s what I grew up around,” he said. “That led me to prison. So I just want to try and make a better way for our youth and try to better our community.” 

Back to his roots

Summers’ goal is to reach at-risk youth before they make the same mistakes he did.

He understands the challenges they face — he grew up in a part of Lexington County he describes then as rough and drug-infested.  

It was an area he returned to when his football career ended, after the Dallas Cowboys signed him then cut him during camp and he played with the Canadian Football League for two seasons.

“I had a lot of time to sit and think about a lot of stuff and just find myself,” he said. “Like I said, I was lost. But now I feel like I can change some things. People know me, and I feel like if I put my voice out there and just be heard, I can make a difference.” 

Lexington High athletics director Dustin Curtis and assistant coach Scott Davis are former high school teammates who are helping Summers organize the summer football camp. 

“I definitely want to send some football players out there if I can, and Coach Scott Davis and I are more than willing to help out,” Curtis said. “I think it could be a great thing.” 

Davis, who joked that he lost his high school running back position to Summers, said they have identified a potential space for the football camp.

“It’s something that’s truly needed,” Davis said. “I believe that it is a good thing for the community and also a good thing for him and (his) progression in life.”

Curtis said Summers sometimes attends the high school’s sporting events. 

“It’s kind of cool to still see people in the community when he walks in,” Curtis said. “I think there’s still a little bit of buzz there, and it’s pretty neat to watch.”  

Helping others

Since being released from prison in December 2023, Summers said, he has turned his life around.

He has earned his commercial driver’s license, become a certified personal trainer and is focused on giving back.

He also said he has been planning the youth mentorship program since he was in prison.

“While I was locked up, I had two cousins that got killed due to gun violence,” Summers said. “I want to do a program, a Big Brother (style) program, for kids who don’t have a father figure, someone to guide them out here.” 

He calls his idea Rescue Our Community, Rescue Our Youth, or “ROCROY.”

He wants to provide mentorship, recreational activities and opportunities for young people to help them escape the cycle of violence and crime. Summers envisions organizing outings such as bowling and movie nights twice a month, giving kids a safe space to enjoy themselves and build positive relationships. 

Summers wouldn’t be doing that alone.

Former Gamecock standout Derek Watson wants to help. Watson, also a running back from South Carolina, set many of the high school records Summers later broke. Watson was dismissed from USC three years in, after misdemeanor assault and marijuana possession charges. He played in the NFL for a short while and later became Summers’ teammate in Calgary, Canada.

He thinks Summers’ story will resonate with young people. 

“This could be a really good tool in the community,” Watson said. “A lot of kids don’t even know what their talents are until they’re introduced to different things.” 

Watson sees many similarities between his own life and Summers’ journey.

“People who know both of us will tell you we’ve always been like brothers from different mothers,” he said. “And even though our story is unique to us, it’s a story that’s all too common around the country. If we can reach these kids and show them a different path, it would be a blessing.” 

Summers’ mom, Jackie Summers, recently shared scrapbook entries about her son with a reporter for the Carolina News and Reporter.

“I still think he has a lot of fans, so it’s great that he’s doing this camp,” she said. “A lot of these little guys that still look up to him will be there.”

His mom encouraged him to play football although basketball was his preferred sport.

“I know it’s tough for a woman to raise a man,” Demetris said. “My mom, my grandma, and my aunt did a good job with me. But as you grow up, you kind of stray off, trying to find your own way. I want to be there for these kids, so they don’t have to go through what I did.”