STONY BROOK, N.Y. — Delante Hellams Jr. already owned the nickname, "Big Play Tay," when he joined the Stony Brook football team.

It proved well-deserved during his redshirt sophomore season in 2019 with the Seawolves.

Hellams, a 6-foot, 205-pound wide receiver out of powerhouse DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Md., produced a 57-yard reception against Richmond last Oct. 20 for his first collegiate touchdown. He tallied 352 receiving yards a season ago while appearing in all 12 games.

"Actually, toward the end of high school, they started calling me 'Big Play Tay,'" Hellams said. "I guess that's something that just stuck around. It's kind of catchy."

During Hellams' senior year of high school, DeMatha Catholic finished with a No. 6 national ranking following a perfect 12-0 campaign. The season proved memorable for other reasons, too.

Hellams and younger brother DeMarcco, then a sophomore, started together at receiver throughout the high school season. DeMarcco now plays defensive back for the University of Alabama.

Two players from Delante's DeMatha graduating class — Chase Young (second overall, Washington) and Anthony McFarland (fourth round, Pittsburgh) — were selected in the National Football League draft in April.

"There should be more from my class who are going to make an impact, too," Delante said.

At DeMatha, Delante exclusively played offense, but his brother — "more the athlete of the family" — played on both sides of the ball.

"I'd play the left side. He'd be at the outside — right side receiver," Delante said. "It was fun to play with my brother."

Said DeMarcco: "It was a dream come true for us and my parents. To have us not only on the same field together for the first time, but starting alongside each other — knowing how hard we both worked to be at a school like DeMatha — made it that much better. It made playing football that much more enjoyable. Being alongside your brother, on and off the field, especially as a sophomore coming up and having someone to show me what it looked like to take control of a team and a game and how to be a leader, was huge."

Having been through the college recruiting process himself, Delante was able to relay his experiences to his younger brother. DeMarcco actually accompanied Delante on some of Delante's unofficial campus visits.

"He had his first offer in eighth grade, so a lot of schools were after him when they were talking to me at the same time," Delante recalled. "So we used to go on a lot of visits together."

Delante was able to attend two of Alabama's games last season after the Seawolves completed their season — the Iron Bowl against Auburn on Nov. 30 and the Citrus Bowl against Michigan in Orlando on New Year's Day.
 
"He showed me the journey of a high school football player before I was even there — the practice, the game, recruitment, training. Literally everything my brother did in high school I did with him, which helped me as a player," DeMarcco said. "I went to camps and worked out as a middle schooler because I wanted to be as good of a player as my brother. I had a chance to train and get better earlier than most, and that's where I developed my competitive edge. We were always competing against each other and motivating each other to dominate in everything we do."