Paul Devlin believes Ruairí Canavan has the right temperament and attitude to deal with the expectations placed on his shoulders.
A prodigious talent, Canavan was voted under-20 Footballer of the Year in 2022 and he will captain the Tyrone team at that grade this season.
But he has also now graduated to the senior ranks and came off the bench to feature in Tyrone’s most recent three league games – getting on the scoresheet against both Mayo and Kerry.
Canavan, who scored 1-7 in the All-Ireland under-20 final against Kildare last May, comes from a famous Tyrone football household with his Dad Peter recognised as one of the county’s greatest ever players. Ruairí's brother, Darragh, is also currently on the Tyrone senior panel.
Devlin, the Tyrone under-20 manager, does not feel Canavan will be distracted or overawed by the extra attention and focus that comes from playing at senior level.
“There is [pressure], but at the same time he is a level-headed lad and he’ll not get carried away with nothing,” said Devlin.
“He knows himself he has work to do as well and he has to keep on top of his game and keep improving. That’s the attitude he has, Darragh was much the same, they keep working on their game.”
Tyrone are aiming to retain their Ulster and All-Ireland under-20 titles this season and will begin their 2023 campaign with an Ulster quarter-final against Down on Wednesday, March 29th.
That game will take place just three days after the Tyrone seniors are to face Armagh in what could be a pivotal game to determine if the Red Hands will remain in Division One.
Tyrone, who face Monaghan in Clones this weekend, are currently on four points. Kerry and Monaghan are also on four, while Donegal are bottom on three. If Tyrone fail to beat Monaghan on Sunday, then they will enter the last game against Armagh with the threat of relegation looming large.
However, the Ulster under-20 championship is a straight knockout competition with no backdoor. There are two players dovetailing between the Tyrone under-20 and senior panels – Canavan and Conor Cush.
Devlin, who has been managing Tyrone at this grade for half a dozen years, says a strong relationship between the under-20 and senior set-ups has helped ensure the best decision on behalf of the players involved is always the priority. Devlin regularly speaks with Brian Dooher and Feargal Logan about the crossover players.
“The welfare of the player, especially now when they are mostly 19, is important so that they are not overplayed,” he said.
“We have a game on the 29th of March and Tyrone seniors have a National League game three days earlier, that’s one both teams are probably going to need points in, so it’s a big game for a lad to be stepping in for and expected to go play a high-level championship match three days afterwards.
“So, big calls have to be made there, we just have to sit down and talk over that. And it has worked well this last six years, all the managers have sat down and have had good communication among ourselves.”
Devlin is also more upbeat about Tyrone football right now than some. He has seen the players going through the system in the county and believes the talent is there for Tyrone to remain major challengers in the years ahead.
“When Tyrone played a McKenna Cup game in January I think there was something like 18 lads involved who have come through our hands the last three or four years,” he added.
“We have been in three All-Ireland series over the last five years, so they have been all playing at a high level and there is a lot of good going on there. Feargal and Brian have to maybe take the baton on with these lads, see how they fit them in and gradually bring them through, because not all of them are going to hit the heights straight away.
“It’s pretty good in Tyrone within the group, all of us are working together. I’m pretty confident they will stay in Division One, and that will be a major boost to Tyrone football.”
Paul Devlin was speaking at the launch of the 2023 EirGrid All-Ireland under-20 football championship
