There's an old-school ruggedness about him that conveys he'd like nothing more than to toss aside a guard or tackle, wrap his arms around the quarterback and slam him to the ground as the crowd erupts.
Thing is, that's exactly what he wants to do.
A senior defensive tackle with a bit of a nasty side, Dueitt has earned a reputation for being one of the most difficult blocking assignments in the Charlotte area. He led Hough in sacks last year and recently committed to play at Division I Ball State.
Hough coach Bobby Collins just loves the way he plays the game.
"Blake takes pleasure in punishing the people in front of him," says Collins, "takes pleasure in winning his personal battle with the guy in front of him. ... He's out there just having fun. He's living the dream and playing it the way you're supposed to play high school football."
The battle at the line of scrimmage often determines a play's success, and Dueitt thrives on the combat in the trenches. He loves the one-on-one nature of it, though he routinely occupies multiple blockers.
"I just love the physicality, love being able to use my hands and throw guys off me," says Dueitt.
There's something, he says, about the ongoing battle between players who line up opposite the ball for four quarters, and often results of the matchup are clear: he moved you or you moved him.
"At the end of the game, he's going to know who you are," says Dueitt.
While Dueitt can force double teams and clog the middle of the line, Hough coaches say he is quicker than most people realize and has fantastic hands. Many tackles simply occupy space or tie up blockers, but Dueitt has become a force on the front line.
"Blake has progressed," says Collins. "He's fast off the ball, fast with his hands. I think he's one of the dominant pass rushers in the league."
Dueitt spent this past offseason working on his football skills, and for the first time concentrated on football instead of playing baseball, a sport that was his primary focus for years. Dueitt believes the extra work will pay off this fall, even though he just has to laugh at his sense of timing. The year he decided to step away from baseball is the same one that saw the Huskies go on a memorable run to the state final. Dueitt, who pitched on varsity as a sophomore, made the trip to Durham to watch his friends and former teammates play Middle Creek in the state finals in early June. "I was proud for those guys," he says.
Dueitt says that kind of run has inspired him to believe that something similar can happen for Hough on the gridiron, where the Huskies came painfully close to securing a playoff bid last year.
He committed to Ball State this summer, has used Twitter as a means of staying in contact with future teammates and is excited that his dream of playing Division I football will soon be realized, but he also understands that being labeled a Division I athlete puts a target on his back.
"I gotta show people what I'm made of," he says.
It's just the kind of challenge he likes to tackle.
