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It
has been a long difficult year so far for the Southern
Jaguars. As the season wears on, the Jaguars’ depth has
been severely challenged. Experience and injuries have
hampered the entire team all season long; linebacker has
not been any different.
Coming in to the season, the linebacker position had a
promising look. Senior David Brooks returned after a
solid junior year. The 6”2’, 245 lbs., outside
linebacker was suppose to anchor the squad with the most
experience. In the opening game Brooks gathered his
career high with 15 tackles, two tackles for a loss and
one sack. After that performance, it looked as if Brooks
was on the verge of having a breakout season. That was
all until the massacre at Alabama A&M. The Jaguars were
decimated with injuries in that loss, and Brooks was one
of the victims, along with several other key
linebackers.
Maurice Runnels and Keidrick Bailey were the two other
linebackers that suffered in Alabama. Runnels was the
most experienced after Brooks, but he missed most of
last season with a knee injury. The Alabama A&M game has
put him back on the shelf. Bailey came into the season
on the chart as a defensive back, but was moved up to
the linebacker position. Because of this transition,
Bailey was the best drop linebacker the Jaguars had. He
also limped off of the Alabama field in the loss.
Jonathan Malveaux was one of the few linebackers that
made it out of Alabama relatively unscathed. The
sophomore from Baton Rouge saw some playing time last
season, but it was cut short due to an injury. With the
loss of Bailey, Malveaux has played in the role of drop
linebacker. He is the leading tackler for Southern.
Despite the injuries, Southern loss several other play
making linebacker before the season started. Senior
Johnny Berry was supposed to anchor the unit coming into
the season; he would have also been very key to the
depth of this position at this point in the season.
Berry walked away from the team during preseason camp.
Also, Bailey’s original back up, Andre Coleman, is out
for the season after having knee surgery. At the time
these losses did not seem to hang over Southern, but
with the injuries that have depleted this position every
bit would have helped.
Contact Chad at echadmetz@yahoo.com |
