 TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
TOLEDOROCKETS.NETYour source for information on Rocket Football! |
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By Brian Nowicki 
Mike Alston was the heart and soul of last year's defense. He won the Golden Hammer Award for the most big hits on the team and the Jim Nicholson Award for the athlete who contributed the most to the team's success. Replacing him at outside linebacker is going to be no easy task, but the Rockets have a plan.Stepping into Alston's outside linebacker position this spring has been senior Sean Williamson. Williamson is down to 265 pounds now and has taken over the position. Defensive Coordinator Tim Rose told me that Williamson will play the position similar to the way Alston did last year where he will occassionally drop down to be the 4th down lineman in certain situations. You may remember that Alston would drop down to be the 4th down lineman at different times last year as well. Williamson had 47 tackles, 8 tackles for loss and 2 sacks, last season for Toledo.  Backing up Williamson at the strong side outside linebacker is Bernard Faithful, Nick Lawrence, John Duhe, and Matt Shumaker. Senior Bernard Faithful is 6-3 and 240 pounds, bringing another good sized body to the position. Faithful had 22 tackles and one forced fumble in 10 games played last season. Nick Lawrence (6-3, 229) is currently listed as a senior on the roster, but he is petitioning the NCAA for another year of eligibility and the Rockets are hopeful that it will be granted. Lawrence played sparingly in 12 games last season, recording 5 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and one sack. Sophomore John Duhe (6-1, 231) and sophomore Matt Shumaker (6-1, 225) provide depth at the position.The weakside outside linebacker looks to be redshirt freshman Greg Harris. Harris (6-0, 187) played in just three games last season as a true freshman before missing the rest of the year with a broken jaw. He is receiving a medical hardship for last season, thus the redshirt freshman eligibility status. He is making the move from the secondary last year to provide speed at the weakside outside linebacker position. Coaches have noted that he has been one of the most impressive players on the defense this spring. Backing up Harris on the spring depth chart are junior David Fatula (5-9, 189), a very good special teams player his first two seasons at Toledo, and redshirt freshman Matt Burns (6-1, 200) who is a walk-on. The inside linebacker positions have some good depth. Senior Greg Hay (6-2, 223) has moved from the outside to the inside this spring. He has worked hard in the weight room and put on the necessary pounds to play the inside linebacker position. Last year he was 3rd on the team with 66 tackles, 11 tackles for loss and 4 sacks, had four pass breakups, and recovered one fumble. The other starting inside linebacker according to the spring depth chart is junior Keith Forestal. Forestal (6-3, 241) had 45 tackles last season, playing better and better as the season went on.  Backing Hay and Forestal up this spring are a number of players. Sophomore Archie Donald (6-3, 230) had 43 tackles last season as a true freshman and started several games. Donald will defintely play a lot this fall and may even be one of the starters before the first game rolls around. Sophomore Derrick Summers (6-2, 235) is also listed #2 at inside linebacker on the spring depth chart. Summers, like Donald, has ideal size for an inside linebacker. He had 11 tackles and one forced fumble in 12 games played as a true freshman last season. Derrick is the younger brother of quarterback Brandon Summers.You know you have depth at the inside linebacker position with senior Steven Morrison is listed 3rd string on the depth chart. The 6-2 and 230 pound linebacker had 43 tackles, 6 tackles for loss and 5 sacks, to go along with a forced fumble in 2006. He had a slow start to the season, but worked hard and found himself playing a lot more late in the season. The last few games it seemed like Morrison was all over the field. Coaches are expecting a lot from Morrison in 2007, so don't let the 3rd string level on the depth chart fool you. The Rockets have plenty of talent at inside linebacker to flush the guys in and out to keep them fresh the entire game. Sophomore Beau Brudzinski (6-1, 215) recorded 9 tackles in 10 games last season. Sophomore Eric Heller (6-0, 230) recorded 43 tackles in 12 games last season. These two players may be listed the lowest on the depth chart right now, but they both have a lot of talent and should see some considerable playing time in the fall. The Rockets signed three linebackers in the 2007 recruiting class. Outside linebacker Disi Alexander (6-2, 200) has an awful lot of talent. He had 142 tackles, 14 tackles for loss and 8 sacks, to go along with 5 forced fumbles as a senior at Canton McKinley High School in 2006. He was named 1st Team All-Ohio and named to the Big 33 All-Star Game. It appears that he will not be eligible to play right away this fall though. If that happens, he will pay his own way through school at UT this fall and if he is in good academic standing he will receive a scholarship to play in 2008. Outside linebacker Dreylon Pree (6-2, 190) had 67 tackles for Steubenville High School in 2006. He's got good speed and would be a perfect fit for the outside linebacker position once he gets into the Rocket weight training program and adds a few pounds of muscle. Oustide linebacker Tyson Patrick (6-2, 220) had 115 tackles and recovered 4 fumbles last season at Trotwood-Madison High School. He has excellent speed and good size to play the outside linebacker position. Patrick fully expects to come in this summer and compete for playing time at outside linebacker right away. At first glance you see a lot of depth at inside linebacker and not as much on the outside. However, spring is a time to try new positions and someone like Greg Hay who has moved to inside linebacker could wind up back on the outside if needed. At any rate inside linebacker seems to be a major strength, something Toledo missed a bit in 2006 after losing 2005 inside linebackers Anthony Jordan and David Thomas. Have a question or comment for Brian? Email |