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Defensive ends hold team's fate in hands
By Mark Alexander
[email protected]
There will be nine other defensive players on the field at all times for Jackson State this season.
Yet there's no position more critical to the Tigers' fate on that side of the ball than defensive end.
"Those guys have got to produce for us to be successful," first-year JSU defensive line coach Kai Burrell said.
JSU managed just 23 sacks last season, ranking next-to-last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Ten of those sacks came in one game, against Prairie View A&M.
That stat alone had as much to do with the Tigers' struggles against the pass a year ago as anything else.
"It all starts up front," JSU defensive end Bobby Bell said. "The best pass defense is a good pass rush. Everybody talks about how many passing yards we gave up last year. . . .they see the DBs getting beat. But you can only cover a guy for 4 to 5 seconds. We've got to get to the quarterback to give our DBs a chance."
Bell, a physically-imposing junior, played linebacker before being moved to defensive end this past spring. The other starter is junior Bobby Mays, who started the final seven games last season.
Bell and Mays, good friends on and off the field, worked out together five to six times a week this summer with one goal in mind: Getting to the quarterback.
"I think we complement each other pretty well," Bell said. "Either he's going to get to the quarterback or I am. Hopefully we can meet back there together."
Mays, 6-3, 245-pounds, garnered second-team All-State honors after recording 16 sacks as a senior at Noxubee County. In high school he was able to overpower opposing offensive linemen with his size and strength, but he has learned it takes more than that on the college level.
"Technique and speed are everything," said Mays, who totaled six sacks last season. "That's what I've been working on most, technique. Playing last year helped me a lot. I know now what to expect."
The same can't be said for former Brookhaven High standout Bell, although JSU's coaches have been impressed with Bell's progress thus far.
"I'm still trying to get it down," said Bell, who runs a 4.7 40-yard dash. "I'm not at the level I want to be at, though. It's different because you don't have a head of steam going like at linebacker, and you have to use your hands more."
The two starters on the inside, Deon Deboise and Llvee Archie, as well as backups Arthur Sample and Antonio Lauderdale, saw significant playing time last season. They were part of a defense that ranked third in the SWAC against the run.
"Those guys are pretty experienced, but they're still young," Burrell said. "We're still trying to find an identity right now. I want us to be physical and tough, a punch-you-in-the-mouth type of D-line."
By Mark Alexander
[email protected]
There will be nine other defensive players on the field at all times for Jackson State this season.
Yet there's no position more critical to the Tigers' fate on that side of the ball than defensive end.
"Those guys have got to produce for us to be successful," first-year JSU defensive line coach Kai Burrell said.
JSU managed just 23 sacks last season, ranking next-to-last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference. Ten of those sacks came in one game, against Prairie View A&M.
That stat alone had as much to do with the Tigers' struggles against the pass a year ago as anything else.
"It all starts up front," JSU defensive end Bobby Bell said. "The best pass defense is a good pass rush. Everybody talks about how many passing yards we gave up last year. . . .they see the DBs getting beat. But you can only cover a guy for 4 to 5 seconds. We've got to get to the quarterback to give our DBs a chance."
Bell, a physically-imposing junior, played linebacker before being moved to defensive end this past spring. The other starter is junior Bobby Mays, who started the final seven games last season.
Bell and Mays, good friends on and off the field, worked out together five to six times a week this summer with one goal in mind: Getting to the quarterback.
"I think we complement each other pretty well," Bell said. "Either he's going to get to the quarterback or I am. Hopefully we can meet back there together."
Mays, 6-3, 245-pounds, garnered second-team All-State honors after recording 16 sacks as a senior at Noxubee County. In high school he was able to overpower opposing offensive linemen with his size and strength, but he has learned it takes more than that on the college level.
"Technique and speed are everything," said Mays, who totaled six sacks last season. "That's what I've been working on most, technique. Playing last year helped me a lot. I know now what to expect."
The same can't be said for former Brookhaven High standout Bell, although JSU's coaches have been impressed with Bell's progress thus far.
"I'm still trying to get it down," said Bell, who runs a 4.7 40-yard dash. "I'm not at the level I want to be at, though. It's different because you don't have a head of steam going like at linebacker, and you have to use your hands more."
The two starters on the inside, Deon Deboise and Llvee Archie, as well as backups Arthur Sample and Antonio Lauderdale, saw significant playing time last season. They were part of a defense that ranked third in the SWAC against the run.
"Those guys are pretty experienced, but they're still young," Burrell said. "We're still trying to find an identity right now. I want us to be physical and tough, a punch-you-in-the-mouth type of D-line."
