By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
jschiefelbein@theadvocate.com
Advocate sportswriter
Advocate staff photo by Mark Saltz
Linebacker Eddie Green is becoming a force on defense after overcoming an early-season hamstring injury.
Southern senior linebacker Eddie Green did some worthwhile work in his hometown over the summer. Lately, he's starting to do the most worthwhile work of his career on the football field.
Green struggled through preseason camp with a hamstring injury that nagged him for more than two months. In the last five games, he has become an increasingly strong force at weakside linebacker for 16th-ranked Southern (10-1).
"I'm as proud of Eddie Green as anybody on this football team," defensive coordinator Cliff Lewis said. "That guy has really bounced back in a huge way. He really has. He's really provided leadership."
Green played a part of three huge plays in a crucial 24-17 win over Texas Southern on Saturday in Houston.
? On second-and-8 play at the Southern 22 midway through the first quarter, he broke up a pass. That led to a missed field goal.
? On a second-and-5 play at the Southern 8, he and Tarus Morgan stopped quarterback Gerred Lunnon for no gain, as the Jaguars held TSU to a field goal nine minutes before halftime.
? And on a second-and-10 play at the Southern 24, he recovered a fumble forced by Lenny Williams at the Southern 18 with 7:23 left in the third quarter and the Jaguars already down 17-10.
"I'm just playing my role," Green said.
"Lenny is our leader. You know, with Michael Jordan, he's the star player and he had role players. I'm one of the role players. I just feed off that.
"If they need my loud mouth, my big hitting, then, yes, I'll do that. I'm just trying to do my job."
The hamstring injury prevented him from doing that job early on. Then, as he got healthier, he told his coaches he'd do any job.
Said Green, "I told them wherever you need me, I'll play. This is my senior year. I'm trying to go out with a bang. If they needed me at noseguard, I'd go out there. I'm about 250 (pounds), so I'm good for it. Tackle, wherever."
Said Lewis, "We were out there practicing one day, and he was like, 'Hey, whatever I have to do, I'm going to do it. If I have to be a scout team center, fullback, tight end, wide receiver, I don't care. Whatever I have to do to get this team over the hump, that's what I'm going to do' That attitude has really become infectious with other people."
Green had only three tackles in the first six games. He's made 20 in the last five. That includes a season-high six at Jackson State.
On a team ranked sixth nationally in total defense (272.09 yards per game) and third in scoring defense (12.18 points per game), Green has 22.5 tackles, closing in on the career high of 25 he set in nine games last season. He's also been a key blocker on special teams.
"One thing about Eddie is he's a good solid leader," first-year linebackers coach Tom Lavigne said. "He knows the defense. He knows the schemes. He's been around here a long time. He understands what coach Richardson and what we want to do. That makes him very valuable to us."
Green's been plenty valuable off the field as well. Green, from St. Augustine High, had an internship with the New Orleans Recreation Department over the summer.
"I was a peer mediator, a counselor for first- and second-grade kids," said Green, a criminal justice major. "We helped kids in need. If they had problems at home, I tried to be a role model. It's always good to work with