Linebackers strength of defense

By Andy Brown

Published: May 15, 2008

The hoots and hollers could be heard from one end of the practice field to the other.

Eufaula’s Hans Rice had just delivered a stinging hit to a ball carrier during a tackling drill that had Eufaula head coach Dan Klages all but jumping for joy.

“If that doesn’t get you excited something is wrong with you,” Klages told his players.

Clearly Klages is OK, because the coach is extremely excited about the potential his defense has shown – particularly the linebacking corps.

“I feel real good about this group,” Klages said. “It’s probably the most solid group we have top to bottom, which says something about how far our program has come. I can remember when Coach (Shayne) Wasden first got here we were so thin at linebacker that we had to start a freshman. We couldn’t find a linebacker on the whole team. Now, we have a lot of quality depth at the position, and this group has a chance to be special.”

The linebackers are led by Rice and Javen Harris, both of whom are rising seniors.

Rice is a 6-foot-3, 185 -pound outside linebacker that has already caught the attention of Auburn, Alabama, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and UCF, according to Rivals.com.

Harris is a 6-foot-1, 220-pound inside linebacker that has sparked the interest of Alabama, Auburn, LSU, UCF and Colorado according to Rivals.com.

“Those two guys are our hottest college prospects,” Klages said. “They have a chance to be real good. The thing about both of those guys is they get it done in the classroom too and that makes them attractive to college programs. Both of those guys are “A” students.”

While they make the grade in the classroom, their numbers aren’t so bad on gridiron either.

Rice runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds. Harris also owns a 4.6-second time in the 40.

Both are expected to start again this season, along with rising sophomore Ramone Lewis.

“Ramone has shown signs of being very good,” Klages said. “He’s got a good chance to start if he continues to work hard and improve.”

Rising senior Ty’shard Black is also competing to earn a starting spot at linebacker along with Jabori Henderson, Justin Colbert and Trenton Franklin, who is making the switch from defensive back to linebacker.

While the Tigers are loaded at linebacker, there are several holes to fill on the defensive front.

Rising senior Shaquille Ledbetter is expected to lead the group from defensive end after the departure of defensive end Courtney Upshaw and nose tackle Xavier Crews – both of whom signed college scholarships to play at the next level.

“We’ve got to find some guys up front,” Klages said. “We lost of talent there, and we need some of these younger guys to grow up in a hurry and step into those spots and help us win football games.”

The Tigers are also looking to replace a pair of starters in the defensive backfield after the graduation of Kendrick Dennis and Desmond Thomas.

Rising senior Bill Hamrick, who started at safety last season, is expected to start along with rising junior Greg Hill. Rising junior Ladarrius Ware could play his way into one of those two spots. He’s impressed Klages with his play this spring.

“We’ve got to find a couple of corners to replace two darn good ones,” Klages said. “I feel like we have a lot of talent at that position. We just need some guys to step up and fill those roles. Ladarrius looks like a guy that might be able to fill one of our corner spots. He’s been on the team, but hasn’t had the chance to play a lot. This offseason he worked really hard and I’ve been impressed with the way he’s played this spring.”

Despite the holes left by graduation, Klages feels the Tigers have the talent to be just as good on defense as last year’s squad, which gave up an average of just 9.08 points per game.

“We have talent,” Klages said. “It’s just a matter of some of these younger guys stepping up, and filling some of these holes and us playing physical football. I think we have a chance to be real good.”

Eufaula will square off with Benjamin Russell in a spring game Friday in Alexander City. The game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.