New, 'inexperienced' linebackers making an impact for Cardinals defense

September 11, 2006 —

by Brandon Kish

Redshirt freshman linebacker John Jacobs loses his helmet as he takes down Gannon running back Jon Richardson in the backfield on Saturday. The tackle was one of Jacobs' seven tackles for loss, which included three sacks.

by Brandon Kish

Linebacker Derek Volmering takes down Gannon tackle Dave Conway during a run play on Saturday. The junior, wearing the familiar number 47 of the departed All-American John DiGiorgio, finished with 10 tackles, including 1.5 sacks.

Coming into this season, one of the SVSU football team's main concerns was filling a gaping hole at the linebacker position. Just two games into the season, that concern is gone.

Doing their best impressions of All-American John DiGiorgio and Dan Fodrocy, junior Derek Volmering and redshirt freshman John Jacobs have combined for 38 tackles, nine for loss, and five sacks in the first two games of the season.

Volmering - who is taking over not only DiGiorgio's inside linebacker position but also his number 47 jersey - had some limited playing time a year ago and certainly was not as much of a question as the two outside linebacker spots left vacant by Fodrocy and Joe Hermann. But Volmering has had 10 tackles in each of the first two games, a level of consistency that DiGiorgio brought to the Cardinals' defense for four years.

Jacobs had his coming-out party Saturday against Gannon, as the 6'2", 210-pounder had 12 tackles, seven for loss, and three sacks. The speedy product of Midland Dow confused the Gannon offensive line all day, disguising when he was going to rush the quarterback and when he would drop into coverage.

Jacobs said he noticed the Golden Knights' offensive line calling when they felt he would be a pass rusher and had to mix his actions up, an adjustment he made well for just his second game in a Cardinals uniform.

Coach Randy Awrey, who has said before that it is impossible to actually replace the contributions of players such as DiGiorgio and Fodrocy, said Jacobs compared greatly to Fodrocy. Both are great athletes, the coach said, but Jacobs still has a way to go before he can reach Fodrocy's talent level.

"He's still inexperienced," Awrey said of Jacobs. "He's going to make some mistakes. But he has grown up a lot from the last game (at Ashland on Sept. 2)."

Awrey added that he even noticed Jacobs maturing from quarter to quarter and series to series against Gannon. This was most notable in the fourth quarter, as Jacobs had five tackles in the quarter, three of which were sacks, as the Golden Knights tried several times to crawl back into the game.

Jacobs has spent time at the position with junior Kerk Summers, who has been hampered by an ankle injury, Awrey said. There's no telling who will get the majority of the playing time once Summers is back to full health, but the decision will nonetheless be a tough one for Awrey, as the other outside linebacker position seems to be solidified.

Junior Anthony Roberts had five tackles in Saturday's game, including one and a half for loss. Despite a 6', 235-pound frame, the Fort Lauderdale, Florida native has shown speed off the edge and in coverage.

With Volmering's consistency and senior Brent Rogers' solid play on the inside, the new outside guys will have time to grow into their positions. But Awrey says, despite their little experience, he can see they are growing as players already. He points to Saturday's game, adding that the adjustments the players made during the game will help them not only in next week's game at Ferris State, but also during practice this week.

"It's hard for them to relate to what we are telling them just in practice," Awrey said.

To be sure, neither Awrey nor his players feel the contributions of last year's star linebackers have been replaced. With as much of a question mark as the position was heading into the season, though, Awrey was visibly more confident as he talked following the team's second win of the season.

Just as they did a year ago, the Cardinals preseason question marks seem to be turning into exclamation points.