by Scott Goode
SEARCY – With less than two weeks remaining before the kickoff of the 2010 football season, Harding head coach Ronnie Huckeba released his first two-deep of the fall Tuesday. The Bison defense will be in its second season with the 4-2-5 alignment that showed much improvement over the two previous seasons.
Harding has seven defensive starters from last season penciled in to start the first game of the season next Saturday against Southern Arkansas. Sophomore Terrence Davis, a starter last season at wide receiver, is now expected to start on defense at cornerback. The other returning starters include defensive ends Josh Aldridge and Marcus Jones, defensive tackle Andrew Jackson, linebacker Jason Thomasson, and defensive backs Jasper Bodiford, Steve Hudson and Eddie Russ.
Below is a positional breakdown of the Harding defensive two-deep.
Defensive End
· 2009 Starters – Josh Aldridge and Marcus Jones
· 2010 Starters – Josh Aldridge (6-2, 225, SO) and Marcus Jones (5-8, 235, SR)
· 2010 Backups – Jermaine Blanchard (6-1, 220, SR) and Mark Gutierrez-Durant (6-3, 270, SR)
Aldridge had a solid season as a redshirt freshman defensive end, recording 35 tackles and 6.5 tackles for loss. Jones, a senior, has started 27 career games and recorded 54 tackles last season.
Blanchard moved from linebacker to defensive end last season and earned All-GSC honors. His speed makes him one of Harding’s top pass rushers. Blanchard led Harding with 9.0 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks in 2009. Gutierrez-Durant had some injury issues last season, but his work in the weight room, where he lifted 225 pounds an astounding 38 times in the preseason, shows he is back at full strength.
Defensive Tackle/Nose Guard
· 2009 Starters – Keenan Kitchen and Andrew Jackson
· 2010 Starters – Andrew Jackson (5-11, 270, SR) and John Ikahihifo (5-11, 330, SR)
· 2010 Backups – Ray Hatfield (5-10, 280, SR), Joe Calvin (6-0, 280, FR) and Eddie Frazier (6-2, 260, SO)
A pair of veterans will hold down the middle for the Bisons. Jackson is a three-year starter who had 34 tackles, including 6.0 tackles for loss last season. Ikahihifo served as a backup to Kitchen last season and moves into the starting nose guard spot after making 15 tackles a season ago.
Hatfield returns to Harding for his senior season, having not played since 2007. He is a strong interior lineman and an excellent run-stopper at nose guard. Calvin originally signed with Tennessee-Martin out of high school and transferred to Harding in January. Frazier had four tackles last season as a reserve.
Linebacker
· 2009 Starters – Jason Thomasson and Rene Stephan
· 2010 Starters – Jason Thomasson (5-10, 200, SR) and Kennard Henderson (5-7, 200, SO)
· 2010 Backups – Russ Jenkins (6-3, 260, JR) and Aaron Gillaspie (5-10, 205, SO)
The Bisons have a solid corps at linebacker with Thomasson leading the group. Thomasson had 60 tackles last season, and Henderson added 48 tackles. Both starters are play-makers and have the speed to cover the field from sideline to sideline.
Jenkins could be the best-kept secret in the GSC this season. The 260-pounder runs a 4.6 40-yard dash and had an outstanding junior college career at DeAnza College in California. Gillaspie overcame an injury last season to be very productive in the second half. He had 30 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, despite missing the season’s first four games.
Rover/Safeties
· 2009 Starters – Josh Jones, Jasper Bodiford and Steve Hudson
· 2010 Starters – Daniel Bernal (5-9, 170, JR), Jasper Bodiford (5-8, 195, SO) and Steve Hudson (6-0, 200, SR)
· 2010 Backups – Luke Tribble (6-0, 195, JR) and James Feher (6-1, 205, SO)
In the secondary, Harding will miss Josh Jones, who had arguably the best season ever by a Bison defensive back last year. In his spot, Harding has brought in Bernal, a transfer from Pasadena City College in California, who had 69 tackles last season. The Bisons also return to reliable safeties in Bodiford, who had 57 tackles last season, and Hudson, who is Harding’s leading returning tackler with 67 stops as a junior.
Tribble has started before for the Bisons and is always well-positioned on the field. Feher has dropped some weight and moved from defensive line to defensive back. He has good speed and outstanding reach.
Cornerbacks
· 2009 Starters – Darren Newson and Eddie Russ
· 2010 Starters – Eddie Russ (5-11, 180, SR) and Terrence Davis (5-9, 170, SO)
· 2010 Backups – Dempsey Bonner (5-8, 170, SO) and Derrick Bradshaw (5-5, 155, FR)
Russ is Harding’s most experienced cornerback. He had 29 tackles and three interceptions last season and will likely match up with the opponents’ top receiver. Davis has great ball skills, moving to the secondary after hauling in 34 receptions last season as a wide receiver.
Bonner has played mostly on special teams but will be in the cornerback rotation, and Bradshaw, a true freshman, wowed the Harding coaching staff during a workout last season. He has also earned a spot in the rotation.
The special-teams breakdown will appear on HardingSports.com on Thursday.
No comments:
Post a Comment