It’s taken three years, but Emporia State defensive coordinator Ken Gordon finally has the combination of speed, size and experience at linebacker to run his defense of choice.
Last year, Gordon had to patch together his linebacking corps because of injuries and a lack of depth, and he could never attack as he wanted to. But this year the Hornets return three experienced linebackers — Katrel Larkins, Blake Ringwall and Nathan Linsey — and have several talented newcomers that fit perfectly into Gordon’s scheme.
“They’re attacking a lot more, doing a couple reads and then attacking,” Gordon said. “Last year, we kind of sat back and just played zone. We didn’t do very much, because we were so young. But this year we’re doing more attacking, attacking the line of scrimmage and moving around.”
The Hornets are attacking mainly because of their size and speed.
“Best athletes since I’ve been here,” Gordon said
All of the Hornets’ linebackers that are expected to play are at least 6-feet and weigh 209-plus. The two biggest additions are Matt Rosenhamer and Vince Harris, a Hutchinson Community College transfer.
Rosenhamer moved from defensive end to middle linebacker in the spring. At 6-foot-1 and 222 pounds, he was undersized as a defensive end; however, he’s the perfect size for middle linebacker.
“Rosy coming over from D-end gives us a little more size in the middle and a little more strength,” Larkins said. “Somebody who likes to hit like that, he doesn’t care. He has that crazy-boy mentality and that’s what we need.”
Harris has stood out to the coaches and other linebackers during camp. He was recruited by West Virginia, and Gordon said he will be the Hornets’ best and fastest athlete at linebacker.
“He doesn’t know what the hell is going on, he’s just an athlete,” Gordon said. “You know when you see a D-1 linebacker running around. When you see him running around, he’s D-1... If that light ever clicks on with him, he can be really, really good.”
Harris’ presence has moved Ringwall from the weak to the strong side. Ringwall was an All-MIAA honorable mention as a sophomore when he had 78 tackles, but he was hampered by injuries all of last season. He played in eight games, but he was never 100 percent.
“I think he’s 100 percent and you can see it on the field,” Larkins said. “He’s going 110 percent, and everybody else is winded, and he’s still going.”
Other players expected to compete for starting jobs are sophomore James Jones, freshman Znick Ferrell and Linsey. Gordon said no one has won a starting job yet, but the one guy who would be expected to get an automatic nod would be Larkins.
Larkins led the team in tackles (80) last season, his first playing exclusively at linebacker after starting his career as a receiver and safety. He will play both middle and outside linebacker this season and Gordon calls him his utility guy.
Larkins and Linsey were really the only constants at linebacker in 2008. Because of injuries, the Hornets had to move Derek Lohman from safety to linebacker, where he was a bit undersized. With the newcomers and Rosenhamer moving over, depth and size should not be an issue.
“We’re not so much worried about size,” Linsey said. “We like to run. We’re going to use our speed. ... That’s what K.G. likes to do, utilize our speed. He’s going to try to make everything bounce outside, and we’re going to run sideline to sideline and make plays. At the same time, if we need to fill a hole, we’ll do it.”
Filling holes shouldn’t be as big of a concern as in the past because of the improvements made to the defensive line. The Hornets are also more talented in the secondary, and when combined with the increased talent at linebacker, Gordon’s defense has finally started to come together.
“We’ve got guys back there who can run now, and we’ve got some secondary guys who can cover, so it makes it a lot easier for those guys to move around, because we can play a lot more man coverage in the secondary,” Gordon said. “We can attack more with five-man pressure, six-man pressure with the linebackers.
“... We’re in our third year, and that’s when you want to see the improvement of your guys making that leap. We’re on our way, but we still got a ways to go.”