This is the second in a series breaking down the personnel in each area of the 2009 Bryant Hornets football team.
By Rob Patrick
With the departure of three senior starters including solid outside backer Dylan Chism and Austin Humbard, one of the best middle linebackers to ever don the Bryant blue, it’s been retooling time for defensive coordinator and linebacker coach Steve Griffith.
“There’s not a lot of experience this year,” he acknowledged. “Trey Sowell (5-10, 180, senior) had some playing time last year and, of course, he and Hunter Mayall (6-0, 190, junior) and Brennan Bullock (5-10, 180, senior) played in all the JV games last year.[more]
“They’ve made a lot of progress,” he asserted. “Trey really made progress in the off season and we made the decision to move him to outside linebacker. He’s been playing really well. He attacks the screens well.”
Mayall stepped in to the middle with Bullock at the other outside spot.
“Hunter’s a smart player,” Griffith continued. “Of course, he came out of baseball so he was a little bit behind off of spring but he’s really caught up quickly. He’s a real smart kid. He picks things up.
“And Bullock is too,” he continued. “He was in baseball but he and Hunter have really come on.”
Regarding depth, Griffith related, “Collin Chapdelaine (5-7, 195) at middle linebacker, he had a really, really good spring and has made a lot of progress since last year. He’s a junior, so we’ll have him for another year. He’s got the ability, he could move over and play weakside in a short yardage situation or something like that.
“Outside, Jacob Brady (5-9, 175), a junior, gives us some depth at the strong side,” he continued. “At weak side, we’ve got Holden Chavis (5-9, 175, junior) and James Glasper (5-9, 150, junior). They were secondary guys last year and still play some in the secondary but we’re having them play a little bit of weak-side linebacker. They can come in and play ‘backer in a run situation but they’re more adept at the pass situations. They’re guys we feel like we can use through the year in passing situations and give us a little more mobility at linebacker. They’re guys that are a little bit more used to seeing the ball in the air than some of our other linebackers are.”
The crew may give Griffith more flexibility than in some years. He expects them to get nothing but better as the season progresses.
“We’re just hoping each week these guys, as they get into games and gather game experience on the varsity level, they just continue to improve,” he concluded.
