2018 FB Preview: Linebackers
8/17/2018 3:43:00 PM | Football
Season Tickets Available For 2018
The 2018 Sam Houston State Bearkat football season is nearly upon us, with Coach K.C. Keeler's group set to open up the year on September 8 vs Prairie View at Bowers Stadium.
This is the second of an eight-part preview, position by position of this year's squad, leading up to the 2018 season opener.
LINEBACKER NOTABLES
Key Returners: Hunter Brown, Royce See, Markel Perry, Tristin McCollum, Danzell Sims, Drew Mahlen, Carter Starcke
Key Newcomers: DJ Curtis, Evrin Hawkins
HUNTSVILLE – With a pair of starters and a number of athletic pieces now in the rotation, head coach K.C. Keeler is excited about where his linebacker corps is as the Sam Houston State Bearkats progress into the fall camp.
Losing Justin Johnson, a first team all-SLC selection and the Kats' leading tackler each of the past two seasons, to graduation was a definite hit to the group; however, the Kats welcome back Hunter Brown for his senior season and should see significant contributions from players such as Royce See, Tristin McCollum, Markel Perry and newcomer DJ Curtis.
Brown took full advantage of moving into the starting lineup early in the 2017 and racked up 100 tackles on the season. A workhorse with a hard nose and high motor, Keeler notes that the 6-1, 225-pound Brown has consistently been at the front of team conditioning drills and enters the 2018 year in shape to be even better than his breakout junior season.
Additionally, the Kats will shift See to an inside position as well for his junior year, a move that will give the group instant athleticism and a necessary physicality that Keeler continues to note is a team mandate for 2018. See originally joined the Kats as a freshman in 2016 and saw time at safety and on special teams, but last season brought his playmaking abilities to the buck linebacker spot where he totaled 44 tackles and had a hand in three of Sam Houston's 24 takeaways on the year.
“With Hunter (Brown) and Royce (See), along with Markel (Perry) and DJ Curtis, I feel as good about the linebacker spot as I have since I got here,” Keeler said. “We are also planning to move Tristin (McCollum) down to the buck linebacker spot, which puts someone out there who can run, but also be physical, which is exactly what that position is.”
McCollum essentially auditioned for the job in the Kats' second playoff game of 2017 when he got the start against Kennesaw State's triple-option attack and turned in a season-high seven tackles in a game that saw Sam Houston advance to the semifinals of the FCS Playoffs. Along with McCollum, Markel Perry should also get some time in that spot as well.
Perry played in just one game as a true freshman in 2017 before a season-ending injury against Richmond shelved him for the remainder of the year. His size and athleticism had him slotted to play in the buck position a year ago, but he could also be used on the inside this season.
“We have lost a lot of great guys on every level of our defense,” Keeler said. “But the interesting thing about this team is that if you look at our top 40-50 players, we only lose a handful after this year. This is still a really young team, but a really talented team. We have tried to transform into a team where when we get into December, we can match up with those teams a little differently than in the past.”
Due in large part to that youth, Keeler and his staff felt it necessary to integrate immediate experience to the linebacking group and found what they were looking for in February when they signed junior college transfer Curtis. Returns on the 6-1, 220-pound linebacker during fall camp have been overwhelmingly positive after he joined the squad following a season that saw him take all-region honors at Iowa Western CC.
“DJ is a long, athletic linebacker who runs very well,” Keeler said upon Curtis' signing. “He's very explosive and plays well in space. He fills a big need with the loss of Justin (Johnson), due in large part to his experience.”
Others who could see time are Danzell Sims, freshman Evrin Hawkins, Carter Starcke and redshirt freshman Drew Mahlen. The Kats still have high expectations for Sims who totaled 18 tackles and an interception in 11 games as a redshirt freshman a year ago, while Hawkins was a dynamic player at Angleton High School who could make an immediate impact at the buck position.
This group, along with the rest of the Kats, will be on display Saturday morning when the team hits the field for its first intrasquad scrimmage of fall camp.
