Linebacker corps another strong suit for UCA defense

(EDITOR'S NOTE: This is another in a position-by-position series on UCA football, from the perspective of the players and assistant coaches from post-spring interviews, as the Bears enter the summer).

The University of Central Arkansas' linebacker corps is another position where there is a strong mix of young and old.

Leading the group, and one of the sparkplugs on defense, is senior James Lancaster, the Bears' third-leading tackler last season with 62, 11 for loss and one sack. Tok Opeloye, who plays behind Lancaster on the weakside, was the fourth-leading tackler with 55, one for loss.

Senior Jacob Bane, who played in only four games last season, is coming off an injury and serves as the physical prototype of what the Bears want as a middle linebacker. In his place, sophomore Jessie Sims came on strong in the spring. Junior Vance Fizer accounted for 30 tackles, one for loss. Junior transfer Frank Newsome was another bright spot during spring drills.

Another sophomore, Lamar Moore, was one of the pleasant developments of the spring.

"We have older guys helping younger guys," said defensive coordinator Matt Williamson, who also coaches the linebackers. "With our upperclassmen, our younger guys see what it takes to get on the field."

"We're confident, and we hold each other accountable of what we need to do, across the board in all aspects," Lancaster said. "We're thinking about each other on and off the field. People feed off guys who have been here. We have pressure but its good pressure."

He likes that the Bears have what appears to be a strong and experienced defensive front.

"The guys up front hold guys off of us," he said. "They make us plays. We do our jobs and we make them plays."

"We feel like a unit," Moore said. "We're ready to hit."

"As linebackers, everybody is dedicated and hard working," Sims said. "We're all like brothers. Everybody plays together. The more we have all played and taken the bullets, it got easier."

It has apparently created confidence.

"The biggest point for me is being confident and being confident in other people," said Fizer, a newcomer last season. "It's having confidence in them as yourself. It's like knowing people next to you, and he knows what he's doing. It keeps everyone on the same page.

"We have almost everybody back from last year, and we're smarter football players because we know more about what the offenses are doing and we know our roles. I've learned rather than trying to do everybody's job but to wait for the play to come to me."

"The first time I stepped on campus, I was certain this was the place," said Moore, who played high school football at Magnolia and spent last year primarily on the scout team. "I just worked my way up the ladder. I'm still learning. The main thing is I've had to learn the playbook of the defense. On the scout team, you're learning the playbook of the other offense every day during the season. You have to block out one thing and learn another."

Newsome is a transfer from Pearl River Community College.

"I'm playing the same position as in junior college, same scheme," he said. "The alignment on some plays is the major difference. This spring it was basically watching and learning."

He quickly learned a lot about the UCA defense and linebacking corps.

"It's a group that's together and has a lot of versatility and speed and is a lot stronger on top of that," he said about the linebackers. "Everybody is athletic."

"What sticks out is it's fast and dominant," he said about the defense. "Defense helps win games. Speed is vital to the defense."

Fizer was a high school quarterback and he that helps him on the outside at linebacker.

"You know a little what the quarterback is thinking down and distance," he said. "I know progressions they have to make. It helps me play that much faster. It's like gambling. I like to see if I'm gonna be right, if I'm not I'm gonna be on sideline. All the time, I'm trying to figure out the quarterback."

Lancaster is excited about the challenge coming off a 10-2 season.

"We have a lot of depth and a lot of people on the same page," he said. "It's harder stay on top but that separates the good from the great."

NEXT: Defensive backs