Aug. 10, 2010
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By John Denton
UCFAthletics.com
ORLANDO, Fla. (UCFAthletics.com) - UCF was in the midst of a short-yardage drill on Tuesday and just after burly back Brendan Kelly plunged forward for a 2-yard gain and a first down, peeved linebacker Chance Henderson went searching for answers.
First, he went to strong-side linebacker Derrick Hallman and then weak-side backer Lawrence Young to figure out how UCF's defense bent in that get-off-the-field moment when a stop was needed.
Having spent the better part of the past three years together, Henderson, Hallman and Young have the depth of knowledge, familiarity and camaraderie to put their heads together and solve problems. After all, the three of them have a staggering 537 career tackles and 84 collegiate starts, making them one of the nation's most experienced linebacking corps.
``As a defense we want to be perfect on everything and for there to never be any breakdowns,'' Henderson said of his impromptu sideline meeting with his fellow linebackers. ``The offense is on our team right now, but we don't want them getting any yards on us. That's the pride of this defense. We were trying to figure out where the breakdown was and we want to get it fixed.''
UCF defensive coordinator Dave Huxtable said his three senior linebackers have the freedom to make checks and fixes to the defense during plays and during games because of their knowledge. Huxtable said the experience at linebacker allows him to take risks elsewhere on the defense because he knows his linebacking corps will usually be there to clean up any messes.
``Nothing beats experience. Derrick Hallman has been a rock for us and Lawrence Young and Chance Henderson both played as freshmen and have been around. Those three guys are good football players and really good leaders,'' Huxtable said. ``They know the defense inside and out and that makes my job easier. When I'm standing behind the white line and they see something not right they can fix it. What a blessing it is to have three of them with that kind of experience.''
Henderson, a Conyers, Ga., native, is the elder statesmen of the group, having been around five years because of a season-ending knee injury last season that forced a redshirt year. Hallman, a senior from Fort Pierce, is back at linebacker after spending time at safety last season. Young, a Pensacola product, is going into his fourth year as a starter, having played in the season-opener against N.C. State back in 2007.
Hallman is the group's leader in starts (32) and career tackles (193), but he's followed closely by Henderson (26 and 163) and Young (26 and 181).
They claim that it's their differences that help them bond so well together. Henderson is the technician of the group, while Young is known most for his natural instincts of getting to the ball. Hallman is easily the most vocal of the group and is one of UCF's biggest hitters.
``We are pretty tight and have a good bond. Derrick is the vocal one, I'm more mellow and Chance is in the middle. He can be vocal, but he can observe too,'' Young said. ``I feel like we've seen everything that people in Conference USA has to throw at us. Even if we haven't seen it, we'll adapt well and make the corrections because of our experience. I think we're going to be a good defense.''
Hallman started last season at safety because of UCF's losses in the secondary. But when Kemal Ishmael came along much faster than expected - thanks in large part to a major assist from Hallman - the athletic speedster was able to move back to outside linebacker.
Hallman said he added 15 pounds this season and is much more at peace mentally knowing that he will play at linebacker all season.
``I'm a lot more comfortable knowing where I'm going to play this year. I love being in the box and covering slot receivers. That's a huge part of our defense - being able to run and also be strong enough to play in the box,'' said Hallman, who bulked up from 212 to 227 pounds. ``I had been playing (strong-side linebacker) from Day One and I had a lot of faith in Kemal. It was the best thing for our defense me going back to linebacker. I took Kemal under my wing so that he knew the defense. That switch made us a better defense.''
Henderson went down almost a year ago this week to a major knee injury while trying to tackle a running back. He was forced to miss all the season and he looked on helplessly as outside linebacker Cory Hogue moved to the middle and played exceptionally. Henderson was allowed to have some contact in the spring, but now he's been fully released to get back to being UCF's sideline-to-sideline stopper.
``I'm back now. Being back in the swing of things and in every drill has been good for me because a lot of getting over an injury is mental,'' he said. ``The spring was great for me because I got in some contact and now it's passed and I'm ready for football.''
Young is especially mindful of being a leader to young linebackers Josh Linam, Jordan Becker and Loren Robinson because he was once in their same shoes. Young said he shocked at how his UCF career has flown by. Facing N.C. State in the second game of the season will be especially meaningful to Young because it will remind him of where his UCF journey began four seasons ago.
``I still remember coming here as a freshman and my first game at N.C. State I was wide-eyed and didn't know what to expect,'' he said. ``I had that goal to play early and I came in and worked as hard as I could. I just wanted to help out the team anyway that I could.''
The goal now for the linebacking threesome is to make sure there's no defensive drop off following the losses of Torell Troup, Travis Timmons and Hogue to graduation. That's a kind of pressure that UCF's veteran linebackers thrive off of, Henderson said.
``I think it's a great advantage to have linebackers who have experience playing together and come in and be an inspiration to the defense,'' he said. ``We try to lead the charge as the coaches say. It's always big to a defense to have linebackers who have experience.''
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John Denton's Knights Insider appears on UCFAthletics.com several times a week. E-mail John at jdenton@athletics.ucf.edu.