Southern looking for toughness from LBs

• By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Aug 8, 2008 - Page: 1C - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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Southern defensive coordinator Terrence Graves has returned to the unit he’s coached most year after year — linebackers — and he didn’t bring any softness to his return.

“I’m doing a lot of hard coaching with the older guys,” Graves said. “They’ve been around too long not to do the little things. We’re harping on the little things (as a coaching staff).”

In order for Southern to contend for its first Southwestern Athletic Conference title since 2003, Graves has to get the most from his guys.

He has to have junior drop (outside) linebacker Gary Chatman get even better after a monster first season: 57 tackles, including four sacks, and 11 quarterback hurries.

He has to have senior inside linebacker Johnathan Malveaux avoid the nagging injuries and reach his full potential. The preseason All-SWAC second-teamer had 79 tackles, including two sacks, last season.

And he has to have eagle (inside) linebackers Donald Steele, a senior who had 15 tackles last season, and Allan Baugh, a junior who had 24 tackles, including two sacks, in eight games last season, make up for the departure of Brian Lewis, who broke out last season with 63 tackles, but chose to concentrate on academics instead of returning to the team in the spring. The eagle spot calls the defenses.

Unlike when he last coached the group, when all these players were much less experienced, this group, like so many on the team, is on the cusp of putting everything together.

And so Graves will push.

“Those guys got right in the fire,” Graves said. “They took their lumps early, but you can see the maturity now. They should be at that level. Now, they have to accelerate to a championship level.”

Southern has 13 linebackers in camp. And there are three tiers of experience.

On the first level are Chatman, Malveaux, Steele and Baugh. Then there are sophomore Sir Edward Staten (two tackles in three games), sophomore outside linebacker Andre Coleman (four tackles in four games), redshirt freshman Marcus Clark (four tackles in four games) and junior Corniel Bridges (no tackles last season).

There are three true freshmen signees — Justin Fletcher, Ron Ferdinand and John Dees (with Demetrius Bentley moving Tuesday to fullback) — and two other newcomers, Justin Scott and Joshua Johnson.

“The older guys are playing well,” Graves said. “Donald Steele has been having a good camp. The younger guys are good guys. They’re working. They’re picking it up.