Selders a big part of Southern defense

• By PERRYN KEYS
• Advocate sportswriter
• Published: Nov 15, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m.

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At 6-foot-2 and nearly 300 pounds, Southern defensive tackle Joseph Selders easily stood out in his hometown.

Actually, there wasn’t much to it.

“I’m a country boy,” he says. “Country and proud of it.”

Indeed. He’s from Baywood, a tiny community on the northern end of East Baton Rouge Parish — a place so small, his family is the biggest thing in it.

His mother was one of 11 children. His father was one of 11 children.

Both sides of the family had racehorses. In fact, Selders used to ride his own horse, Smokey. And growing up, he saw first-hand that somehow, those large, graceful animals always know when race day had arrived.

“I mean, going up to the track, they know it’s time to go,” Selders says. “They see the lights just like we see the lights.”

Maybe that’s why Selders has played so well on game days this season.

At 6 p.m. today in Mobile, Ala., underneath the lights at Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Selders and the Jaguars (5-4, 4-1 Southwestern Athletic Conference) will face a reeling team from Alabama State (2-7, 2-4) in the Gulf Coast Classic.

It is a game Southern must win to keep alive its hopes of a Western Division title. Chances are, Selders will play a large part in it.

For the better part of three years, he has started on the interior, taking on two and three offensive linemen with his meaty arms and chest.

Still, among all defensive linemen in the SWAC, Selders ranks eighth in tackles with 35. He also has 4 1/2 stops behind the line of scrimmage, half a sack, one pass deflection and two fumble recoveries.

“Great technician,” defensive line coach Todd Middleton says. “He plays low, plays with his hands and really studies the game. He splits double-teams. He does all the things you’re looking for in a D-lineman.”