The linebackers as of today will be missing a middle linebacker we have got use to seeing as E.J.Henderson has been patroling the middle in the past.
It was so fun to watch during EJ's career fly around, hair flowing out of the back of the helmet. It seemed he had no regards for his body as he would do whatever it took to take a player down. His body had to hurt the next day.
It is time to find a replacement. Jasper Brinkley is thought to be the new middle man. It is time for Jasper to show the team and fans why they drafted him. He had a injury last season that wiped his season out. I am hoping he is ready this season as he is young and has a lot of years ahead of him to be the anchor, the quarterback of the defense.
Outside Linebacker, Chad Greenway, a tackling machine. Chad was rewarded last year as he got to go to the Pro Bowl. This will be Chad's 6th year with the team. He was voted defensive team MVP in 2010. Chad has the experience to be one of the veteran leaders in the locker room.
Erin Henderson, the other outside linebacker made it the hard way. He made it as a rookie free agent. This will be his 5th season with the team. His patience and hard work paid off as he made his first career start the first game of 2011 in San Diego. He was the fourth leading tackler on the team in 2011. I find him to be one of the guys on the team who makes for a great interview.
Erin was asked last year at Winter Park around Thanksgiving time what he was going to do for Thanksgiving. His response was "I am going to watch the games on Thursday and see how the linebackers play." I thought what a neat answer as he was trying to learn even with time off how he could be better.
In 2011, Larry Dean, an undrafted rookie made the squad. He was the only undrafted rooke to make the 53 man roster. Larry played special teams and finished 4th in tackles. He was also 1 of 4 guys on thr roster to be from a Division 2 school.
The Vikings drafted Audie Cole in 2012 in the later rounds. I was reading some interesting bio facts on him. He came to college from high school as a quarterback and some safety experience. He was asked in college to switch to linbacker and look how he turned out. The Minnesota Vkings thought enough of him that they drafted him. I have also read in other articles that Audie has no problem throwing his body around. It sounds familiar with a man I wrote about earlier, E.J.Henderson
The roster has 2 linebackers trying out for the team that have something in common. They both played college ball at Hawaii University. Corey Paredes comes in as a rookie free agent.
Elimimian Solomon is the other from Hawaii. Solomon is older as he has spent time in the CFL. I found 2 interesting facts that hopefully translate into success with the purple. In 2010 he was voted most outstanding rookie in the league. In 2011 he was voted the hardest hitter. 2 years with awards and now a shot at the pros. I wish Solomon all the success in the world at camp.
I like the makeup of the guys trying out and as I repeatedly say Mankato will be a lot to watch. I would not want to be the coach that has to try and make the right decisions on cutting and keeping.
Next up- A look at changes in Mankato over the years
Thanks for reading
Purplestick
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