2011 Preview: Linebackers

Inside Linebackers
All-Big South selection A.J. Gross headlines the inside linebackers group and should post big numbers again as in past seasons. Gross led all Big South defensive players in tackles with 110 stops and a 10.0 tackles per game average and ranked in the top 20 in tackles in FCS all season long. He posted six double-digit tackle games coming against Charleston Southern (17), Liberty and Old Dominion (16), Gardner-Webb (13), and William & Mary and Stony Brook (10) and was named Big South Defensive Player of the Week October 4 with nine tackles and three tackles for loss and a forced fumble against Presbyterian College. Gross' 40 solo stops also topped the team defensive charts.

Senior Josh Sneed and redshirt sophomore Weston Reber will vie for playing time at inside linebacker and form a capable and experienced pair. Sneed played in all 11 games with five starts at inside linebacker and moved into a starting role against Liberty and started all but one of the remaining games. He finished with 11 solos and 22 assists for 33 total tackles on the season. Reber had last year shortened by injury but continues to be one to watch at inside linebacker and played in the first four games at inside linebacker and also contributed on special teams.

Redshirt junior linebacker Terrell Lynch (Richmond, Va.), and redshirt freshman Ty Garvin (Kingsport, Tenn.) will provide depth in the two-deep.

Outside Linebackers
Redshirt-junior Emilio Calvin (Woodbridge, Va.) returns to lead the outside linebackers and should give the Keydets big-play capability on the pass rush and pressure from the edge. A 2009 All-Big South Conference pick, Calvin has worked hard getting back into conditioning after having his junior year shortened by a knee injury. He enters the 2011 season with 130 career tackles including 11 for loss.

Redshirt sophomore Chris Harper (Richmond, Va.), who helped fill in as a starter at outside linebacker in Calvin's absence, played in nine games and finished with 29 tackles in 2010.