TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It doesn't hurt to have a former All-American leading your linebacker corps. It also doesn't hurt that he inherited one of the deepest position groups Indiana State has to offer heading into the 2017 season.
 
Former North Dakota State great Grant Olson has relished the opportunity to mentor ISU's young but talented linebacker group, and so far, he likes the fire he's seen in camp.
 
"When we play live, you feel them," Olson said. "You feel the linebackers. They play with physicality, they bring energy, and they got a little swagger about themselves. They're coming to hit you."
 
"As a core and as a unit, those guys have extremely bought in to everything that Coach Olson has demanded of them," said ISU defensive coordinator Brad Wilson. "As a player and as a coach, he understands the whole picture."
 
Much of that has to do with the leadership of the current main three linebackers in the new 4-3 system: sophomore outside linebacker Jonas Griffith, junior inside linebacker Katrell Moss, and senior outside linebacker Jordan Jackson. Although he's a year younger, Moss is the elder statesman of the group with 23 career games played (ahead of Jackson's 22), but all three have been shining brightly through both spring and fall practices.


 
But those three aren't all that have Olson and Wilson excited about the linebackers. Both coaches have raved about the current play of reserves Raymone Clifford and Kelvin Broome, not to mention senior Antonio Broadus – who has played in 33 career games as a Sycamore with 88 tackles and 10.5 TFL. Don't be surprised to see some even younger Sycamores get a chance to make some reserve appearances as well, like true freshman and Terre Haute native Ethan Cox.
 
"The thing that we keep challenging (the starters) about is making the ones around them better," Wilson said. "We keep telling them all the time that's what the great ones do. When things get tough, they rise to the occasion and they make everybody around them better."
 
Most importantly, having a deep pool of talented linebackers is crucial for the physical and daunting Valley Football season – something Olson knows quite a bit about.
 
"The Valley is a very tough conference and it's a very physical conference," Olson said. "So as the year gets on, we're going to be fresher than other people because we're going to play linebackers and we're going to be able to stay fresh."
 
At the end of the day, though, Olson and Wilson are looking for one thing out of their defensive leaders at linebacker: effort.
 
"Effort erases mistakes," Wilson said. "If they play fast, if they get downhill, if they use their hands and they play physical, then great effort is going to erase those little mistakes that we're going to make from time to time."
 
Stay tuned to GoSycamores.com – as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages – for extensive coverage and position previews this season, including video content courtesy of Luke Martin.