In his third season with the Indiana State football program as an assistant coach is PJ Volker. Volker coaches the linebackers and is the program's recruiting coordinator.
The Sycamore linebackers were key to the team's success in 2011 as evidenced by the naming of Aaron Archie, Jacolby Washington and Ryan Roberts to the All-Missouri Valley Conference Team.
Archie led ISU in tackles, finishing tied for 12th nationally and second in the conference with 122 stops for the season. His 122 tackles this season rank 12th in Indiana State history for a single-season total and moves his career total to 299, just one shy of becoming the 15th member of ISU's 300 Tackle Club. Archie put together his best game of the season against Youngstown State, recording a season-high 18 tackles with 2.5 for loss and two sacks.
Washington finished the year third in the conference and second on the team with 120 total tackles, including a team-leading 81 assisted stops. Washington's 120 tackles this season rank 16th all-time at Indiana State, while his 10.9 tackles per game were good for this season 15th on a national scale. He ranked fourth on the team with five tackles for loss while also making a pair of sacks.
Roberts recorded 66 tackles this season, including seven stops for a loss, ranking third on the team in tackles for loss. Roberts posted a season-high of 12 tackles against Youngstown State on Sept. 24, with six solo and assisted tackles. He intercepted one pass, coming in the season finale against Southern Illinois and tied for fourth on the team with three pass breakups.
Volker helped the Sycamores enjoy a breakthrough season in 2010 as the team enjoyed a 6-5 record, a third place finish in the Missouri Valley Football Conference and the program's first winning campaign since 1996.
Individually, the Sycamores had five student-athletes on the defensive side of the ball honored by the MVFC following the 2010 season on its all-conference honors list. First team selections were DE Ben Obaseki and DB Alex Sewall. On the second team was LB Jacolby Washington. Earning honorable mention status were LB Aaron Archie and DB Calvin Burnett.
ISU also had an outstanding defense, tallying a season-best four interceptions and making a pair of fourth quarter red zone stops at Youngstown State to help secure a road league victory. The Sycamores gave up just 184.6 yards per game through the air, which was third in the league and 38th nationally.
Volker comes to ISU from Thomas More where he worked with the linebackers and was the program's recruiting coordinator. He began his coaching career as the runningbacks coach at Presidents' Athletic Conference rival Thiel College.
Volker was a three-year letterwinner at across-the river rival, the College of Mount St. Joseph (MSJ). He was a three-time team captain, two-time All-Heartland Conference and All-North region selection as a senior while at MSJ.
The Cincinnati, Ohio native graduated from Elder High School in 2001.
