AWC breaks in new linebackers
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| Arizona Western JuCo Linebackers Jashua Allen (20) with Coach Jerry Dominguez and Christian Gomez (36) with Coach Ramar Watson. |
The Matadors have an entirely new starting linebacking core this year, as the top four linebackers from last year’s team were all sophomores.
The depth chart will continue to sort itself out tonight, as the Matadors have an intra-squad scrimmage this evening to let some of the guys blow off some of that steam with less than two weeks until the season opener.
“It’s exciting,” linebackers Chanson Akiona and Christian Gomez said simultaneously Friday night when asked about getting out and doing some hitting.
AWC linebackers coach Ramar Watson is going to rely heavily on those two to spearhead the middle of the defense.
Akiona (6-4, 220) is a redshirt sophomore from Kapolei, Hawaii, and he was with the team through spring practices.
“Chanson was a guy that was here during the spring time. He’s already thinking football,” Watson said. “That kind of helps out the other guys. That’s a big help to our defense.”
The extra year has helped Akiona, who played sparingly in nine games last season.
“It’s about communication,” Akiona said. “Communication helps a lot. This defense is a help defense, so if everyone does their job correctly, the defense works.”
Gomez (6-2, 230) is getting a lot of first-team reps so far, and it has helped the sophomore transfer from Army with his understanding of the game.
“Christian, coming from West Point, is very smart,” Watson said. “He knows he pretty much commands the defense. I can send a play in and he’ll know where everybody goes. That kind of helps the coach.”
Sophomore Jashua Allen (6-2, 210) will also figure into the mix on. Allen is a transfer from Riverside Community College in California, and coming into the season he has a handful of Division I offers from around the country.
“Jashua Allen is a kid that already has five or six offers from schools like Washington State and Iowa State, some pretty big schools,” Watson said. “He’s a guy that definitely has surprised me. He’s kind of a hitter. He’s the most athletic person that we have.”
He also has offers from Illinois, Colorado and Utah.Redshirt freshman Maurice McCray (6-2, 240) just transferred from Maine, and after a concussion to start camp, is starting to mix himself in.
“That’s a really strong kid (McCray), but he hasn’t really picked it up yet,” Watson said. “A couple of weeks ago he came out and had a concussion. He is kind of getting back into it right now. Throughout the season he’s going to be a guy that I’m definitely going to look for.”
Another player that Watson looks forward to working with is freshman Rocky Savea (6-1, 220).
“He’s going to be my prime time player next year,” Watson said. “He’s probably in the second group, so I can kind of look for him to be my development player for next year. That’s a guy that I’m definitely going to be counting on.”
The team has been trying to work in a variety of players Watson looks forward to today’s scrimmage and another scrimmage on Thursday at Mesa Community College to see how some of his guys do in the face of some live action.
“Tomorrow is definitely an opportunity to look at it,” he said. “We’re 14 days from our first game. Next week we go to Mesa College on Thursday. That’s going to show me where we are at. The season is right around the corner. We have to be ready.”
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