![bowling green football bowling green football](http://business.toledoblade.com/image/2012/10/14/800x600_b1_cCM_cT/BGSU-football-Pettigrew.jpg)
Horne joins him on the interior of the 3-4 defensive look, with 91 tackles, three tackles-for-loss, two sacks and an interception in the 2021 campaign. His 2021 campaign was one to write home about, with 124 tackles, 9.5 tackles-for-loss, three sacks, a forced fumble, two pass break-ups and a pick-six touchdown to his credit, an effort which earned him first-team all-MAC honors. The linebacking corps is perhaps one of the strengths of the Falcons roster as a whole, returning three of their four starters, including first-team all-MAC linebacker Darren Anders and surprise newcomer Brock Horne, who burst onto the scene with a campaign which saw the under-recruited product of Romeo, Michigan, nearly pick up 100 tackles in his third-year freshman campaign.Īnders is truly the centerpiece of the defense, being an immediate true freshman contributor from 2019 onwards, with 18 starts in 28 appearances.
![bowling green football bowling green football](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/X7O_FBrtPte7l0zV6g9MJkrtoBw=/0x0:3900x2658/1200x800/filters:focal(1377x816:2001x1440)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/64926658/usa_today_11343009.0.jpg)
![bowling green football bowling green football](https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/caKgyJH8QQjCWL-AdlQN-0bba8g=/0x0:3487x2325/1200x800/filters:focal(0x0:3487x2325)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/49187861/usa-today-9015400.0.jpg)
Linebackers Photo by David Berding/Getty Images Jordan Porter, a former high school teammate of Roberts, could see some rotational work at the edge, while junior Dontrez Brown (19 tackles and 1.5 sacks in 12 appearances) could see time at the end spot backing Haire. Pushing Hawkins for playing time at the spot will be Billie Roberts, who was no slouch of his own in 2021 with 35 tackles, 4.5 tackles-for-loss and a half-sack in 12 appearances (with six starts.) The duo was efficient in causing pressure, making up nearly half of the team’s sack totals on their own.Īnthony Hawkins returns to the line at the nose tackle position as the projected starter after picking up 32 tackles for three tackles-for-loss, a sack and a forced fumble last season. Opposite Brooks was true defensive end Walter Haire, who wasn’t too shabby himself, amassing 38 tackles, 9.5 tackles-for-loss and 4.5 sacks. Leading the pressure from the three-man front is edge rusher Karl Brooks, a 2021 third-team all-MAC down lineman who picked up 42 tackles, 12.5 tackles-for-loss and 7.5 sacks in 2021. The defensive line returns all three starters in 2022, a great sign for a defense which was a Top 50 unit in generating sacks (30, t-49th) and tackles-for-loss (75, 45th) in the 2021 campaign. Here’s who is expected to contribute to the front seven’s attack in 2022 for BGSU: 500 ball in 2022, and will certainly give opposing coordinators something to think about when game-planning for BGSU. They’ll once again shoulder the load for a team which seeks to return to. It was a defense often betrayed by a mediocre offense in 2021, doing what it could to keep BGSU in more games than they probably should have been in- especially against Minnesota, a victory which saw the Falcons limit what would become a 9-3 Golden Gophers team to just 10 points.
BOWLING GREEN FOOTBALL MAC
The BGSU front seven emerges as one of the most productive positional units in the MAC overall, with at least four all-MAC players coming back in 2022, and a litany of other emergent options to help shore up a defense which was one of the best in the conference by total yardage in 2021 (379.9 yards per game.)