Robinson Knights Football Preview - Part 3 - Defense

Up front, the Knights will have to replace sack-master Shawn Paul, who finished with eight-and-a-half last season. This year, the Knights will flex back and forth between three and four-man defensive fronts, while their base set will have just three.

Those three look to be juniors Bruce Hector, John Taylor, and Justin Madison.

Bruce Hector is also the starting left guard, a Gulf High School transfer who goes 6 feet 4 inches and 250 pounds. According to defensive line coach, Tommy Montero, Hector has great technique. John Taylor is a Gibbs transfer, who doesn’t quite have the size that Hector has, but coaches have been impressed with his instincts, strength and speed. Justin Madison is taller and more streamlined. He only goes about 180 pounds but according to Montero, has a Simeon Rice body type.

Senior Alonso Brown will see plenty of snaps on the defensive front as well.

The second line of defense, linebackers, will be staffed by a squad of quality athletes. In the base four-linebacker set, they will play two inside backers and two outside backers. The inside backers will consist of junior Dominic Jennings, sophomores Jordan Guyden and Jahvon Johnson.

Manning the two outside linebacker spots will be a rotation of seniors Alex Call, and Justin Creech, along with junior Demetrius Page. The wild card in the mix will be freshman Michael Duclos.

“It’s a big jump for him (Duclos), going from TBYFL to Varsity football, but so far he’s soaked up the system very well,” said linebackers coach David Kiranen. “It’s an inexperienced group, but they give all they have and they’re fast and smart.”

“We also have height and speed that can come off the bench,” said Kiranen.

In the defensive secondary, the Knights have plenty of experience.

Starting corner back Carlos Duclos is a Division 1 prospect, according to defensive backs coach, Vaughn Volpi. The junior had 24 total tackles and five defended passes in action last year as a sophomore. On the other side, sophomore Terrance Baldwin should get the start. Baldwin did not start last year but according to Volpi, “has all the signs of a D1 recruit”. Sophomore Robert Priester will come over from offense and contribute at corner. He is also the nickel defensive back and according to Volpi, “is a pure cover corner”.

The safeties will be seniors Ethan Kindle and Vic Rivera. Kindle was a special teamer last year and steps into the starting role at free safety. Rivera hauled in a whopping six interceptions last season as a junior. He also had 46 total tackles.

If the defense can keep the opposing point totals down, there’s no reason why the Knights can’t contend with Jesuit for the district title, and possibly improve on last year’s effort that took them all the way to the regional finals.