Football | November 04, 2019

KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Athletes on sports teams talk about how much they like their teammates, but there is one item that can really show that love – food.
 
Western Michigan University's linebackers are no different.
 
"I had the linebackers over for dinner, and while there wasn't much food left, they did put together a big plate for Ali'Vonta [Wallace, a freshman linebacker from Muskegon] because he had a class and couldn't make it," linebackers coach Trevor Andrews said. "Usually when you have guys over for dinner, they eat and run, but these guys stayed and hung out with my kids. We all had a great time.''
 
There are 13 linebackers on the Broncos' roster with five of them — seniors Drake Spears, Alex Grace and Najee Clayton; junior Treshaun Hayward and sophomore Zaire Barnes — getting the majority of the playing time. But all of them hang together, a lot.
 
"The key for the linebackers is the relationship off the field,'' Hayward said. "I don't think there is a day where we aren't together. We go to the cafeteria, study tables and class together. It's really connected in the room. We always try to make each other better. It doesn't matter who is in the game or not, we just want to all be great at what we do.''
 
The linebackers and the rest of the Broncos (5-4 overall, 3-2 Mid- American Conference) will be trying to keep their perfect home re­cord intact Tuesday night when they host MAC West Division leader Ball State (4-4, 3-1 MAC) at Waldo Stadium.
 
"We knew coming in our linebacker depth would be great, and the unselfishness of that group is special,'' WMU head coach Tim Lester said. "When you lose a guy like Corvin [Moment] and you don't skip a beat, it's pretty nice. We moved Drake over and Treshaun plays.
 
"Then Zaire gets banged up and he was starting," Lester continued. "Grace was playing a lot. When your backup is a two-year senior who has started and is an unselfish team player, that's huge.''
 
Lester and part of his staff visited the Clemson staff over the summer and one of the things they learned from Tiger head coach Dabo Swin­ney was that using a lot of players is a very, very good thing.
 
"Dabo is so proud of the fact that, on average, he will use 73 players in a game,'' Lester said. "In this last game [49-10 win over Bowling Green], our whole fourth quarter was played with our No. 2s. It was awesome to see what they could do.''
 
After playing sparingly his first two seasons, Hayward has exploded onto the scene this season. He is second nationally with 106 total tackles and has 5.0 sacks, two of which came in the Bowling Green game. One of those even he couldn't believe what happened.
 
"Our two defensive tackles took out the gaps and we had a cross between two of us [linebackers],'' Hayward said. "I came through first and the middle parted like the Red Sea. It was great to see how ev­erything worked out. It was the perfect call.''
 
That play showed how much the game has slowed down for Hayward. It started his freshman season with listening and learning from the upperclassmen. In his sophomore year, he learned even more about studying film and reading his keys.
 
"This year, I can read fast when I stay on my keys and do my job,'' the junior said. "Last year, I think I tried to do more than what I needed to do. This year, I'm doing my 1/11th and the plays are coming to me rath­er than me trying to force the issue. As I've progressed, I've learned how to watch film and how to create relationships with my coaches. I learned it takes more than the price of admission. You really have to do the overtime, study the study film, study your opponent and learn your keys.''
 
It also takes unselfish teammates to change positions, which is what Spears did.
 
''Drake made a big sacrifice by changing positions, but he's such a big-picture guy and understands the whole scheme," Andrews said. "It was natural to move him and give Tre the reps."
 
Spears saw a lot against Miami (Ohio), when he picked off a pass and rambled 74 yards for a touchdown.
 
"It was an adjustment he made on his own,'' Andrews said. "He saw the running back flair outside and read the quarterback's eyes. That's one thing we've worked on. I don't want the guys to be robots out there. On the first day, I told them I wanted them to play aggressive and attacking. If they are thinking, they are going to play slow. I al­ways want them attacking.''
 
Being aggressive has never been a problem for Hayward. Well, maybe in a couple of sports his mom had him in when he was growing up.
 
''I was always moving, always aggressive,'' he said. ''When I played soccer, I would foul too much. Then in basketball, I was so aggressive I would foul out of about every game. The only thing I could do was football. You can't be penalized for being aggressive.''
 
That aggressiveness is a hallmark of all the linebackers. Among Hay­ward's 106 tackles are 52 solo stops. He has 9.5 tackles for loss, total­ing 45 yards. Spears has 73 tackles and the interception returned for a TD. Grace owns 42 tackles with Clayton and Barnes having 22 each.
 
''Drake has a workman's mentality,'' Andrews said. ''When he's bounc­ing around and has good, positive energy, our defense has positive energy. Alex had surgery after last season and missed all of the spring and a lot of the summer because of rehab. He didn't get to start prac­tice until the first week of camp. Zaire beat him out, but it was close, so when Zaire goes down, you have a veteran in there.
 
''Zaire is long and can run," Andrews added. "It was tough for him when he was injured against Central Michigan because he was com­ing off his best half of football this season. Najee starts in our dime package and we get to blitz him. He's so versatile, he can do a lot of different things.''
 
He also makes sure all his fellow linebackers are fed.