The SU Football Team is holding closed practices all this week as the SU defense puts the final touches on their plans to close down the Wake Forest offense on September 1st. Marquis Spruill is getting ready to lead a new look linebacker corp into the 2011 season, and says it's comforting to have some backup.
"We try our best to make the play," explains Spruill, "but stuff happens sometimes and if we don't it's always better knowing that those three are back there."
The three players he's referring to are safeties Shamarko Thomas, Jeremi Wilkes and Phil Thomas. The two Thomas' finished 3rd and 4th last season for SU tackles, behind only Derrell Smith and Doug Hogue, who have moved on to NFL aspirations.
"Phil had more tackles than me last season," says Spruill, "and Shamarko, he just loves to hit, and Jeremy does too, we call him bullet, his nickname is bullet. It's comforting because I know that if we don't make the play at the line of scrimmage I already know that the safeties back there are going to do their job, so it gives me a little more comfort."
