Gainesville's linebackers adept at 'cracking heads'

GAINESVILLE -- There’s no real secret as to what makes a great linebacker.

Sure you need physical ability -- speed, size, strength, etc. But what really sets the great ones apart is an unadulterated joy that comes with punishing opposing players.

Or, as Gainesville High’s A.J. Johnson puts it: “cracking heads.”

The Red Elephants defense has been blessed with four extraordinary head crackers this season and that group has led Gainesville’s charge back into the Class AAA quarterfinals, sparking a unit that is giving up just 6.6 points per game -- tops amongst Class AAA.

Johnson, Thomas Sprague, Alberto Sanabria and Graham Simmons have spent 2009 terrorizing opposing offenses and living up to high expectations set for a group that coaches and players felt would be the strength of the Red Elephants’ 3-4 defense.

“Most defenses are built on how good your linebacker play is,” Gainesville coach Bruce Miller said. “Ours is tremendous. All four of them are running around and having a good time hitting people. They really take a little bit of joy in it.”

A little bit?

“We love to hit people,” Sanabria, a senior outside linebacker said. “We play with a lot of enthusiasm.”

The quartet is the beating heart of a defense that some, including Miller, have equated to controlled chaos, blitzing from one angle, dropping into pass coverage from another. And their athleticism, combined with a constantly moving set-up, has done much to confuse and confound opponents this season.

“We’ll show blitzes, come with blitzes, stunt, drop off,” senior outside linebacker Simmons said. “People don’t know where we’re coming from.”

Yet what makes the Red Elephants (12-0) so successful is that they know exactly where they’re supposed to be, and while it sometimes looks like bodies flying all over the place, it is very much systemic and calculated. In fact, it so impressed Miller the first time he saw it -- when Gainesville took on Screven County in the 2002 Class AAA semifinals -- he went out and hired one of its architects in defensive coordinator Jim Pavao.

“It still keeps our offense guessing in practice,” Miller said.

There is rarely any guessing from Gainesville’s linebacking crew, as outside backers Sanabria and Simmons and inside backers Johnson and Sprague each have very specific duties.

Sanabria and Simmons must be versatile enough to run with tight ends or wide receivers that line up on their side of the field as well as blitz quarterbacks and attack running plays. Meanwhile, Sprague and Johnson are often run stuffers but also must be able to blitz into the opposing backfield or drop deep to cover passing lanes.

“We’re put in good situations where we can make plays,” said Sprague, a senior who transferred into Gainesville after last season, when he led North Hall in tackles as a junior. “In this defense I’m more free to run and make plays where I see them. At North Hall I had more gap responsibilities.”

The change certainly hasn’t hurt his production, as Sprague (6-foot-1, 215 pounds) is again the leading tackler on his defense with 148 stops. Meanwhile, Johnson, a physical freak at 6-foot-3, 225-pounds, who is committed to Tennessee, is second on the team with 135 stops. The junior also has nine tackles for loss. Outside, Simmons (5-10, 180) has 106 tackles, 17 for loss and six sacks, while Sanabria (6-0, 185) has 88 stops, eight for loss, five sacks and five forced fumbles.

“It’s amazing how well they work together as a team,” Miller said. “They’re also leaders and are probably the four most outspoken guys – along with defensive lineman Taylor Stowe – on defense. You never have to worry about those four showing up and not wanting to practice or going through the motions. These guys love to play, and they love to go hard.”

And now, they want to lead the Red Elephants at least one step further in the postseason.

To do that, they’ll have to find a way past defending Class AAA champ Cairo on Friday night at City Park – in a game broadcast live on 1240 AM ESPN Radio. And while the Syrupmakers (9-3) may have graduated 19 starters from last season’s title winners and are scoring just 17.3 points per game – worst amongst remaining Class AAA teams -- the Red Elephants say they are in for their toughest battle this season.

“They’ll be our biggest challenge,” Sprague said.

“They’ve got athletes at every position, and they know how to win” Sanabria added. “They’ve also got a great running back. We’ll have to be on top of our game.”

“We still plan on shutting them down,” Simmons said.

“They’re just like any other team to me,” Johnson said. “We’ve just got to go out there, play our hardest and make the big hits.”

There shouldn’t be any worries that those four will do just that on Friday.


-- CAIRO at GAINESVILLE

WHAT: Class AAA football quarterfinal
WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday
WHERE: City Park, Gainesville
RADIO: ESPN 1240 AM
LAST MEETING: First meeting between the two teams.
CAIRO: (9-3, No. 2 seed from Region 1-AAA) Defeated Baldwin 9-7 in the second round.
GAINESVILLE: (12-0, No. 1 seed from region 7-AAA) Defeated Dunwoody 41-10 in the second round.