Senior Leaders Must Rise Up in the Secondary

At the end of the 2011 season, the Bulls lost two key senior leaders from the secondary, safety Jerrell Young and cornerback Quenton Washington.  Both were key parts to the defense, bringing big play potential every weekend and providing leadership to the younger players. 


This season, new defensive coordinator Chris Cosh and Coach Skip Holtz will have to rely on new seniors in the secondary to lead the way for younger players; safety Jon Lejiste and corner backs Kayvon Webster and George Baker.

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Safety Jon Lejiste (6-0 212-pounds) has earned a reputation as one of the toughest hitters in the secondary, often coming up in the box and leaving his mark on a poor running back.  While his on the field exploits have been strong (had 47 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception, and 2 pass break ups last season) he will have to become a vocal leader in the secondary even more this season with Young gone.  Younger safeties such as Mark Joyce, Josh Brown, and Chris Garye Jr. will join him in splitting snaps at safety, but it is his senior leadership that will be a deciding factor on how good the safeties will be for USF going into 2012. 

At cornerback, Webster (5-11 195-pounds) is coming off of his best season.  He had 49 tackles, 2 interceptions, one tackle for loss, and broke up 7 passes over the season, showing how far he has come since his freshman season and how much further he can go this year.  This spring, he has seemingly  locked up one of the starting positions, giving him more opportunities to teach the younger players that are working to get time at corner.  Young players like Kenneth Durden, Fidel Montgomery, and Chris Bivins, can learn a lot from him by watching his work ethic and everything he puts into winning the cornerback position.  Fellow senior George Baker (5-11 182-pounds) who played sparingly last year due to injuries had 14 tackles, one tackle for loss and one interception in 2011, but has been impressive as well this spring, giving the Bulls another veteran player that can play and teach at the same time.

The Bulls were depleted last year in their secondary and the starters battled injuries while on the field.  This spring however, the team is healthy (knock on wood), has senior leaders, and has more depth than last season all vying for starting positions. If the seniors like Webster and Lejiste can continue to grow and teach the younger players that are working beside them, it could be a great season for the Bulls secondary.