SMITHFIELD, R.I. – Led by the return of junior Thomas Costigan (Stamford, Conn.) and sophomore Jesse Nemerowicz (Hudson, Mass.), the Bryant University football team is excited about its group of linebackers for the 2017 season.
This is the third of an eight-part season preview for the Bryant football team. BryantBulldogs.com previewed the special teams on Thursday and the defensive backs on Friday. It will also preview the defensive line (Sunday), offensive line/tight ends (Sunday), wide receivers (Monday), running backs (Tuesday) and quarterbacks (Wednesday) leading up to the season opener on Sept. 2.
Costigan and Nemerowicz both proved they are ready to be prime time players last season. A Second Team All-NEC selection, Costigan finished the year with 58 tackles, six sacks, 10.5 tackles for a loss, four forced fumbles and an interception. He was his best over the final four weeks of the season, posting 35 tackles and 3.5 sacks.
Nemerowicz jumped right into the fire as a true freshman and put together one of the best seasons for a linebacker in program history. He set a freshmen program record with 91 tackles, becoming just the third player in program history to record 90+ tackles in a single season. Nemerowicz ranked fourth in the NEC in tackles and made 10+ stops on three different occasions.
"Having Jesse and Thomas back as starters gives us the needed experience to be successful," defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Kevin Kelly said. "Jesse had an outstanding freshman year and we expect Thomas to continue to improve as he enters his junior season."
And while those are the two names that stick out, the Black and Gold are just as excited about the rest of the group. That group includes junior Christian Martey (Centreville, Va.) and sophomores Robert Brown (Palmetto Bay, Fla.), Gbatoh Browne (Providence, R.I.), Josh Jefferson (Lindenhurst, N.Y.) and Richard Ukele (East Longmeadow, Mass.).
"We have a solid core of athletic and physical players that provide us with depth at all three positions," assistant linebackers coach John Sielawa said. "We have a lot of talent in the room and we're excited to kick off the season."
Martey made the transition from running back to linebacker in the middle of the 2016 season. He proved he could handle himself on the other side of the ball with a big hit at Coastal Carolina that forced a fumble. A key part of Bryant's special teams unit, Martey appeared in all 11 games a year ago.
Brown made his way into the lineup for the final eight games of last season, finishing the year with 11 stops. Ukele was a menace on special teams and will now see an increased role at linebacker after making 14 tackles a season ago. Jefferson also played in all 11 games last season, seeing time at linebacker and on special teams.
"Richard Ukele has been the most improved linebacker since the spring and probably the most improved throughout camp," Kelly said. "Robert, Josh, Christian, and Gbatoh have all had good camps and give us depth on the inside and the outside.
"In our meeting room, we tell our linebackers that they're the "glue" of the defense," Kelly added. "They're what holds the front and backend together for us."
