The UT football team dealt with its fair share of injuries in 2011.
Before the season began starting safety Mark Singer went down for the year with a torn labrum.
Then All-Mid-American running back Adonis Thomas broke his arm and missed a trio of games.
Fellow all-conference honoree, linebacker Dan Molls, spent time on the sideline with Thomas, missing half the 12 game season after injuring his leg during practice in early September.
Things only got worse for the Rockets when All-MAC defensive end T.J. Fatinikun’s season ended Oct. 8 due to an elbow injury he suffered against Eastern Michigan.
But not even the injuries Toledo was forced to combat in 2011 could have prepared them for being without three of four starting defensive linemen this season.
Yet, so far the Toledo defense has not skipped a beat.
For Molls, the nation’s leader in total tackles (71), the reason is simple.
“A lot of guys are just seizing their opportunity,” Molls said. “We lost some great players but we have just as many good players hungry to go make a play. Guys are really stepping up.”
Among the great players Molls speaks of is senior defensive tackle Danny Farr, who finished second on the team with seven tackles in the season opener at Arizona. Farr, however, was forced to leave in the first half of the Wyoming game with a knee injury when a teammate rolled onto his leg.
Rockets head coach Matt Campbell said Farr is expected back this weekend or next but his return cannot wholly compensate for the injuries which occurred during his absence.
Since Toledo’s trip to Western Michigan Sept. 29 the Rockets have been without Fatinikun and his counterpart at defensive end, junior Christian Smith.
Fatinikun’s torn Achilles, essentially ends the senior’s collegiate career, while Smith’s undisclosed leg injury will keep him off the field the rest of the year.
In spite of these setbacks, the Rockets have held strong, rising from 99th to 55th of 120 in rush defense the past four games.
Elijah Jones (four tackles per games) continues to anchor the defensive line at nosetackle — arguably the most physically demanding position in football — and senior tackle Phil Lewis has performed capably in Farr’s stead, registering nearly three tackles an outing.
UT entered last weekend —the Rockets first game without all three injured defensive linemen —allowing 310 yards passing (116th in the country) and 142 yards rushing per contest. Toledo held the Chippewas (2-3, 0-2 MAC) to 246 yards through the air and a meager 46 on the ground.
“Yes, guys like Danny and I were playing well but the guys out there are playing so hard and I’m just so proud of how they’ve performed,” Fatinikun said. “[I wasn’t concerned] with how they’d do because we’ve worked out together, we’ve practiced together and we all sit in the same meetings together. We believe that if somebody goes down the next guy will be ready so I have the utmost belief that these guys are going to hold up and continue to get better.”
Jayrone Elliott — Fatinikun’s backup — has made the biggest splash since the starting defensive line began looking more like a MASH unit.
At first glance, Elliott’s six tackles the past three games seem insignificant, but the junior recorded at least a sack in each game, including two against FCS foe Coastal Carolina Sept. 22.
Elliott’s knack for getting to the quarterback has provided Toledo with an enormous lift in the pass rush, a factor of great importance in shaping one of the Rockets specialties— forcing turnovers.
“We have to step up when are number is called,” Elliott said. “They brought me here to make plays and I’m trying to do my best to do that.
There are certainly plenty of numbers to call, too.
Taking the majority of snaps at end, junior Ben Pike (1.5-tackles-for-loss) brought the quarterback down behind the line last weekend as well, while fifth-year senior Hank Keighley has contributed three tackles per contest and a total of 2.5 tackles-for-loss as part of the defensive end rotation.
The depth at end has been tested so greatly that former three-star recruit Allen Covington was thrust into service for the first time last week. The true freshman did not record a tackle, but Elliott, among other teammates, believes Covington can make a considerable impact as the season rolls on.
“He could have been playing since week one but we wanted to redshirt him,” Elliott said. “Unfortunately two ends went down and so he had to step in.”
Yet another Rocket may be joining the defensive end platoon soon. Redshirt Freshman Keenen Gibbs (12.5 tackles-for-loss and 6.5 sacks his senior year at LaSalle High School in Cincinnati), who tore his ACL in the spring game, is anticipated back within the next few weeks.
As is evident, Toledo has no shortage of bodies to fill the end positions. Whether those players can match the disruptiveness of Fatinikun, and the stability provided by Smith is a question that must be answered on the field each week.
“We can only handle what Toledo can do,” Elliott said. “Sometimes we play 30 guys a game on defense so almost everybody has been playing. We just have to stay confident in ourselves and stick to our game plan.”
