By Mickey Furfari
MORGANTOWN — Mortty Ivy thinks the linebacking corps should be the heart and soul of West Virginia University’s rebuilt football defense.
If it is, the 6-3, 235-pound senior from Monroeville, Pa., will be one of the major reasons. He just kept getting better and better as one of the stars in spring practice which ended last Saturday.
Ivy not only starred as the starting weak-side linebacker but played on every special team last season as the Mountaineers posted an 11-2 record, including the 48-28 upset of No. 3-ranked Oklahoma, and finished ranked No. 6 in the final polls.
He wound up second among tacklers with 89, including 11 tackles for losses. He has logged six sacks, forced three fumbles, recovered two and intercepted one pass.
Defensive coordinator Jeff Casteel has said that Ivy is one of the most consistent players on the entire defensive unit.
“The linebacking should be better this year,” he said as spring drills concluded. “That’s what we want to be. As long as we control the run and knock down those short pass plays, we should be successful.”
Despite the loss of several starters, Ivy is confident that the defense again should be strong in the 2008 season.
“A lot of us are playing more than one position,” he noted. “So as long as everyone goes out and we perform well together, we should be all right. You saw transition here and there this spring, but it was more a matter of everyone getting used to playing with each other.”
As one of only a handful of starters back on defense, he looks forward to assuming more of a leadership role this year. He’s happy to accept more of the load.
“I think there is more competition at most positions,” Ivy said. “That’s the whole point of the game. You compete and help make everybody better.”
While he said graduated linebackers Marc Magro and Bobby Hathaway will be missed, some younger players have stepped up to give those three linebacking positions more depth.
“I know I’ve got to make myself better,” he said. “And I want to try to help the other guys as well.”
Ivy expects Pat Lazear to be a big contributor. He’s a 6-2, 235-pound sophomore linebacker from Bethesda, Md.
“A lot of people thought when he was a freshman, he was going to make an impact,” he recalled. “But he was young and hadn’t yet learned the system. Now he’s learning everything and doing everything right.
“He’s performed very well this spring.”
