t Three new starters hope
to replace productive graduates.
Their talents couldn’t have been more divergent.
Josh Burlingame was the hard-hitting fullback who relished initiating contact. Chad Tester was the heady quarterback proficient in read-and-react mode.
Despite those differences, Burlingame and Tester combined for 121 tackles last year to help maintain South Kitsap’s tradition of strong linebacker play.
But both graduated — Tester now is at Western Washington University — and the Wolves are now transitioning in three new starters.
“They’re big shoes,” senior middle linebacker T.J. Rhodes said. “They’re good players.”
Coach D.J. Sigurdson said he doesn’t expect the group to be as physical without Burlingame’s presence, but is excited about the unit’s athleticism. Sean Allison, a 5-foot-9-½-inch, 180-pound senior is joined by junior Robert Issa (5-6 ½, 173) at outside linebacker.
Rhodes (5-10, 171) starts at middle linebacker.
“T.J. Rhodes … is a dirt-eater,” Sigurdson said. “He likes to get in there and mix it up. He’s just going to be in there every play. He’s going to grab you by the ankle one time and light you up the next time. We really appreciate that about him.”
Allison and senior Ryan Williams (6-0, 208) will split time at one outside linebacker position.
They also are the top two running backs on the depth chart.
Sigurdson said he simply wants to “keep them fresh for the game and the season.”
A four-year letterman himself at linebacker for Eastern Washington, Sigurdson said he looks for instincts and play-making ability at the position.
He said this year’s group isn’t as physical as last year’s squad, but it isn’t soft. It also might be more athletic than the 2007 linebacking corps.
Allison and Williams are both track-and-field standouts, and while Issa isn’t as gifted physically, he fits the traits Sigurdson is seeking.
“He goes 100 miles per hour with everything he’s doing,” Sigurdson said. “He never takes a play off.”
Rhodes said the group prides itself on the school’s tradition of producing standout linebackers, reflecting on the careers of Mac Morrison, who later played at Penn State, and others.
“I see how physical those guys are,” he said. “I try to put my nose in where the ball is and be physical every play.”
