Akeem could be a dream for Bruins, nightmare for opponents

Akeem Ayers went from practically shaking hands with quarterback Kevin Prince on one play in Saturday afternoon's practice to running stride for stride for 20 yards with Logan Paulsen on the next play, before knocking away the ball from the fifth-year senior tight end.

Ayers, a redshirt sophomore linebacker from Verbum Dei, was one of the defensive standouts Saturday for the Bruins, showing the kind of versatility that could have him gaining the same type of respect as All-America candidate Reggie Carter and veteran Kyle Bosworth when the season begins in three weeks.

The 6-foot-4, 252-pound Ayers demonstrated the ability to stuff the run, rush the quarterback, cover tight ends and receivers, and deliver punishing hits throughout both two-hour practice sessions Saturday.

If he can keep up this pace, an already phyiscal defense will become that much more formidable.

"It's kind of different once you get in the trenches," Ayers said. "Right now, it's not full go because we're trying to keep everybody healthy. But once we do, the linebackers get to hit people and tackle on every play."

With so many veteran players around him, Ayers can thrive in a supporting role, taking advantage of the blocking schemes opponents will use against Carter, fellow All-America candidate Brian Price and veteran tackle Jerzy Siewierski up the middle.

"It's always going to help having Brian and Jerzy at defensive tackle and Reggie
at linebacker supporting you because they're all great players," Ayers said. "We want to dominate every time. We want to be a dominant defense that flies to the ball. That's the trademark of our defense is going hard to the ball. After (Friday) we realized it wasn't enough. We weren't working hard enough, so we really got after it (Saturday)."