When the Elon University football team takes the field at Duke University’s Wallace Wade Stadium on Aug. 30, it will mark a new era in the history of Elon athletics.
The game will be Elon’s first official appearance in the Colonial Athletic Association after 10 years in the Southern Conference. It will be an uphill battle, since the CAA is undoubtedly a bigger brand of football than the SoCon. But with seniors Odell Benton and Jonathan Spain and sophomore John Silas manning the middle of Phoenix defense, the transition will be a little easier.
The Phoenix lost many key contributors from the 2013 defensive unit to graduation, so the returning trio of Benton, Spain and Silas is all the more important.
“The [experience] is huge because you know how everyone plays,” Spain said. “I’ve played next to these guys for years so I kind of know how they play and how to feed off of them. All those guys up front, I know how they play so even if it’s a new system you can work off each other.”
Benton echoed Spain’s words, noting that the chemistry within the group has been vital for the defense’s adjustment to a new system.
“We know each other so we know how to get each other going,” Benton said. “We know the things we can say to each other to get that edge going. The chemistry is really high on defense, and I think that’s really helped us to come along.”
While the Phoenix struggled to a paltry record of 2-10 in 2013 that culminated in the firing of head coach Jason Swepson, Benton, Spain and Silas still found success in an underwhelming season.
Spain, a fifth-year senior from Greensboro, led the team in tackles for the second straight year with 84 in 2013. He was named the team’s Most Outstanding Linebacker, which added to his list of career accolades that includes a second-team All-SoCon award in 2012 and an appearance on the SoCon All-Freshman Team in 2011.
After taking a medical redshirt in 2012, Silas had a breakout season in 2013, amassing 71 total tackles, good for second on the team, including a career-best 14 tackle performance against Georgia Southern University Nov. 16. Silas’s impressive campaign did not go unnoticed, as he was named the team’s Most Outstanding Defensive Player, while also being added to the SoCon All-Freshman Team.
Benton, a senior out of Jacksonville, North Carolina, has been a contributor for the Elon defense since 2011, when he made two starts as a true freshman. In 2012, Benton started all 11 games for the Phoenix. He appeared in 10 games last season, making 33 total stops, including a career-best seven tackles against No. 11 Coastal Carolina.
First-year head coach Rich Skrosky, only eight months on the job, already sees the trio as leaders for his football team.
“I’ve challenged those guys just about every day, and I think the biggest thing with Odell, Jonathan and John is their bar,” said Skrosky. “My expectation level for them is really high and it’s a matter of them meeting that expectation level. They’ve got to come out every day and set that bar a little higher. They’ve got to say, ‘I’m going to take my game to the next level.’ So far I think they’ve done it.”
On the defensive side, Jerry Petercuskie takes over as defensive coordinator, bringing a wealth of football knowledge to Elon with him. Petercuskie has almost 40 years of coaching experience at historically strong football institutions like Boston College, the University of Virginia and Pennsylvania State University. Most recently, he was in charge of recruiting and special teams at North Carolina State University from 2007-2012.
During his time at NC State, Petercuskie coached wide receiver/return specialist T.J. Graham and kicker Steven Hauschka. Graham was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in 2012 and has scored three touchdowns in the past two seasons. Hauschka went undrafted in 2008 and bounced around from team to team until 2011, when he found a permanent home with the Seattle Seahawks. In 2013, he made 33-of-35 field goal attempts, helping the Seahawks win their first Super Bowl in franchise history.
“He’s got a great composure. He’s kind of been there, done that, and he’s seen a lot of football in his 40 years of coaching, so I think the kids have really adapted to him well,” Skrosky said. “For a 60-plus-year-old guy, he’s got a great energy level. So I think the defensive unit has really bought in to what he’s teaching. When you’re young you don’t think much about experience, but there really is no substitute for it and he certainly brings a lot of that to the table.”
When players talk of Petercuskie’s experience, it’s almost hard for them to believe how much of it he has.
“He’s been around forever,” Silas said. “He knows a lot of stuff.”
If being around the coaching ranks for nearly a half-century earns you anything, it’s respect. And because of all the places he’s been, the players listen to what he has to say.
“When he talks, everybody listens,” Benton said. “When you got a guy that’s been around the game for a lot of years and seen a lot of good players, you know he knows talent and you know he knows what it takes to win.”
When talking about Petercuskie, Spain added something obvious, yet telling about his experience level.
“You don’t last this long if you don’t know your stuff,” said Spain.
Petercuskie’s experience will be put to the test Aug. 30, when the Phoenix will travel to Duke to take on the Blue Devils for the first time since 2010, when Skrosky was serving as Elon’s offensive coordinator under head coach Pete Lembo.