2018 Frontier Football Preview: Frontier is always stacked with great linebackers

When it comes to defense in football, sacks get all the headlines. And while linebackers can rack up plenty of sacks, it's the dirty work, the tackles that make a linebacker special.

And in 2018, the Frontier Conference will feature arguably some of the best linebackers in NAIA football, and no one is more linebacker rich right now than Southern Oregon.

Known for their incredible offenses the last decade, the Raiders have also quietly built great defenses into their program, and the linebacker tandem of Tyson Cooper (5-10, 205) and Devon Gage (6-2, 225) are as good as it gets. On their way to First-Team All-Conference honors last season, both Cooper and Gage put up incredible numbers. Cooper had 108 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, three sacks and two interceptions in 2017, while Gage finished the season with 104 stops, 3.5 sacks and 5.5 TFLs. And when you add in defensive end Sean Rogers, who was an All-American last season, the Raiders have no doubt one of the top front sevens in the country this season.

But the great linebackers in the Frontier don't stop with SOU's dynamic tandem.

Montana Tech's Connor Wines (6-2, 220) put up monster numbers as a junior. Wines led the Frontier with 10 sacks, while also registering 15 TFL's on his way to All-Conference honors, and Wines could be the best of the best again this season.

UM-Western's Jason Ferris (6-3, 200) tallied 103 tackles, 6.5 TFLs and two interceptions on his way to All-Conference honors while just a sophomore in 2017. College of Idaho's Forrest Rivers (5-11, 220) also earned All-Conference honors as a sophomore after he tallied 57 tackles, 7.5 TFLs and three sacks last season. Carroll College's Reece Quade is also back for his senior year. Quade (6-3, 232) totaled 53 tackles and 4.5 TFLs while anchoring the middle of the Fighting Saint's defense a year ago.

And while just about everybody in the league has at least one really good linebacker back this season, no one has perhaps the talent at all three spots in their lineup that Rocky Mountain College does. The LB trio of Dallas Mack, Billy Williams and Chase Bertelsen are all back for head coach Jason Petrino's defense this season, which is one reason why RMC will be so strong on that side of the ball. Williams (5-11, 215) led the Bears with 74 tackles to go with 7.5 TFLs last season. Mack (6-0, 215) finished his 2017 season with 73 stops and 6.5 TFLs, while Bertelsen (6-1, 235), now a three-year starter, had 71 stops of his own a year ago.

Of course, losses to graduation came aplenty at the linebacker spot last season, and two teams that lost two of the best were Eastern Oregon and MSU-Northern. The Mounties graduated two-time All-American LB Michael Arenas, while the Lights lost one of the most productive linebackers they've ever had in Garet Fowler. Fowler led the Frontier last season with an incredible 115 stops, while averaging nearly 11 per game.

And while the loss of Fowler is substantial, the cupboard certainly isn't bare in Northern's linebacker room.

The Lights return senior Alec Wagner (5-11, 225), a three-year starter who totaled 48 tackles and a sack last season. Wagner is the veteran leader of what should be a talented group that also includes sophomores Jake Norby, Peter Hamilton and Jaren Maki. Ace Morgan is also expected to be in the mix, according to head coach Andrew Rolin.

"We've got a lot of really good, young, athletic linebackers," Rolin said. "There's going to be a lot of good competition at that position this fall. Of course, everything starts with Alec Wagner. He's a really good football player, and he is our leader in that group. But we've got a lot of younger guys who I'm really excited about. And I think that group has the potential to be a real strength for us on defense this season."

Editor's Note: This is the fifth installment in our series of the top players at each position in the Frontier Conference. For a look at the top defensive backs and special team players in the Frontier in 2018, see Friday's Havre Daily News.