Defense playing for Beckum

At the pregame meeting before IU’s loss to Virginia Saturday, Co-Defensive  Coordinator and Linebackers Coach Mike Ekeler reserved the last question for injured senior linebacker Leon Beckum.

“Leon, your teammates voted you as a team captain,” Ekeler said. “Now that you’re dinged up a little bit, what would you give to go out tonight on that field?”

Beckum responded he would give his soul.

His words prior to the Virginia game spoke volumes to his fellow linebackers, like redshirt freshman Chase Hoobler.

“It gave us more motivation to play for him,” Hoobler said, “because he knows how bad he wanted to be out there, and it’s his senior year.”

With Beckum unable to go onto the field with a knee injury, he has become a new assistant coach for the defense, Ekeler said.

Redshirt junior Lee Rose, who plays weakside linebacker like Beckum, said he has looked up to Beckum since he transferred from the University of Richmond in 2009.

“Leon’s one of our smartest linebackers to begin with. We watch him to see how to do things right,” Rose said. “Now that he’s not (on the field) when we are practicing, he’s there still to help us with technique and some of the stuff that he would do.”

Beckum serves as an example of how close the linebackers are as a unit. Senior middle linebacker Jeff Thomas and Beckum have been good friends for a while, but younger players like Hoobler became fast friends with the older players.

Each Thursday, the linebackers make an excursion to a local place like Buffalo Wild Wings or Yogi’s Grill & Bar for dinner. They usually find something to talk about other than IU football, taking a break to eat and relax before they check into a hotel Friday night before a game.

The tradition started last season, but things are a bit different this season. Along with the new coaching staff, Amy Freel, director of sports performance nutrition, came to IU — changing the way the team eats and fuels for games, Rose said.

“It’s changed since last year ... Now that we have a nutritionist, you’ll see guys eating salads, where last year, no one would get a salad,” Rose said. “When we went to Buffalo Wild Wings, yeah, we got a lot of wings and stuff, but guys are actually watching what we eat.”

Ekeler said the linebackers are close, but the defense as a whole grows closer as the season progresses.

He said they bought into the selfless mentality IU Coach Kevin Wilson’s staff has stressed over and over again.

“It’s not about making a big play and pounding your chest,” Ekeler said. “It’s about making a play and having 10 of your teammates come and tackle you, and that’s what Coach Wilson has been coaching since day one: it’s a family and you play for the guy next to you.”