Junior inside linebacker John Law will be the anchor of an experienced defense for the Appalachian State football team in the upcoming 2015-16 season.
Law rounds out an impressive starting unit on the defensive side of the ball, joining senior defensive lineman Ronald Blair and senior defensive back Doug Middleton as the three players selected to the first team All-Sun Belt preseason squad from the defense.
Along with Blair, Law was also added to the 2015 Rotary Lombardi Award watch list. This prestigious award honors the best lineman–offense or defense–or linebacker in Division I football.
Preseason accolades aside, Law will look to build on his statistically solid 2014-15 season where he led the Mountaineers in tackles and was selected to the All-Sun Belt second team.
“I expect to keep pushing forward and keep making improvements in my personal game as well as the team,” Law said.
Law had some facets of his personal game he’d like to improve that he discussed specifically.
“Steadily increasing my production, getting around the ball more, making more tackles and being more effective later in games,” Law said.
Although the inside linebacker from Atlanta, Georgia is enjoying success today, the road to this position has not always been as comfortable. After the fourth game of the 2012 season, Law suffered an injury to his ankle while exiting the team bus before the game.
Over the 2013 season, Law saw action in 12 games but was limited to nine starts due to the recurrence of his injuries.
In 2014, Law bounced back with his most healthy and productive season emerging as a leader on the defense.
Defensive coordinator Nate Woody expects Law to continue to grow into that role.
“What we expect from a guy on the field as a leader is to back up their talk and he’s made an awful amount of tackles for us,” Woody said. “The next phase or step for him will be making those tackles not just on our side of the line of scrimmage, but on the other side, by reading schemes fast, getting downhill quick, and turning those three yard gains into zero or minus yards.”
Driven to continually improve, Law also possess an innately competitive personality whether it be on the gridiron or playing video games.
Teammate Ronald Blair can personally attest to this.
“He’s one of the biggest competitors you’ll ever meet in your life,” Blair said. “We compete all the time whether it’s playing 2K or Madden, and he wants to win, it doesn’t matter what it is.”
Story by: Ben Cogsdale, Sports Reporter