Central Michigan University Athletics
Defensive Line Young But Talented
8/22/2000 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 22, 2000
MOUNT PLEASANT - There's two things about the defensive line that Central Michigan University head football coach Mike DeBord likes ... it's young and athletic.
"It's the youngest unit on the team," DeBord said. "But, the starters all have three years left. It's a group that has made great progress and has tremendous potential.
"I'm encouraged by the added strength and size of each player. The big thing now is that they have to learn to play hard on every snap."
The four starters are all sophomores who saw action in a reserve capacity in 1999. Starting at the ends will be 6-3, 245-pound Cullen Jenkins (Belleville) and 260-pound Matt Reynolds (Port Huron/Northern). Working behind them will be 6-2, 243-pound redshirt freshman Ike Ajoku (Brooklyn, N.Y./Tech), 6-3, 242-pound redshirt freshman Charles Harris (Sarasota, Fla./Riverview) and 6-5, 240-pound true freshman Matt Wohlgemuth (Lake Orion).
Jenkins played in nine games and had four tackles while Reynolds played in seven games last season and had three tackles.
The starters inside on the four-man line are 6-1, 265-pound Marvin Smith (Wellington, Fla./Suncoast) and 6-3, 270-pound Dominic Mancini (Hinsdale, Ill/Fenwick). Reynolds can also play inside along with 6-1, 265-pound Josh Skeel (Charlevoix), a former walk-on now on scholarship.
Smith played in all 11 games last fall and was in on 18 tackles, eight of them solo. He had one tackle for a loss of one yard and forced one fumble. Mancini played in 10 games and had nine tackles, one for a loss of four yards.
The Chippewas open the 2000 season at Purdue on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 1 p.m. (EST) and then begin the home campaign against Akron on Saturday, Sept. 9, at 1 p.m. (EDT).
