Across the Central Florida region, as spring football practice opens Monday, there are talented D-linemen everywhere who bring back images of football’s past. They conjure an era when the game was fought in the trenches and defensive linemen were big, mean, feisty, strong, agile and quick; the old days, when Central Florida legends like Deacon Jones, Kenard Lang, Warren Sapp and many, many others pummeled quarterbacks.
It was a different time. Defensive linemen weren’t looking for glory. They just wanted to put their opponents on their backs so they could race to the quarterback.
“We have little side bets of who is going to get there first,” said Walker, the leader of Osceola’s fearsome foursome.