Opelika native, former Auburn defensive lineman Tez Doolittle to debut tonight in SIFL as linebacker with Columbus Lions
Opelika native, former Auburn defensive lineman transitions to linebacker
By CHRIS WHITE
cwhite@ledger-enquirer.com
Nearly a year removed from the last time he played in a game, former Auburn defensive lineman Tez Doolittle is eager for his debut tonight with the Columbus Lions.
Doolittle had signed with the team before training camp but said a hamstring injury kept him from attending camp or playing early. Feeling rested and healthy, Doolittle is expected to play for the first time in the Southern Indoor Football League since he played a single game for the Arena Football League’s Arizona Rattlers last summer.
“I’m very excited to be playing again,” Doolittle said. “I’ll be playing like a blind dog in a meathouse.”
Fully adjusting to a new team stocked with defensive veterans and already three games into the season will take more than the week of practice Doolittle has seen, but the Opelika, Ala., native said his Columbus teammates have made the transition to linebacker as easy as he could have hoped.
“There are a lot of great players out here,” Doolittle said. “I’m just watching the vets that are out here, and they have helped me a lot this week, telling me what to do.”
Doolittle played at Opelika High before going to Auburn, where he was on the roster from 2003-08, a stretch that included him redshirting his first year and missing all of 2007 with Achilles tendon tear. He signed a deal with the Seattle Seahawks in 2009 but never played in the NFL.
The Lions (2-1) play 7:30 p.m. tonight at the Fayetteville Force (3-0), one of the SIFL’s four remaining undefeated teams and one of the league’s most offensively potent. The Force, which previously played as the Fayetteville Guard, average 58.3 points per game -- about two touchdowns more than the Lions -- and lead the league in rushing offense with 69 yards per game.
While the Lions offense has sputtered this season, most notably in last week’s 46-26 loss at the Albany Panthers, Lions coach Jason Gibson said he has faith in the defense to keep the team in position to win tonight, especially with the return from injury of linebacker Leon Foster and the addition of Doolittle.
“I know nobody’s going to hang 70 points on us unless our offense turns the ball over four or five times,” Gibson said. “We’re not going to give up eight, nine, 10 touchdowns on defense alone.
“And now that we’ve got some guys back, like Foster at linebacker and Tez, we’re only better.”
Using the defense as a crutch could be a pitfall, Gibson said, and an efficient performance by Fayetteville tonight could exploit that.
“There is going to be a time this season when we’re going to need to outscore someone,” Gibson said. “We can’t always rely on our defense to make the difference like we have been doing.
“That may be this week.”
Chris White, 706-571-8571; follow Chris online at twitter.com/le_chriswhite and at facebook.com/lechriswhite.
This story was originally published April 9, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Opelika native, former Auburn defensive lineman Tez Doolittle to debut tonight in SIFL as linebacker with Columbus Lions."