TOWSON, Md. - Injuries are a part of life in college football. Like most teams, Towson has gone through its own injury issues this season, especially on defense.
Juniors Jordan Dangerfield and Danzel White returned from minor knee injuries after missing two games to play against Delaware on Saturday night. White led the team with 11 tackles against the Blue Hens while Dangerfield added seven stops.
Both have been crucial members to the defense, which is an understatement. Dangerfield still leads the team with 53 tackles despite missing two games. The hard-hitting safety also has two forced fumbles, one interception and a fumble recovery.
White is now third on the team with 49 tackles and also has a fumble recovery with one forced fumble. He has also moved from the strongside linebacker position to the middle linebacker spot, a position he played in 2009 when he led Towson with 105 tackles.
The starting lineup against Morgan State included Kyle Polk in the middle with White at the strong side and junior Alexander DiSanzo at the weak side. The linebacking corps has seen five different starting lineup combinations due to injuries and personnel changes.
Polk, who injured his ankle, started the opener and then missed the next two games. He was replaced by senior Chris Patterson in the middle. With DiSanzo out against Richmond, the Tigers went with redshirt freshmen Trey Jackson and Kenton Powell at the outside spots with White in the middle.
Powell, a native of Rockville, Md., has remained in the lineup at the strong side. He recorded four tackles and had an interception against Delaware. He now has 30 tackles on the year and is tied for the lead on the team with DiSanzo with two interceptions.
At safety, redshirt freshman Thomas Bradley stepped in for Dangerfield during his two-game absence and now has 13 tackles on the season with two starts.
White, who said he "felt fine and was 100%" after the Delaware 35-30 loss, said "we have the mentality about the next man up. When a man goes down, the next man steps up."
For the Tigers to continue to produce the rest of the season, they will need the "next man up" to produce in order to be successful.
Around the CAA
After the loss to Delaware, Towson sits at 4-1 in the CAA and is tied with New Hamsphire in second place. Maine remains the lone unbeaten team in CAA play and has a 5-0 record.
New Hamsphire just got by Rhode Island (2-6, 1-4) at home, 31-24. UNH quarterback Kevin Decker threw for 257 yards and ran for 78 yards. Meanwhile, Maine routed Villanova on the road, 41-25, as the Wildcats fell to 0-6 in the CAA.
Old Dominion (7-2, 4-2 CAA) cotinued its strong first season in the league with a 23-20 home win over James Madison (5-2, 3-2). The Dukes led at the half, 20-14, but were held scoreless in the second half as ODU used three Jarod Brown field goals to win the game.
And finally, UMass (5-3 overall) defeated Richmond at Robins Stadium, 28-7, to leave the Spiders winless at 0-5 in the CAA. The Minutemen are leaving the CAA for the FBS and the Mid-American Conference next season, so they are ineligible to win the league but conference games against them do count towards the standings.
