By Andy Walter

NEWARK — Nobody’s perfect.

But the great thing about Delaware linebacker Gavin Moul, said teammate Dillon Trainer, is that even when the youngster does something wrong, he does it at full speed.

“When he does make a mistake, it’s always fast,” said Trainer. “He’s hitting somebody, he’s putting somebody on the ground.

“In this sport, you’re always kind of right even if you’re wrong there.”

It’s those kind of instincts that got Moul on the field in 12 games last season as a true freshman, Now the Blue Hens think the 6-foot, 226-pound youngster is ready to take the step up from special-teams player to a big part of the defense.

Delaware’s 13-player linebacker group is led by veterans Trainer and Ty Davis, who moves over full-time from safety. Delaware also picked up transfer outside linebacker Blake Matthews from Troy.

Even though he played mostly special teams last fall, Trainer said they had a lot of confidence that Moul could play anywhere he was needed.

“One of the things that really separates him is his ability to pick up the playbook really early,’ said Trainer. “I remember that was something we were saying last summer, last fall — his ability to come in and be utilized at whatever linebacker spot he needed to be in.”

As both special teams coordinator and linebackers coach, Rocco DiMeco got to see a lot of Moul last season.

Moul, who posted 10 tackles last fall, was a four-year starter at Bethel Park, Pa. High. He made the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Fabulous 22 as a senior.

“Gavin’s had an awesome camp,” said DiMeco. “He really had a great spring, too. And even toward the end of last season, he did a really nice job on special teams. He just started separating himself as a young guy in that class.

“He’s been doing all the right things. He’s a really, really smart kid. He really loves football and he’s competitive.

“The competition and depth right now is certainly a lot better than it was last year,” DiMeco said about the group. “Those guys know that every day, jobs are on the line — regardless of where they might line up in practice.”

The Hens graduated linebacker Jackson Taylor, who recorded a team-high 116 tackles in his one season after transferring from West Chester.

But Delaware returns its next three leading tacklers in Trainer (66 tackle), Davis (48) and defensive lineman Keyshawn Hunter (48). With Trainer sliding into Taylor’s spot, Moul is now at the ‘Will’ spot that Trainer had last fall.

Moul said Trainer taught him a lot about playing the position in the spring.

“The spring was definitely huge in my development on defense,” said Moul.
Coming out of high school, Moul had been recruited by schools like Sacred Heart, Lehigh and Villanova. But he said Delaware really jumped out at him.

“As soon as I came here, I fell in love with the culture,” he said. “You could really tell, the atmosphere when I walked in the weight room for the first workout, these guys were playing for the people next to them, not for themselves.”

Transfer linebacker Troy Matthews played in 14 games last season at Troy, where he was a middle linebacker. TROY UNIVERSITY OF ATHLETICS PHOTO

Matthews adjusting

Matthews, the transfer from Troy in Alabama, grew up in Georgia.

He admits he was a little worried about the colder weather when he first considered transferring to Delaware.

So, naturally, it snowed a couple times in Newark shortly after he started school in February.

“I was like, ‘Oh Lord,’” Matthews joked. “It was about 60 or 70 when I went back home. I had seen snow before but the last time I saw it back where I was from was probably a few years ago.”

But Matthews has slowly adjusted to life in the Mid-Atlantic region — just like he’s adjusted to a relatively new position at Delaware as an outside linebacker.

Matthews was an inside linebacker at Troy, where he played in 14 games last fall. But, at 6-foot-2, 215 pounds, he’s probably a more natural fit at the outside linebacker spot.

He’ll join Davis, who has become one of his best friends, in the ‘bandit’ position in Delaware’s defense.

“I was a skinny little linebacker over there (in the middle),” said Matthews. “Now I’m kind of a skinny little bandit over here.

“I’m not in the box like I was at Troy. I was skinny, I was in there getting beat up. Now my body is feeling a lot better. It’s about being able to move more freely.”

In high school. Matthews was considered a three-star recruit. Not only did he collect 138 tackles as a senior but also put up 1,450 all-purpose yards on offense.

“We love Blake,” said DiMeco. “He’s an awesome kid. It’s his mentality more than anything. He just shows up to work every day.

“He’s certainly got the skill to do it. He’s fast, he’s athletic. I really like where he’s at right now.

“Most of them show up and they’re ready to go,” DiMeco said about transfers. “They come in with something to prove a little bit. I think that’s part of it, too. They want to play so they come in here pretty hungry.

“I think Blake’s one of those kids. He came in here hungry and ready to compete. He didn’t shy away from competition. That’s one of things I really like about the kid.”

Extra points

The first AFCA Coaches FCS poll came out on Monday. The Hens aren’t ranked because they are transitioning to the FBS level.
Villanova, at No. 6, was the highest-ranked of four CAA teams in the poll.