Photo Gallery
 
As we continue to view the 2013 Fordham University defense, today we take a peek at the linebacking unit, a group led by returning starters Jake Rodriquez and Austin Hancock.
 
Rodriques and Hancock bring a wealth of experience to the linebacking position, a position that lost Michael Martin, who led the Rams in tackles the past two years, to graduation.
 
Rodriques, a senior who was named to the to the 2013 College Sports Madness Preseason All-Patriot League Team, started all eleven games at linebacker for the Rams in 2012, recording 81 total tackles, 47 solo, and he led the team with 9.5 tackles for loss (50 yards) and with 4.5 sacks. He also had one interception, one pass deflection, two quarterback hurries and one fumble recovery.

Rodriques finished sixth in the Patriot League in tackles for loss and was eleventh in the League with 4.5 sacks as well as 13^th in tackles/game. He tied his career-high with eleven tackles, including five solo and one sack, versus Georgetown and he also made eleven stops, nine solo, and intercepted a pass at Holy Cross.

 
Hancock, a junior, was fourth on the 2012 squad with 68 total tackles, 40 solo, including 3.5 for loss and one sack. He also had one interception and four pass deflections and recovered a fumble. He started all eleven games at linebacker, recording a career-high 12 tackles, three solo, at Columbia where he also forced a fumble.
 
Over his three-year career, Hancock has amassed 75 total tackles, 47 solo, including 4.5 for loss and two sacks.
 
Also back from 2012 for the Rams at linebacker are juniors Stephen Hodge and Victor DiFusco along with sophomore David Barletta.
 
Hodge appeared in all eleven games at linebacker as a sophomore, recording ten total tackles, eight solo, including 0.5 sacks. He made three solo stops in the win at Holy Cross and also had three solo tackles in the season finale versus Colgate.
 
DiFusco, who missed all of last year with an injury, played in all eleven games as a freshman, starting one. He led all freshmen on the roster with 37 total tackles, 19 solo, making a season-high nine tackles, two solo, at Lafayette.
 
Barletta, saw action in six games for the Rams as a freshman, closing out the season with two total tackles, one solo.
 
Newcomers to the linebacking unit include sophomores Andrew Erenberg and Nick Zawisha and freshmen Marlon Crook, Jr., George Dawson and Brett Lambert.
 
Erenberg moves over to linebacker after lining up in the offensive backfield in first year at Fordham, appearing in ten games, while Zawisha comes to Fordham from Garden City High School in Garden City, N.Y, where he earned All-Conference accolades in 2011.
 
Crook was a two-time First Team All-Conference selection at Bishop McNamara High School in Forestville, Maryland, where he recorded 13 sacks, 71 tackles and five fumble recoveries as a senior.
 
Dawson, a Bronx native, comes to Fordham from Cardinal Hayes High School where he was named First Team All-CHSFL and First Team All-Bronx as well as Honorable Mention All-City in 2012.
 
Lambert, a graduate of Holmdel High School in Holmdel, N.J., appeared in the 2013 All-Shore Gridiron Classic and was a Second Team Star Ledger All-State Group 3 selection as well as Second Team Star Ledger All-County pick.