Bronx, N.Y. – As we continue to breakdown the 2022 Fordham Rams we move to the middle of the defense with a peek at the linebackers.
 
The Rams return all three starters from 2021, and to find the leader you'll have to look no further than grad student captain Ryan Greenhagen, a preseason All-American and All-Patriot League selection. Greenhagen was about to shatter school tackling records last year when his season was cut short by injury. Despite only appearing in five games, he was second on the team in total tackles (102) and was leading the NCAA in tackles/game when he was injured. He started 2021 off on a high note, setting an NCAA Division I record with 31 total tackles at Nebraska. Greenhagen enters the 2022 season with 184 solo tackles and 35.5 career TFLs, both fifth-best in school history, along with 312 total tackles, fourth best, and he enters the season first among active FCS players with 10.03 tackles/game and third with 1.32 tackles for loss per game through 31 career games.
 
Other returning starters include sophomore James Conway and senior Parker Spillers. Conway had an outstanding rookie season, earning All-American and All-Patriot League honors after leading the League and ranking second in the NCAA in tackles/game (11.9) and ranking second in the League in solo stops per game (5.5). His 131 total tackles last fall is a Fordham freshman record.
 
Spillers, who took over as a starter when Greenhagen was injured, recorded 26 total tackles, 18 solo, including 2.0 for loss and 0.5 sacks, last fall. He also had one forced fumble, one fumble recovery, and one pass breakup.
 
Other returning linebackers with experience include senior Jackson Barletta, junior Tyler Cook, and sophomore Nick Holle. Barletta had his 2021 season ended early after suffering a season-ending injury in game two, while Cook saw action in eight games last year, both at linebacker and on special teams, recording 25 total tackles, 17 solo, including one sack, and Holle appeared in two games as a freshman in 2021.
 
Newcomers at linebacker include Marc Pretto, a graduate of The Hun School in Princeton, N.J., Evan Tritt, a native of Yardley, Pennsylvania, who played at The Lawrenceville School last year, and Patrick Nichols, who hails from Berwyn, Pennsylvania, and played football last fall at Blair Academy.