UAlbany defensive front to clash with South Dakota State…

ALBANY — The University at Albany defensive line has seldom met its match this season. 

The Great Danes have terrorized quarterbacks en route to a nation-leading 50 sacks. They’ve stuffed opposing runners to lead the Football Championship Subdivision in rushing defense at 78.1 yards per game.

The foursome of defensive ends Anton Juncaj and AJ Simon and tackles Elijah Hills and Joseph Greaney might face their greatest challenge yet against top-ranked South Dakota State in Friday’s FCS semifinal in Brookings, S.D.

The Jackrabbits’ offensive line is an imposing group of four seniors and one junior, including two NFL draft prospects, who protect All-American junior quarterback Mark Gronowski.

“I think it’s going to be one of the great matchups,” said UAlbany coach Greg Gattuso, a former Penn State defensive lineman. “We’ve got to get near this guy. He doesn’t get a whole lot of pressure and we’re going to have to get him. We have the right group and they’re excited about this challenge.”

South Dakota State has allowed only 10 sacks in 13 games, an average of 0.77 per contest that ranks sixth-best in the FCS. The offensive line also powers a running game that averages 231.3 yards, fifth in the country, led by running back Isaiah Davis.

Jackrabbits left tackle Garret Greenfield, who is 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds, and left guard Mason McCormick, at 6-5 and 315, are sixth-year seniors who are committed to the East-West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 1 for NFL prospects. 

The size and experience runs through the rest of the line with 6-3, 295-pound junior center Gus Miller, 6-4, 300-pound senior right guard Evan Beerntsen and 6-5, 300-pound senior right tackle John O’Brian. Greenfield and McCormick are four-year starters. The other three have started for two seasons.

“They’re aggressive, they play well together and they’re smart and well-coached,” UAlbany junior defensive tackle Elijah Hills said.

That said, Hills and his defensive linemates are looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s super exciting,” Hills said. “You always look forward to games like this. It’s a time to prove yourself, and times like that are really fun.”

At the same time, South Dakota State might not have faced a defensive front as accomplished as the Great Danes. Juncaj, a 6-foot-3, 273-pound senior, leads FCS with a program record 15 sacks from his right end position. Simon, a 6-1, 267-pound senior, has 12½ sacks on the other side.

Stalwart up the middle, the 6-foot-2, 281-pound Hills and 6-3, 280-pound Greaney, a graduate student, have a combined 56 tackles, including 16 for loss. They’re also the foundation of a tough goal-line defense.

“Their D-ends are extremely explosive,” South Dakota State coach Jimmy Rogers said. “Their interior guys are really sound in what they do. So we’ve got to do a good job of being physical and matching their physicality and doing a great job in communication so we can pick up some of the twists and the blitzes that they will run.”

In the 30-22 quarterfinal win over Idaho, UAlbany had one sack and allowed 104 rushing yards to Anthony Woods, only the second back to surpass 100 yards against the Great Danes, who allowed Marshall’s Rasheen Ali to rush for 137 yards on Sept. 2.

But UAlbany rose up when it mattered most. Juncaj sacked quarterback Gevani McCoy and Hills recovered the fumble with 2:46 left to help preserve the win.

“It’s not about sacks,” Gattuso said. “It’s about pressure on the quarterbacks. It’s about stopping the run. Their back had 105 yards, but they were not yards that hurt us. … We hit their quarterback and knocked him on the ground eight, nine times.”

In a marquee matchup, Juncaj will line up against Greenfield in a battle of Associated Press first-team all-Americans.

“I feel like we’ve been facing good offensive lines, like Marshall,” Juncaj said. “So this is another test and we’ve got to just do our jobs.”