It was difficult for Dave Logan to fit a few extra minutes into his pre-practice meetings, but Mullen’s football coach interrupted a gathering with his assistant coaches Wednesday to talk about his linebackers.
Eventually, he would key on the importance of seniors Leilon Willingham, Brady Daigh and Connor Healy — three-year starters who all are captains — and their impact on his team’s defense and the success of the Mustangs in their drive to a third consecutive state title.
But there were a few seconds for small talk on all things football.
“It’s too bad,” said Logan, who played his college football at the University of Colorado, when he was asked about the end of the Colorado-Nebraska rivalry today. “I always enjoyed that week, the build- up and the game.”
He wondered if the media attention on teams in the playoffs was being spread around. The top-seeded Mustangs play at No. 21 Grandview on Saturday in the Class 5A state semifinals.
But when you’re riding a 31-game winning streak, the talk and target — “We have a bull’s-eye on our backs every game,” Logan said — remain on the hot hand. And it’s the strength of Mullen’s defense that has kept alive the winning streak.
The Mustangs wear that bull’s-eye as if it’s weightless.
“They’re always shooting for the team at the top,” Willingham said. “That’s not a difficult thing. We just look at it as a challenge every week.”
The Mustangs go into the semifinals at 12-0 and led by a defense that has allowed opponents an average of 6.3 points a game. Six of the 12 opponents were shut out.
“The talk this year about our team has been about our defense, and rightly so,” Logan said. “We’ve played well on offense, but this has been a great group to coach on defense. We have a lot of players who have played a lot of football, and it has been a fun year.
“Our linebackers are mature and terrific leaders. They’re the heart and soul of the defense.”
The common factor among them is a love for playing football.
Willingham leads the team in tackles with 53 1/2. He has three sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception. Daigh is second with 39 1/2 tackles, two sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery. Healy is fifth with 32 1/2 tackles, three sacks, an interception and a fumble recovery.
“Some kids will play football because they like it just so-so,” Logan said, “but these three really have a passion for the game.”
They also are versatile in that any one of the three might be called upon to become a down lineman when the defensive strategy calls for four on the line.
Oh, yeah, and all three like to put a lick on players.
The 6-foot-2, 240-pound Willingham could be called Dr. Jek yll and Mr. Hyde. With offers from numerous FBS teams, including Oregon and Boise State, Willingham has become a four- star recruit and ranks as the No. 11 outside linebacker nationally on .
“I like to hit people,” Willingham said. “If you play football, you have to be tenacious at any position on the field. But at linebacker, you’re in the mix every play.”
Off the field, Willingham likes to write, especially poetry. Said Willingham, “I like to be creative, just like I do my thing on the field.”
Healy comes from a family of linebackers. His older brother, James, played the position at Mullen before graduating in 2008 (Class 5A all-state honorable mention), and his younger brother, Patrick, is a backup now.
“We kind of like to fly around and hit people,” said the 5-11, 205-pound Healy, who has offers from Wyoming and San Diego State so far. “The thing that makes this group special is that we’ve been playing together for three or four years.”
Daigh (6-2, 220) still plans to take his skills to Colorado next season, having committed to the Buffs in July. The experiences of the past three seasons, he hopes, will carry through for the next two games.
“It’s good to have experience when you’re going into tough games, and we have a few coming up,” Daigh said. “If you like to hit people, linebacker is the best spot to be in. Linebackers aren’t people who shy away from contact.”
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
