When Kayton Samuels went down with an injury early in the third game of the season against South Florida, Josh Black was where he had been all season up to that point — waiting on the sidelines.

The freshman had yet to appear in a game. When the injury happened, he was put in a position he was waiting for, but one he wasn’t sure he’d get.

“Coach (Vinson) Reynolds came to the sideline and it was Josh and I standing there next to each other,” said Kendall Coleman, another freshman defensive lineman. “And he said ‘you guys’ — and other words — ‘you guys aren’t freshmen anymore, you guys have to step up and show that you’re supposed to be out here on the field.’”

The two have become the starting defensive ends. Black never envisioned becoming a starting defensive lineman at a Power 5 school his freshman year. He didn’t even enjoy football growing up and didn’t play defense until his senior year of high school. Now, he’s developed in to a key player on SU’s (3-4, 1-2 Atlantic Coast) young defensive line, which takes on Boston College (3-3, 0-3) on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.

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Black only started playing football because he felt internally pressured to because his family members played, including his brother and father. There was never any pressure from either of them, Black said. It was more just his thoughts.

“I never told them I didn’t want to play sports growing up, I didn’t really have the heart to,” Black said. “I always played sports but I never really liked them until I did them in high school. … I just feel like I didn’t have any motivation until my brother told me all that stuff.”

Ben, Black’s brother, is older by four years and is currently a defensive line coach at Robert Morris University Illinois after playing on the line the last four years. The two always had a good relationship but it was never that special a bond until a few years ago.

Black was enjoying football more, but his total commitment wasn’t there. Ben noticed and let his younger brother know, stressing to Black that he wasn’t going to make it far in football without changing his habits.

“I remember going home after workouts, going to the shower, just thinking about that,” Black said. “This is real, I’m trying to go somewhere now. My older brother just told me you’re not going to go anywhere.”

Black slowly developed into one of the best offensive linemen in his district. When college recruiters came around his junior year, though, they saw a future defensive end. With the encouragement of his head coach James Morrow, Black played defense for the first time in his life during his senior year at Harlem (Chicago) High School.

He began attending recruiting camps the summer before his senior year to pick up skills. Black would have morning practices with his team, come back home, then work with Ben one-on-one.

Playing a foreign position, Black had to relearn everything. Footwork, hand placement, and getting off the line quickly were all things he tried to work on before his senior year.

“He was very, very raw technically, from a D-line technique-wise,” Ben said. “He just made up for it with his strength, his drive, and just him being relentless.”

One of the biggest plays Morrow remembers Black making as a defender was actually on a punt. As Black remembers it, his team was down and he lined up on the left side, split through a two-man shield and got his hand in front of the ball to block it. Harlem scored the next play and went on to win the game.

Black wouldn’t be able to rely on his speed and strength coming into the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Over the summer he kept developing his techniques, this time with the SU coaching staff. Sometimes, the staff would gloss over fundamentals while working with the defensive line, assuming everyone knew them. Black had to consistently ask what he should be doing.

“I felt like the coaches didn’t trust me. I didn’t trust myself,” Black said. “If I was coach and I was going to put myself in that position, I wouldn’t trust myself either.”

But after getting on the field at the USF game, things started to click for Black. His containment on the edge against Notre Dame helped limit quarterback DeShone Kizer to just 1 rushing yard.

There are still things to work on. Black wants to improve on his pass-rushing skill because he feels like his long arms could give him an advantage. Head coach Dino Babers likes his motor but thinks that Black needs to be stronger.

Black kicks himself for not caring about sports as much earlier because he thinks he’d be better. But he’s still a starting defensive end for a Power 5 school as a freshman.

“… I feel like everything happens for a reason, and everything fell into place,” Black said.

Published on October 19, 2016 at 11:42 pm

Contact Tomer: tdlanger@syr.edu | @tomer_langer