Attached to the back of Jake Silverman’s shoulder pads is a back plate with wording printed in upper case letters, “I FEAR NO MAN.”
Every good linebacker follows the same commandment, because otherwise you’d never be able to play a position that requires sacrificing your body and opening your mind to disrupt plays, confront bigger linemen and make tackle after tackle even when exhausted.
That’s what the 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior from Torrance High has done for four years. He makes plays. Wherever the ball is headed, count on him to find it like a magnet attracted to a metal object.
“He’s instinctive,” coach Raymond Carter said. “That’s what he’s best at. He knows where the ball is. We put him where we believe he can dominate and create mismatches.”
