By JOSEPH SCHIEFELBEIN, Advocate sportswriter
SU vs. Alabama State
WHEN: 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
WHERE: Ladd-Peebles Stadium, Mobile, Ala.
TV: ESPNU.
RADIO: KQXL-FM, 106.5.
If the Southern defense’s loss of junior linebacker Johnathan Malveaux to a high ankle sprain for this week and a few others can be considered an emergency, the Jaguars are turning to the right man.
Junior Donald Steele has responded to his share of real-life emergencies as a volunteer fireman in his hometown of Selma, Ala., since he was a sophomore at Selma High.
“Whenever I go back home, I just pick up my radio and I’m on call,” Steele said.
Over spring break, he checks in when he goes home. Between the end of spring semester and summer school, he checks in when he goes home.
“It’s just something I do back at home, just trying to help out the community,” said Steele, who, since he turned 18, also learned how to dive to further enhance his capabilities.
Photo: Donald Steele, #46 LB
Taking up for Malveaux is important to Southern, but, of course, isn’t quite as vital as Steele helping put out fires or searching for drowning victims.
Southern (4-0, 2-0 Southwestern Athletic Conference) faces Alabama State (4-0, 3-0) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Ladd-Peebles Stadium in Mobile, Ala.
“Donald has had a couple of years of experience,” defensive coordinator Terrence Graves said. “That always helps. He knows what to do.”
Okie lineacker, with Malveaux (the team’s top tackler with 33 stops and four pass breakups) and Steele, is one of the few spots on defense, in the front seven, where a veteran backs a veteran.
Both players shared time working with the first unit in preseason camp.
“It’s not that big of a switch for me,” said Steele, who has four tackles this season and 18 in his career. “I want to come out and do the same things Malveaux did: be productive, make tackles, move to the ball.
“Hopefully, Saturday, it’ll be just like Malveaux is there playing.”
Steele has come up big for Southern when the call has come in the past.
After Malveaux went down Saturday, Steele and strong safety Toyin Akinwale teamed to sack Tennessee State quarterback Antonio Heffner on a third-and-6 at the Southern 33-yard line in the fourth quarter. That forced a punt, with Southern scoring the go-ahead touchdown on the ensuing possession in Southern’s 41-34 win over Tennessee State.
Even as a freshman, on the first play after replacing D.J. Brooks, who came down with a leg cramp at Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Steele recovered a fumble on a botched center exchange. That came at the SU 29 with 14:14 left, preserving a three-point lead in a 27-21 win.
As a volunteer fireman, Steele said he’s been called to housefires, drowning scenes and fires in the woods.
“It’s just something I do whenever I get a chance to go back home,” Steele said.
Steele isn’t necessarily looking for a future as a firefighter. He’s a criminal justice major who said he’d like to go to law school.
“It’s just something to learn, something to teach someone else some day,” Steele said of the firefighting.
In the end, the commendable work may only complement a man who has been defined by diverse talents.
Steele kicked a 22-yard field goal to win the homecoming game as a senior in high school. He was also a standout catcher on the baseball team and played forward on the basketball team.
Returning home to Alabama — though without checking in on the radio — is something Steele always relishes.
One of Steele’s best friends, Roderick West, is a junior for Alabama State who starts at rover on defense. West has seven tackles in three games.
Also from Selma High is Alabama State sophomore linebacker Adrian Hardy (seven tackles, one blocked kick). Junior wide receiver Robert Childers (one catch for 9 yards) also went to Selma High.
“I haven’t talked to (West) all this week,” Steele said Wednesday afternoon. “I probably won’t talk until game time. It’ll be fun.”
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