BY JASON DELLA ROSA

HERALD DEMOCRAT

There were very few positions on either side of the ball that Denison needed to fill coming off a region semifinal appearance. But the existing openings could be found mostly on defense.

As the off-season workouts and spring practices progressed, there seemed to be one spot at safety which never could get locked down.

It was on an almost weekly basis that a new Yellow Jacket would be considered for the position only to have another player jump into the mix. It was a competition where Jake Marcum eventually found himself as the front-runner.

"He was always in it," Denison head coach Cody White said. "We've found some kids that we can count on."

The revolving door seemed to have no end. It started with Mark Bolen, who never got to take a snap in his senior season, which ended before it began with an off-the-field accident that kept him from playing. Then the plug-in-the-leaky-dike theory began and names were rattled off.

D.J. Jones. Jordan Taylor. Cody Reeves. Zach Daniel. Jared Mitchell.

"Early on I told Jake, 'you need to win that spot because I don't want my starting quarterback there and we need to keep Cody on the corner,'" White said. "He did what he needed to do."

The Jackets had to replace both safeties -- Evan Ramsey and Shalamar Traylor, an honorable all-state selection, both graduated after a season where they were known as play-makers -- and were doing so with a pair lacking varsity experience.

"I was going to take advantage of it," Marcum said. "Coming into the year this was supposed to be a great year. I picked it up pretty fast."

Marcum has teamed with sophomore Hayden Chapman on the back end and calmed fears about the potential for a high-powered offense to take advantage of the new Jackets and burn Denison for big plays.

He has made 36 tackles (31 solo), forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and broken up five passes.

"All the DBs rely on each other which is the best thing you can do. We know what to do back there," Marcum said. "We're disciplined and the coaches have been on us about making the play and working on being in the right spots."

The acclimation has gone so well that four opponents have had fewer than 100 yards passing and the Jackets lead District 9-4A teams in yards allowed.

Marcum transferred to Denison after his sophomore year at San Marcos Baptist Academy, a TAPPS 3A school where he started his first two seasons and earned all-district honors in both football and baseball.

"Everybody was smaller than me, it was real easy to hit people," Marcum said. "At summer workouts my first year, I knew it was totally different."

The jump from a a smaller school was his largest obstacle to overcome.

"He's got a lot of athletic ability. He's going to make plays," White said. "The biggest thing for him was a learning curve. He's going into his (tenth) start at this level."

Due to transfer rules, Marcum spent all of last year on the junior varsity, although he started at corner instead of safety. But he always had an eye towards his senior season.

"Last year I was thinking about this year," Marcum said. "Last year was all preparation for this year."

Marcum's physical nature put him in the running for a spot on the varsity defense this year. Once the opportunity was there for the taking, Marcum hasn't let go.

"We saw on JV he liked to hit, he liked contact," White said. "It was just a matter of time before we found a spot for him."