LORMAN &045; Welcome to the world of small college football.

Well, sort of.

Antonio Cooper couldn’t have dreamed of a more hyped up way to start his college career for Alcorn lasts season. The true freshman got his first start at linebacker in the Braves’ third game of the season when they played Howard University at FedEx Field in Landover, Md., the home of the Washington Redskins.

After some time taking in the whole atmosphere, he remembered what he was there to do &045; play football.

&uot;That first start &045; it was kind of hard,&uot; Cooper recalled. &uot;It was my first college start, and you’ve got a lot of pressure. It was an NFL stadium, you’ve got a mega-screen.&uot;

Those jitters are gone, as is everyone else’s at the linebacker slots this spring for the Braves as preparations are well under way for the 2005 season. Cooper and three other candidates for the spot aren’t so green anymore yet are coming into the season filling two big spots following the departure of senior starters Dwan Wilson and Leo Nobles.

Coaches have worked with linebackers plenty this spring heading into the spring game, set for 3 p.m. Saturday at Jack Spinks Stadium.

&uot;We’ve got a pretty good group of linebackers, and they’re coming off a pretty good freshman year,&uot; Alcorn head coach Johnny Thomas said. &uot;They should be able to do those kinds of things and improve upon the kinds of things they did pretty good last year and give us some experience.

&uot;When Leo got hurt or when Dwan wasn’t doing as well as we thought he should have been doing coming off a knee injury, we had to replace him to give him some rest. The linebackers have a lot of experience, and we hope they can continue to grow and develop.&uot;

This spring it’s Cooper along with Lester Mosley, Tommy Campbell and Terrance Barnes after all played significantly last season either off the bench or a periodic start. Cooper and Mosley got starts as the Braves juggled starters at middle and outside trying to find the right combination midway through the season.

That makes the transition into this spring and into fall camp in August that much easier.

&uot;We’ve got some big shoes to fill,&uot; Mosley said. &uot;I started two games, but I played a lot. I kind of learned a lot in practice watching Dwan Wilson and Leo. They taught me a lot. They put me in, and I was kind of ready. That first time, it was kind of hard. After that, I got the hang of it.&uot;

Both got significant time at middle linebacker last season as the Braves struggled through the first half of the season trying to fill the void left by Omega Logan. The defense was getting run on too much for too much yardage each time, and finally Nobles moved to middle with Barnes stepping in at strongside linebacker.

Mosley has been hobbled by an ankle injury so far, but Cooper has worked out at middle with Jason Williams playing behind him.

&uot;Antonio played a lot for us last year,&uot; Alcorn defensive coordinator LaTraia Jones said. &uot;Right now he’s taken quite a lot of reps along with Jason. They are very knowledgeable. They understand the defense just like I do. They’re stepping up and being leaders of the defense. But everybody else is doing great. I’m looking forward to seeing how we’ll actually do with good competition.&uot;

It’s that middle linebacker position that may have coaches more concerned than the outside slots after the instability last season. During his tenure, Logan thrived in the position that required the middle linebacker to be a leader of sorts on the front during running and passing situations.

The Braves struggled stopping the run last year. No one in the conference defending more running plays than Alcorn.

&uot;It’s a little more priority this spring, but Cooper has pretty much solidified that position,&uot; Thomas said. &uot;We signed some more middle linebackers. It’ll be up to him to keep his job. It’s not finalized until we see if anyone else can compete with him that we signed.&uot;

Nobles flourished in the position after making the switch midway through the season and led the team in solo tackles with 41. It’s a responsibility that will may fall on Cooper’s shoulders as the Braves are doing everything possible to improve on last year’s 4 yards allowed per carry.

&uot;It’s pretty big,&uot; said Cooper, who had 40 tackles last fall. &uot;You just have to trust your first read. That was my biggest problem. It’s easier (now). I understand the defense more. I understand where coach wants me to be.&uot;

Barnes may be in the mix as well despite stepping in after Nobles went to middle and getting a couple of starts. Jones said the junior college transfer &uot;hit a wall&uot; late in the season and struggled.

&uot;Everybody knows each other, and everybody is real close in age,&uot; Cooper said. &uot;I’ve got a good feeling. We like the same things, and we bond very well. We’re young, but we’ve got chemistry.&uot;