By Mike London
mike.london@salisburypost.com

SALISBURY — Jelani Ziyad has always been an excellent student and now he’s become an excellent football player for the Salisbury Hornets.

Ziyad, a 5-foot-11, 275-pound tackle, had a dominant game recently as the Hornets wiped out East Davidson 57-6, making it eight games in a row in which the undefeated Hornets have allowed one touchdown or zero touchdowns.

“He had six tackles, and that’s a pretty crazy number for an interior lineman,” said SHS head coach Clayton Trivett. “Three tackles for loss, two sacks, a forced fumble. The best game he’s played this year.”

That’s one heck of a game. Ziyad used his strength to bull his way to the quarterback and used his surprising quickness to pounce on running back Brogan Hill.

“Going into it, we knew the running back was pretty good, knew that East Davidson relied heavily on him,” Ziyad said. “They run a lot of inside zone and power and I knew I had to control B-Gap (between the offensive guard and tackle). Their back had one run early for 30 yards, but we did a good job of shutting it down after that.”

Hill totaled 126 yards, but it took 28 carries, and the Hornets could live with that. The Golden Eagles were put in enough second-and-long and third-and-long situations that they threw the ball 19 times. That’s roughly 19 times more than they wanted to throw it. Salisbury picked off four of those 19, and they have people in the secondary who can go all the way when they get their hands on the ball. Deuce Walker and Torian Brown had pick-sixes.

Ziyad, a late bloomer who is drawing some recruiting interest, is just one of the football players in his family.

He is extremely proud of his older (but smaller) brother, Qadree Ziyad, who stood out at West Rowan. Qadree was a 220-pound freshman at Lenoir-Rhyne in 2022, but now he’s bulked up to being a 245-pound redshirt freshman. He is getting playing time as a defensive lineman for a strong L-R team. He recorded his first college sack recently against UVA Wise.

It’s been a good fall for the Ziyad family. Neither brother has lost yet.

“Lenoir-Rhyne had a great win in overtime against Limestone on Saturday and Quadree was in there in the fourth quarter,” Jelani said.

Jelani began his high school career at West, but transferred to Salisbury prior to the 2022-23 school year. He was a backup. He was disappointed, but he didn’t sulk. He didn’t squander the year. He soaked up knowledge in a reserve role.

“I played behind Anthony Dodd (the Central Carolina Conference Lineman of the Year) and had a chance to watch him and learn from him every day,” Ziyad said.

Then Ziyad got better over the summer. A lot better. He got in the weight room and transformed himself physically.

“I added 40 to 50 pounds to my bench press and 50 pounds to my squat,” Ziyad said. “I can tell a big difference on the field.”

While he packs a lot of weight on his thick, compact frame, most of that weight is muscle.

Still, he believes his quickness is even more important than strength when it comes to making plays.

“Everyone tells me that the biggest asset I have is my get-off,” Ziyad said.

As soon as the ball is snapped, Ziyad is moving faster than the people trying to block him. He and Saderion Robinson, the 320-pound nose who lines up next to him have made the Hornets tough to run the ball on and they can exert enormous pressure from the inside on pass plays.

“Ziyad is strong enough now to hold his ground against just about anyone, and he’s become a much more physical player as a senior,” said SHS defensive line coach Ryan Watts, a former Catawba Indian. “He’s huge as a run-stopper and stopping the run is so critical. That’s where your defense has to start, even against the teams that can throw it well.”

Ziyad’s improved strength and his quick get-off have led to a long string of sacks and TFLs. He should get more as the Hornets push for championships.

“He was new to the program last season, but now he has a ton of confidence,” Watts said. “He understands now what we do and how we do it. He’s become a senior leader. Now, it’s like he’s been here for four years.”