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After being nagged by injuries over his career, Jada Sullivan will take on a new role with the Catamount defense this fall, spending his final year of eligibilty as a student assistant coach the the unit.
Depsite injuries, Sullivan has been one of Western's most productive and respected players over the past three seasons. Although missing most of spring practice in 2005, he was still selected the defense's "Most Valuable Athlete."
As a junior, Sullivan played in 10 games, starting nine, and ranked fifth on the team with 45 tackles despite missing time due to injury. His 11 tackles for loss tied for the team lead, while his average of 1.0 TFL/game ranked sixth in the Southern Conference. Sullivan played a key role in WCU ranking 12th nationally in total defense. His best game of the 2004 season came at Gardner-Webb, where he led the team and had a season-high with 11 tackles, including seven solo stops. In 2003, Sullivan played in 11 games of WCU's 12 games, starting eight, and ranked fourth on the team with 61 tackles, including nine for losses. He tallied a career-high 12 tackles at Duke and was credited with 10 stops at Appalachian State.
Prior to his redshirt freshman season (2002), Sullivan moved from strong safety to linebacker in the spring and started the first eight games before missing the last three contests with a shoulder injury. Despite the setback, he still ranked 10th on the team in tackles with 40. Sullivan recovered three fumbles to tie for the team lead and rank third (tied) in the SoCon.
Sullivan was selected all-region on defense as a safety and all-region on offense as a wide receiver at Hillcrest High. The Simpsonville, S.C., native was also an all-county performer on both sides of the ball. Sullivan is Hillcrest's all-time receiver with 143 catches and 1,722 yards, setting school single-season records with 56 receptions and 861 yards.
