Finding the ball carrier has always been linebacker Ryland Wickman?s forte.

In his four-year career with the Hornets he set the record for total tackles with 435. During those years Wickman also was an All-Big Sky selection each year, including first team in 1998.

Now, Wickman is currently seventh in the league in tackles for the CFL?s Winnipeg Blue Bombers with 57. The NFL scouts had questioned whether he would be big enough to play linebacker or fast enough to handle the coverage responsibility of playing strong safety. “He was our best player for four years,” linebacker Coach Lou Baiz said about Wickman?s years at Sac State.

No matter what linebacker position he played (strong, weak, or middle) he was a tackling machine whose play spearheaded the Hornet defense every time he took the field. “He set the tempo here,” Sac State head coach John Volek said. “He was a leader by example.”

In addition to making a plethora of tackles, big plays and jarring hits, Wickman?s play gave the Hornets game-to-game consistency and leadership. As a player for the Hornets, the former running back never missed a game or practice and played with injuries.

“He was a warrior,” Baiz said.

Wickman?s success was due to the way he approached the game despite not having the overwhelming physical measures or the triangle numbers, (height, weight and speed) which scouts look for. His coaches watched him and saw a complete player.

“He had the stuff you couldn?t measure,” Volek said.

Volek believed that Wickman?s ability to take on 300-pounders on the way to the ball set him apart from other players. Baiz believed that he had “good snap in the hips” which allowed him to close in on the ball carrier. His tenacity and instictiveness also allowed him to chase down runners.

“He was a very ballistic player,” Baiz said.

Although Wickman?s speed in front of a stopwatch was in question, his game speed was never an issue.

During his years at Sac State, Wickman, who was decorated with tattoos, earrings, and what Biaz described as a “Bob Marley truck,” was a noticeable figure on campus. “He was also known as a guy who would jump off a bridge or two,” Biaz said.

“He lived life to the fullest,” Volek said. “Taking on fullbacks or 300 lb. guards was like second nature to him.”

Although a Blue Bomber now, Wickman is also being looked at as a prospect for the XFL league in the spring. Regardless of what league, position, or defense Wickman is playing in, he will find his way to the ball carrier.