Sitting on the sidelines is never easy.
    Doing it after your junior year in which you finished second on the team in tackles is much, much harder.
    Georgia Southern middle linebacker Josh Rowe went from being the heart of the Eagles’ defense in 2011 to coming up academically ineligible in 2012. He practiced with the scout team while redshirting.
    “Typically it happens earlier in a career. (Slotback) Tray Butler had to sit out after his freshman year, (defensive back) Javonte Martin had to sit a year, those guys were in the same boat,” GSU coach Jeff Monken said. “It’s not very much fun when you’ve been on the field, and now you’ve got to be on the scout team and spend the weekend in your dorm room while everyone else is traveling to a road game.”
    But Rowe worked hard in the classroom in the field so he could play out his senior year in 2013.
    “Georgia Southern is a special place, and these guys on my team helped me get through the hard time that I went through,” Rowe said. “They helped me bounce back. They believed in me, the coaches believed in me, and I didn’t want to let anybody down. Having those guys support me, having my teammates with me, that helped me out a lot and made my job a lot easier.”
    The hard part, it turns out, was lining up opposite the best rushing offense in the nation — the Eagles racked up 5,591 rushing yards and scored 55 touchdowns on the ground last season — every single day.
    In other words, there was no slacking off. Rowe had to stay on his toes.
    “I had to, I’ll tell you what,” he said. “Going against the number one rushing team in the nation every day? That’s pretty tough. We had to bring it. If you slack off, you get ran right through.”
    Rowe hasn’t played in a game since the Eagles lost to North Dakota State in the semifinals of the 2011 Football Championship Subdivision playoffs on Dec. 17, 2011 in Fargo, N.D., so he’s chopping at the bit to get back on the field.
    Fortunately, he’s still got three weeks before the Eagles face Savannah State on Saturday, Aug. 31, at Paulson Stadium.
    “You have to knock off a little rust,” Rowe said. “It’s been a while. But it’s the second week of camp, the second day of pads, so I’m just going to take it a day at a time.”
    “He’s working hard,” Monken added. “He’s really making an effort out there to get back in the groove.”
    Despite being such an impact player from 2009 through 2011, Rowe’s got some big shoes to fill at linebacker.
    In his place, former walk-on John Stevenson started all 14 games and led the Eagles with 103 tackles, earning a tryout with the New York Giants.
    In his first three seasons, Rowe started 39 games. He has recorded 198 tackles, including 17 for loss.
    Georgia Southern will get its first break from practice today. The Eagles resume fall camp with a pair of practices on Thursday.

    Matt Yogus may be reached at (912) 489-9408.