SPEARFISH - The intensity is back on the defensive side of the ball for the Black Hills State University football team.

Forest Sainsbury, a 2007 Dakota Athletic Conference second-team selection, missed all last season with a knee injury but is back on the field and ready to help lead what is shaping up to be a strong linebacking corps.

"Forest brings intensity to our defense, and it is very exciting to have him back because he is a leader who makes plays, and he is a tough guy," BHSU head coach Jay Long said. "In the spring, he made a lot of plays, so I am very happy with what we have seen so far.

The Yellow Jackets were hardly dealing with a bare cupboard at linebacker with three-year starter Sean Sweet and two-year starter Richard Fairhead back in the mix, but factoring in Sainsbury's 2007 statistics of 53 tackles, nine tackles for loss and 2-1/2 sacks only makes it a stronger unit.

"All of our linebackers have tremendous speed, and with our blitz package, they will be fun to watch," said Long.

Black Hills State led the conference in scoring defense and was among the leaders in rush defense and turnover margin a year ago.

The Yellow Jackets will have to replace one key linebacker in Tyler Tetrault, but strong linebacker play has become somewhat of a tradition for the Yellow Jackets.

Sainsbury was back on the practice field Friday as the Yellow Jackets kicked off fall camp. If the knee was hurting him it was hard to tell, as he went through all the drills and often was one of the first to finish.

"It means a lot to be back with the team because it is a family here," Sainsbury said. "We practice together, have a good time and get ready to play.

"It was tough (to watch last year) because I had a lot of friends and my roommate was on the team and there were a lot of seniors on the team that I had played with my entire career."

While Sainsbury may not know how he has bounced back from the injury until the games begin to count, he has been able to find a silver lining to having to spend a year on the sidelines.

"I learned a lot watching being on the sidelines because after being in it and then having to sit out you can see a lot," Sainsbury said. "I will just try to apply that now that I am playing."

Sainsbury has liked the energy and willingness to fly to the ball that he has seen from the defense so far. As far as the linebackers, Sainsbury believes that group can have a very productive season.

"We have a lot of experience with this group and a couple of us have played together," Sainsbury said. "We have a chance to be pretty good, but we just need to work on our communication, fly around and have fun."

For Sainsbury, effort and fun tends to lead to success. Throw in a good dose of intensity and the Yellow Jacket defense will be tough to deal with once fall rolls around.