Disruption is the name of the game for Zion-Benton senior Josiah Funderburg, and he plays it well.
As the 6-foot-2, 270-pound nose tackle in the Zee-Bees’ promising defense, Funderburg is equipped with more than the physical tools necessary to achieve his goal in his third season starting.
“My main job is to stop the play from doing what the offense wants it to,” he said. “I’ve been learning a lot more about the position and learning new moves. I know a lot more ways now to use my power. You have to be able to use your skills the right way.”
Funderburg used those skills to great effect during Zion-Benton’s 61-12 nonconference win over North Chicago last week. His four sacks were among the headline-grabbing developments in the teams’ season opener.
Maintaining that level of havoc will be difficult, but Funderburg provides a sturdy foundation for a defensive unit that allowed an average of 35.2 points in the Zee-Bees’ five losses last season.
“He decided to put in the extra work, and he’s picked up a lot of new things,” Zion-Benton coach MacArthur White said. “That’s the reason he’s become the player he is today.
“A lot of people see his size and figure that’s all he can use. But before you know it, he’ll pull a spin move or a swipe, and he’ll be by you.”
Funderburg has worked closely with new defensive line coach Jeff Norman, a 2008 Zion-Benton graduate who had been coaching on the lower levels. Under Norman, the defensive linemen as a group are doing drills and emphasizing parts of the position that weren’t given as much attention previously, and Funderburg has been a chief beneficiary.
“We’ve been practicing with a lot of ball-eye tracking drills, and that’s allowed me to see things faster,” Funderburg said. “If we don’t react to the snap, we do burpees, which we don’t like doing. It makes us practice better, which translates into games.”
Funderburg was able to exploit a sizable physical edge in the season opener, but that won’t always be the case moving forward.
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“He’s very coachable, and he buys into everything,” Norman said. “He takes everything in and truly digests it. You don’t see four sacks very often. So that’s where he’s prepared to be involved in more of a chess match.
“His fundamentals are still a little raw. He just needs polish. But he’s so eager to learn.”
Funderburg also continues to be devoted to the weight room. He has always had prodigious strength — he was able to bench press more than 200 pounds before he started high school — but that has been bolstered since he started receiving individualized instruction at a nearby ETS Performance location in the past year.
Funderburg squats 600 pounds and is all but assured of breaking Zion-Benton’s all-time record in the bench press, 405 pounds, which is held by Nelson. Funderburg said he has already exceeded that amount, but it hasn’t been witnessed by the right people at the school to go in the record books.
“The nose is kind of a different position because you have to take on two or even three blockers at the same time,” Funderburg said. “So being stronger and more explosive allows me to get onto the offensive linemen faster.
“And when I play on offense (mostly in goal-line situations), they can’t deal with that. They’re not messing with me there.”
With his varsity experience and new skills, Funderburg feels very different about his overall game this season.
“Everything was much harder to process as a sophomore, but with coach Norman, we’re taking the defensive line position in a new direction,” he said.
After the season opener, Funderburg’s confidence has reached an all-time high.
“I was so energized that night, I felt like I could have played quarterback,” he said. “Being more explosive, I’m firing off the ball faster than offensive linemen now, and I’m usually in the backfield right as they snap. That’s a supreme place to be.”
Funderburg also has confidence that the Zee-Bees can qualify for the playoffs for the first time since 2018, and he sees himself as one of the cornerstones in that effort. They’ll play Rich Township at home on Friday.
“There’s a different feel around the team this year,” Funderburg said. “We all have to get 1% better every day. Every day is a chance for me to improve and grind harder. Maybe I’ll get six sacks next game.
“I’m just happy this version of me is coming out now.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.