This week’s Defensive Player of the Week is Orange junior linebacker Jakai Torain. Last week against Hillside, Torain recorded three sacks. With Hillside threatening to take the lead in the waning seconds of regulation, Torain sacked Hornets quarterback Xavier Stephenson, which forced overtime. Through the first three games of the season, Torain leads Orange with 30 tackles. Last season, Torain played both ways as a fullback and a linebacker. Now, he’s completely focused on defense and the results show it. He leads the team with three tackles for loss and three sacks. Against Chapel Hill, Torain led Orange with 12 tackles in a 30-0 win at Culton-Peerman Stadium. It was the first time Orange shutout Chapel Hill since 2016. Against Hillside, Torain paced Orange with eleven tackles. In the season opener, Torain had seven tackles against Southeast Alamance in Haw River. Last season as a sophomore, Torain was the leading tackler on the team with 75. That included a season-high 13 tackles against Eastern Guilford. Against Carrboro on October 17, Torain recorded 12 tackles. The following week, Torain had another 12 tackle game as the Panthers defeated South Granville 16-8 on Senior Night in Hillsborough. During the stint of Fritz Hessenthaler as the Panthers head coach, Torain has been the leader of Orange’s defense.
