Our defensive linemen currently on the roster are:
#51 Senior Colin Olson
#56 Senior Nathan Oquendo
#93 Senior Jordan Veloz
#95 Senior Mick Nelson
#94 Junior Grant Kasal
#99 Junior Khalen Saunders
#92 Sophomore Matt Costenson-Segura
#52 R. Freshman Alijah Burno
#91 R. Freshman Kyle Williams
#96 R. Freshman Fabian Harris
#97 R. Freshman Eryk Preston
Freshman Bryce Biddle
Freshman J’Len Smith
Freshman Luke Terrill
Freshman Cole Watts
Freshman Shabar Wilson
Seniors
Juniors
Sophomores
Redshirt Freshmen
True Freshmen
Of those players, here’s who played last year and their stats:
Khalen Saunders - 11 games played, 34 solo tackles, 49 total tackles, 5 for loss, 1.5 sacks
Mick Nelson - 11 games played, 8 solo tackles, 15 total tackles, 1.5 for loss
Colin Olson - 10 games played, 5 solo tackles, 13 total tackles, 3 for loss
Jordan Veloz - 11 games played, 8 solo tackles, 11 total tackles, 4 for loss, 1 forced fumble
Grant Kasal - 11 games played, 1 solo tackle, 4 total tackles, .5 for loss
Eryk Preston - 3 games played, 2 solo tackles, 2 total tackles
Due to the nature of D-Linemen smashing into offensive linemen, TEs, or a RB with the ball on nearly every play, they rotate out quite a bit. In terms of playing time, you’ll probably see the ones listed directly above as getting the majority of the starts and the playing time, but don’t be at all surprised to see everyone on the first list who isn’t a true freshman getting playing time.
Outside of transfers, this year is the first year that we’ll see a significant number of Coach Fisher’s recruits take the field (since most would have been redshirted last year). It’ll be interesting to see what the level of talent is for these new guys. I suspect we’ll see at least a few of them really step up as solid young players. I have high hopes for guys like Kyle Williams and Eryk Preston.
Just a note about Preston, he did play in 3 games last year before suffering a season-ending injury. NCAA rules state that a player can take a “medical hardship waiver” (medical redshirt) if the injury was season-ending (it was), occurred prior to the start of the first half of the season (it did), and the student athlete must not have competed in more than 30% of the season or 3 contests, whichever is greater (he didn’t). If the injury had occurred one game later, he would essentially have lost the season, but if you’re going to suffer a season-ending injury (not that any injury is good, obviously)...this was the “best” way for it to happen. Assuming his injury is all healed up, and since he already had 2 tackles in 3 games as a true freshman, this bodes well for his chances to put up some big numbers (for a D-Line guy) this season.
Kyle Williams is the second tallest defensive lineman on the roster, has a lot of strength, and was very highly regarded coming out of HS. He stands a really good chance of earning a starting spot at defensive end and could specialize in stopping taller TEs and knocking down low-thrown passes. For offenses that rely on a short passing game, I could see him becoming a problem for them.
Also, if I remember correctly, we are moving from a 4-3 defensive scheme to a 3-4. If you aren’t aware, 4-3 means that you line up 4 D-Linemen and 3 LBs. With a 3-4, you just switch that and go 3 D-Linemen and 4 LBs. There’s benefits to each scheme (and this article breaks down the difference as some of the variations) but essentially it comes down to personnel. I think our D-Line will be decent, but our LB corps this year (I’ll talk about them more in next week’s preview) could very well be one of the best in the FCS this year. Being able to put four of them on the field to either help with blocking or rushing or drop back and help with pass defense (something we SEVERELY struggled with last year) plays to our team’s defensive strength. Playing 3 instead of 4 linemen should also help reduce injuries, since they will be able to have more flexibility in terms of rotating players in and out.
Tyler Stockton is in charge of coaching the defensive line.
Scott Lawson - Board Admin