Southeast Missouri State University student publication

Defense switches to a new 3-4 scheme

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

A new defensive scheme has been put in place for the Southeast Missouri State Redhawks football team under first-year defensive coordinator Bryce Saia.

This new 3-4 scheme is designed to help a defense that was ranked next to last in total defense in the Ohio Valley Conference last season.

"They've bought in," Saia said of his players. "I'm very happy with them and the transition. Getting caught up in a coaching change isn't easy, but they're doing a great job of it."

After having four defensive line positions last season, players will be competing for playing time with only three starting spots this season.

Starting on the defensive line this season is junior defensive tackles Travis Sanders and Jon Slania along with sophomore nose tackle Marlon Hampton.

Sanders and Slania both started on last year's defensive line along with sophomore defensive ends Austin Black and Selwyn Carrol.

"It's been a little bit different for me as a smaller guy on the 4-3 scheme that I was in," Black said. "I had to put on a little bit more weight to get ready to play that defensive end spot that we have."

Hampton played in all 12 games last season and recorded 14 tackles, two tackles for a loss and 1.5 sacks.

Black and Carrol will be competing for playing time as they are currently not starting, but defensive line coach Ricky Coon made it clear that rotation on this year's line is vital.

"Obviously the more guys you have that can help you, the better," Coon said. "Right now we're trying to solidify a solid two deep, so six people in that three man front, and we've really got to find that seventh and eighth man, those role players to play in spot-man situations. But our top six, I feel pretty good about those guys and we need a couple more guys to just step up a little bit because you never know. That's a position that takes a lot of physical beating and you're going to need seven or eight guys to play."

Black registered 52 tackles and 4.5 sacks last season, which earned him many accolades such as being named to the First-Team Phil Steele Freshman All-America, and he was one of 21 finalists for the Sports Network's Jerry Rice award.

"He has done a great job for us," Coon said. "He's going to be playing our defensive end position, which is on that front three. He's going to rotate in and we expect him to be a contributor for us."

As for the linebacking corps, senior Wisler Ymonice and sophomore Roper Garrett are returning from big seasons last year where they accounted for a combined total of 131 tackles.

Ymonice will continue playing outside linebacker this season, but his role has heavily changed as a linebacker in this new scheme.

"It's been amazing," Ymonice said. "Coach Saia has done a great job in teaching us the concept of the defense and just giving us the material needed to understand how everything fits and makes the whole defense work. So it's been great. It allows us to make a lot of plays and just allows us to run to the ball and just do what we do best."

The other starting outside linebacker for the Redhawks this season will be sophomore Chad Meredith, who played in eight games last season.

Garrett played in all 12 games last season and started two of them in his first year on the field after he redshirted as a walk-on in 2012.

As of now, Garrett will be joined in the middle of the defense by freshman inside linebacker Hunter Bledsoe, who was named first-team all-state and all-region at Briarcrest High School in Tennessee.

"For me it's a really good thing because of how they have the front setup," Garrett said. "It's easier for us to get through without getting picked up by some of the offensive lineman getting at us, so I have really enjoyed it."

Returning defensive backs like senior cornerbacks Reggie Jennings, Tim Hamm-Bey and senior strong safety Ron Davis will bring experience to the secondary as they played in every game last season.

Jennings and Davis started every game at their respective position and accounted for three of the 12 interceptions Southeast defenders recorded last season.

Davis is returning as the team's third-leading tackler after he made 64 tackles during the 2013 season.

Hamm-Bey started the last two games of the season against Austin Peay and Jacksonville State. Jacksonville State is ranked No. 6 in the Football Championship Subdivision Top 25 which is the highest preseason ranking for any Ohio Valley Conference team in the last decade.

Junior David Coley, who played in 11 games last season, will be starting this season at free safety.

"We've just grown really close, and I feel like I've been coached by this coaching staff my whole life so far," Garrett said. "I feel like we're going to grow tighter and stronger as a team and do really good things this year."

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