“We’ll see,” Green said following Wednesday’s practice. “We’ve got a lot of new faces, and guys that have contributed on special teams the last couple of years get a chance to step on the field and play.”
The most seasoned of the bunch are defensive end Jabaree Tuani and defensive back Kwesi Mitchell, both seniors.
Tuani is a co-captain whom Coach Ken Niumatalolo called perhaps the best defensive lineman in program history. But Tuani missed spring practice recovering from offseason surgery on his right knee. Tuani completed training camp, though, without complications.
Mitchell, meantime, moves to safety, or specifically the rover position where Wyatt Middleton started and shined for four seasons. After playing safety his first two years, Mitchell started all but one game last season at left cornerback.
He has taken so well to rover, however, that Green has been able to tinker with the other three positions in the defensive backfield.
Senior David Wright and junior David Sperry, with a combined one start between them, are the first-string cornerbacks, and sophomore Shawn Lynch is set to start at free safety after playing two games at wide receiver last season.
“We’re past that. We’re just looking to ourselves,” Mitchell said about a secondary that will be without not only Middleton but also cornerback Kevin Edwards, a two-year starter. “We just know a leader has to emerge. We already have Jabaree, but somebody has to emerge from our group as well. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Guidance from Tuani and Mitchell will be especially imperative during the early portion of the season, when the defense still will be forging an identity and incorporating the new parts. Two of those first-time starters will be at linebacker, where seniors Jarred Shannon and Mason Graham take over for Aaron McCauley, who decided to leave the academy in the offseason, and Jerry Hauburger, who graduated.
McCauley and Hauburger were third and fourth on the Midshipmen in tackles last season as part of a unit that included Tyler Simmons, who led the team with 131 tackles, the second-most in 17 years. Junior Matt Warrick steps in for Simmons on the inside, and Max Blue starts at the other inside linebacker. Blue started five games there last season, including four in a row.
The defensive line was in flux at the start of camp as well, and only recently were the starting spots other than Tuani’s settled. Green said on Wednesday that 299-pound sophomore Alex Doolittle will start at nose guard, and junior Wes Henderson will start opposite Tuani at right defensive end.
When camp opened, the depth chart listed Henderson and senior Jared Marks as competing for the starting spot at nose guard, but Doolittle has emerged enough for Green to feel comfortable starting him in the first game of his college career.
Jamel Dobbs, another sophomore, also figures to play extensively on Saturday after impressing coaches during camp and in spring practice.
Dobbs is the cousin of graduated quarterback Ricky Dobbs, who over the past two seasons became among the most decorated players in the history of the program.
The rotation along the defensive line also includes Josh Dowling-Fitzpatrick. The junior moved from outside linebacker to defensive end during spring camp last year, and he’ll be among those charged with providing quarterback pressure following the graduation of Billy Yarborough, whose six sacks led the Midshipmen last season.
“We have to make sure that everything’s clear, that we’re clear when it comes to understanding what we’re doing playing in the framework of the defense,” Green said. “We just got to turn it loose and play hard. That’s the key thing.”
Loading...
Comments