Defense looks to get better
3/27/2012 8:42:00 AM | Football
It would be quite a challenge to find a defense that was distinctly better than Sam Houston's last season.
Whether it was defending the pass or stopping the run, the Bearkats defense was among the best in all of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Complemented with an explosive offensive attack, Sam Houston rode its stellar defense from the start of the season all the way to the national championship game to cap a historical season.
"Last year, we made it to that big dance, but we didn't accomplish that goal of getting that W," Kats defensive lineman Jarrett Brown said following practice on Monday.
"Us as a defense as a whole, we've got a chip on our shoulder to get better every day, so we can get there, get to our goal again and get the big prize."
With the few amount of weeks they have in the spring to work on and improve aspects of their game, the Bearkats are still finding ways to make their already powerful defense an even better product in 2012.
"We're talking about getting better from the national championship game and make another step," safety Mike Littleton said.
One of the ways that the Bearkats are trying to do that is by adding a few new dimensions to the overall look and deployment of their defense.
"We're trying to get a little more elaborate in our schemes. We've got so many guys coming back," Kats head coach Willie Fritz said. "We've got 15 guys that started at least one game for us. Of those 15, nine have started double-digit games for us, so we've got a lot of experience.
"We're trying to change our schemes up a little bit and trying to get a bit more intricate. (Defensive coordinator Scott) Stoker has come up with some fronts that we haven't really shown before and I think that will be interesting.
"During this time, you either get better or stay the same and we're working to get better."
With nine returning starters on the defense, including six soon-to-be seniors, Sam Houston's defense strives to be even better by the time the 2012 season kicks off on Sept. 8.
in 2011, the Bearkats ranked in the top five in the FCS in several defensive categories, so it's no surprise that they went as far as they did during the regular season in which they went a perfect 11-0 and then in the playoffs marching to the FCS title game.
Sam Houston finished the season with the second-ranked scoring defense (14.93 points per game), third in total defense (279.93 yards allowed per game) and fourth in pass efficiency defense.
What allowed the Kats to have such a historical campaign was their run defense, which was the best in the FCS at just a mere 72.9 rushing yards allowed per game. That was the goal entering the season last fall and that will continue to be Sam Houston's bread and butter if the Kats have it their way.
"From my point of view, we're going to stop the run and that's controlling it up front. I know the back end, they're going to do the same," Brown said.
"When coach Stoker says to control the run game, his emphasis is about doing everything fast - blitzing fast, getting to our gaps fast. That's what makes the difference and controls the run game."
With all five starting defensive backs and their back-ups coming back to a secondary that last fall accounted for 16 the Bearkats' FCS-leading 23 interceptions, the Sam Houston secondary believes that they also have a lot of room for improvement.
"You can't ever say you can't get better," Littleton said. "I think we can get better with our man coverage and get more turnovers. Coach tells us we can probably double our turnovers because we dropped a lot of balls."
What the Bearkats also hope to accomplish is establishing more depth in the spring with younger players stepping into back-up roles.
"We have some pretty nice depth at the defensive line position," Fritz said. "At the linebacker spot, we only have two guys that have really played a lot for us and we need to get a couple of more guys because we had the luxury of having four linebackers playing a ton for us last season.
"In the secondary, we're really fortunate that we stayed away from injuries there last year. We need to develop a few more guys in that area as well."
The Bearkats have just a few more weeks to get as much work in and make the most out of their time as possible before the spring football session wraps up with the annual Orange-White Game on April 18.
"We've got a lot of work to do to get where we need to be. I know it's just the fourth. We're not even 75 percent there," Brown added. "We've got a lot of work to do and we're going to try to get there."
Whether it was defending the pass or stopping the run, the Bearkats defense was among the best in all of the Football Championship Subdivision.
Complemented with an explosive offensive attack, Sam Houston rode its stellar defense from the start of the season all the way to the national championship game to cap a historical season.
"Last year, we made it to that big dance, but we didn't accomplish that goal of getting that W," Kats defensive lineman Jarrett Brown said following practice on Monday.
"Us as a defense as a whole, we've got a chip on our shoulder to get better every day, so we can get there, get to our goal again and get the big prize."
With the few amount of weeks they have in the spring to work on and improve aspects of their game, the Bearkats are still finding ways to make their already powerful defense an even better product in 2012.
"We're talking about getting better from the national championship game and make another step," safety Mike Littleton said.
One of the ways that the Bearkats are trying to do that is by adding a few new dimensions to the overall look and deployment of their defense.
"We're trying to get a little more elaborate in our schemes. We've got so many guys coming back," Kats head coach Willie Fritz said. "We've got 15 guys that started at least one game for us. Of those 15, nine have started double-digit games for us, so we've got a lot of experience.
"We're trying to change our schemes up a little bit and trying to get a bit more intricate. (Defensive coordinator Scott) Stoker has come up with some fronts that we haven't really shown before and I think that will be interesting.
"During this time, you either get better or stay the same and we're working to get better."
With nine returning starters on the defense, including six soon-to-be seniors, Sam Houston's defense strives to be even better by the time the 2012 season kicks off on Sept. 8.
in 2011, the Bearkats ranked in the top five in the FCS in several defensive categories, so it's no surprise that they went as far as they did during the regular season in which they went a perfect 11-0 and then in the playoffs marching to the FCS title game.
Sam Houston finished the season with the second-ranked scoring defense (14.93 points per game), third in total defense (279.93 yards allowed per game) and fourth in pass efficiency defense.
What allowed the Kats to have such a historical campaign was their run defense, which was the best in the FCS at just a mere 72.9 rushing yards allowed per game. That was the goal entering the season last fall and that will continue to be Sam Houston's bread and butter if the Kats have it their way.
"From my point of view, we're going to stop the run and that's controlling it up front. I know the back end, they're going to do the same," Brown said.
"When coach Stoker says to control the run game, his emphasis is about doing everything fast - blitzing fast, getting to our gaps fast. That's what makes the difference and controls the run game."
With all five starting defensive backs and their back-ups coming back to a secondary that last fall accounted for 16 the Bearkats' FCS-leading 23 interceptions, the Sam Houston secondary believes that they also have a lot of room for improvement.
"You can't ever say you can't get better," Littleton said. "I think we can get better with our man coverage and get more turnovers. Coach tells us we can probably double our turnovers because we dropped a lot of balls."
What the Bearkats also hope to accomplish is establishing more depth in the spring with younger players stepping into back-up roles.
"We have some pretty nice depth at the defensive line position," Fritz said. "At the linebacker spot, we only have two guys that have really played a lot for us and we need to get a couple of more guys because we had the luxury of having four linebackers playing a ton for us last season.
"In the secondary, we're really fortunate that we stayed away from injuries there last year. We need to develop a few more guys in that area as well."
The Bearkats have just a few more weeks to get as much work in and make the most out of their time as possible before the spring football session wraps up with the annual Orange-White Game on April 18.
"We've got a lot of work to do to get where we need to be. I know it's just the fourth. We're not even 75 percent there," Brown added. "We've got a lot of work to do and we're going to try to get there."
Sam Houston State spring drills will continue through Wednesday April 18 when practice will climax with the Orange-White spring game at Bowers Stadium. Practice sessions are Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
Season tickets are now on sale for the Bearkats' 2012 football season. For more information, go online to www.gobearkats.com/tickets or call the Sam Houston athletic ticket office at (936) 294-1729.
Players Mentioned
DL
/ Football
DB
/ FootballThursday, July 30
Thursday, July 30
Thursday, July 30
Friday, July 17
