Defensive Line To Be Kat Strength
8/23/2015 5:00:00 PM | Football
When looking back at the strengths of last year's Southland Conference championship team, head coach K. C. Keeler points to the emergence of the young Bearkat defensive line as one of the factors in the team's drive to the FCS semifinals.
“We had a big transformation with the huge step forward the defensive line took last year,” Keeler said. “With the up tempo passing offenses we face, getting pressure on the quarterback is vital.”
In 2013, the Sam Houston defense totaled 81 tackles for losses and 26 sacks. Last year, the Kat defenders upped those totals to 149 tackles for losses that totaled 308 yards. The defense sacked opposing quarterbacks 40 times for 251 negative yards.
Sam Houston looks to keep up the pressure on Southland Conference quarterbacks with all four starters returning from last year's 11-5 championship squad.
“We had a lot of success last year and we're trying to build on that,” Bearkat defensive end Mouf Adebo said. “We've got more chemistry and we know how each of us play now. So we're looking forward to the opportunities this year.”
Adebo and defensive end P. J. Hall both were named to the Southland Conference's preseason all-conference team. The pair combined for 19 sacks and 46 tackles for losses last year.
“It's great to have those honors, but we try not to pay too much attention to them,” Hall said. “We've just got to work hard and do our job and all those accolades will come. I'm pretty sure we will have more on the defensive line this year than we did last year.”
Hall was named as Southland Conference “Freshman of the Year” in 2014. He also was the top defensive player in the voting for the Jerry Rice award for FCS national freshman of the year. The Seguin High School product placed third in the balloting.
After coming only one tackle short of the Sam Houston school mark for tackles for loss with 30 in 2014, Hall looks to see more double teams from opponents this fall.
“It's going to free everyone up for more one-one matchups,” Hall said. “I know that we can beat people in those situations.”
Sam Houston looks to have more depth in the defensive line this year as well.
“The coaches show us our ratings at the end of the year and we're trying to be first in sacks, tackles for loss, run defense and red zone defense, or at least in the top 10,” defensive tackle Sione Latu said.
With a year of starting experience under their belts, Hall, Adebo, Latu and defensive tackle Jacobi Hunter believe their communication on the field and a second year under the tutelage of defensive line coach Phil Petitte and defensive ends coach Rodrique Wright will make them even tougher to defend this season.
“Our coaches do a good job of showing us what the opposing offense's weaknesses are,” Hall said. “So we know what we need to work on when going up against their offensive linemen that week. We work on getting off the ball and, if we know it's going to be a pass we relay it throughout the while defensive line so that we can get a good jump off the ball.”
The Bearkats return plenty of experience aside from the four starts in the defensive line. Tackle James DeLaRosa and ends Luis Carreno and Steve York all have started at least one game during their college careers. They plan on playing meaningful minutes this season.
“It's a talented group, but it's more than the starting four,” Petitte said. “We're going to play four or five defensive ends. We're going to play five or six guys inside every game. We're so far ahead of where we were at this time last year. It's a tribute to the returning guys. The young guys have gotten better because of them.”
Sam Houston opens the 2015 season in less than two weeks, traveling to Lubbock on Saturday Sept. 5 to take on Texas Tech in a 2:30 p.m. contest. The team will play six games at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium beginning with the Southland Conference opener on Saturday Sept. 19 against Lamar.
Football tickets are on sale online at www.gobearkats.com or at the Sam Houston athletic ticket office located on the west side of Bowers Stadium. The ticket office telephone number is (936) 294-1729.
