2018 FB Preview: Defensive Backs
8/15/2018 2:29:00 PM | Football
Season Tickets Available For 2018
The 2018 Sam Houston State Bearkat football season is nearly upon us, with Coach K.C. Keeler's group set to open up the year on September 8 vs Prairie View at Bowers Stadium.
This is the first of an eight-part preview, position by position of this year's squad, leading up to the 2018 season opener.
DEFENSIVE BACKFIELD NOTABLES
Returning: Adrian Contreras, Jaylen Thomas, Zyon McCollum, Daniel Adams, Javon Collins, Anthony Johnson, Ke'Shon Murray, Darius Mouton
Newcomers: Will Lockett, Ernest Harris, Immanuel Sutton
HUNTSVILLE – For the Sam Houston State Bearkats to take the next step in 2018 they know that much will hinge on the defensive side of the ball.
Recent seasons have seen the Kats lean heavily on its front seven as its defensive strength, but this season could prove differently with a talented secondary that could turn into an immediate difference maker for the preseason No. 4 team in the country.
Sam Houston allowed just two 300-yard passers in 2017 despite three starters in the secondary seeing their first action in a Bearkat uniform. That included starting a pair of true freshman corners – Jaylen Thomas and Zyon McCollum – in eight games while senior Josh Price and Adrian Contreras held down the safety spots.
What was inexperience a year ago now pivots to a seasoned secondary just 12 months later with three of four starters back, including a slew of newcomers that the Bearkat coaching staff feels could make for one of the most talented position groups on the field this year behind cornerbacks coach Gary McGraw and new safeties coach John Lovett.
“I feel really good about what we have this year,” head coach K.C. Keeler said. “I think defensively we are going to be different than what we were last year. We are going to be a bit of a work in progress, but we did not stand pat on anything.”
Now a senior, Contreras is set to anchor the secondary from his safety spot coming off a season that saw him rack up a career-high 93 tackles and earn honorable mention all-SLC honors. A three-year starter and team captain, Contreras will be surrounded by a youthful but talented corps of defensive backs that not only include McCollum and Thomas, but also senior cornerback Darius Mouton who joined the Kats last season after two years at UNLV.
Keeler and his staff also brought in UCLA transfer Will Lockett and signed junior college prospect Ernest Harris and freshman Immanuel Sutton, all of whom have been impressive early in camp and could vie for the open safety spot vacated upon Price's graduation.
“I think there are going to be some interesting competitions going on there, and I also think we have some flexibility to move Zyon back to safety if the corner spot is secure,” Keeler said. “He is one of those unusual guys who could start for us at corner, either safety spot or buck linebacker and allows us the flexibility for us to get the best 11 guys on the field.”
At 6-3, McCollum became the first Bearkat freshman since 2001 to intercept three passes in a season in 2017, pulling in a pick in each of Sam Houston's first two playoff games and comes into 2018 having been named a preseason all-SLC second team choice. Meanwhile, Keeler continues to boast on the skills of Thomas who earned honorable mention all-SLC honors in 2017.
“I think Jaylen was as good of a freshman corner as I've ever coached last year,” Keeler said in regard to Thomas. “I thought Darius (Mouton) had a great spring too, and Will (Lockett), Ernest (Harris) and Immanuel (Sutton) are all very talented.”
Lockett, who finished his career at Manvel HS in 2014, played in 23 games for the Bruins over the past two seasons while Harris brings a physical demeanor and 6-2 frame to the group after playing at Bakersfield Junior College. Meanwhile, Sutton was an early signee for the Kats in the fall of 2017 and was one of the top defensive back prospects coming out of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.
The Kats also got good work out of Mouton and Daniel Adams a year ago. Mouton played in all 14 games at cornerback for the Kats and broke up 10 passes in addition to making 49 stops, while Adams successfully made the transition from wide receiver into the secondary. He played in 11 games for the Kats and turned in some key performances, including racking up a season-high seven tackles at Prairie View and pulling in the game-clinching interception late in the season at Abilene Christian.
Adams, along with Javon Collins, Ke'Shon Murray and Anthony Johnson all also give the Kats plenty of depth to utilize in the defensive backfield as the squad approaches the Sept. 8 season opener against Prairie View at Bowers Stadium.
