Positional Breakdown
Southeastern Louisiana “We added the right depth in the right spots and linebacker was one of those areas,” Roberts said. “We moved Justin to outside linebacker and he had a good spring. We moved Cqulin inside and Kaleb outside and it worked out the best for both of them. They became better football players in those roles.”
“A.J. Bowen, William Stream and Darrell Green are guys in the 290-300 pound range who transferred in here with some experience and I expect them to compete for starting jobs,” Roberts said. “Down the road, I’m very excited about the three young players we signed – Taylor Cochran, Titus Charles and Javari Nichols. They are three very big, athletic guys and I don’t know if they’re going to get in the mix this fall. It depends on how the get to came and process everything.”
LDE 94 Jacob Newman (6-2, 275, Jr.) 45 A.J. Bowen (6-1, 295, Jr.) NG 91 Greg Triay (6-2, 275, Sr.) 57 William Stream (6-4, 300, Jr.) RDE 11 Jeremy Williams (6-1, 300, Sr.) 44 John Andrews (6-1, 270, Jr.)
Defensive Line Improved depth is a constant theme for the Lions on the defensive side of the ball and it all starts up front with the defensive line in Southeastern’s 3-3-5 scheme under defensive coordinator Pete Golding. A pair of seniors anchor the line for the Lions. Greg Triay (27 tackles in 2012) will be the team’s starting nose guard heading into the fall, while Jeremy Williams (22 tackles) is set to handle one of the defensive ends spots. Newcomer Jacob Newman came out of the spring with a handle on the other defensive end spot. “We’re going to be in a better situation up front, both depth-wise and being more physical, than we were last season and I feel comfortable with the guys we have in the mix,” Roberts said. “Coming out of spring practice, we had Greg, Jeremy and Jacob as our starters and I was really pleased with how those three played.”
Coahoma Community College product Isaiah Corbett is also expected to be in the mix for playing time. Also providing the depth will be returning veterans Drew Misita and Dereck Robinson.
LOLB 6 Isaiah Corbett (6-3, 250, Jr.) 95 Justin Church (6-4, 225, Jr.)
“Isaiah is a guy that I expect to come in here and compete for a starting job right away,” Roberts said. “We’re trying to get to where we have six guys that we can count on to play right away and have no drop off. That will allow us to stay fresh and be the type of defense that we want to develop here.”
MLB 51 Cqulin Hubert (6-1, 250, Sr.) 20 Drew Misita (6-1, 235, Jr.) ROLB 33 Kaleb Muse (6-0, 250, Jr.) 58 Dereck Robinson (5-10, 255, So.)
LCB 9 Denzel Thompson (6-3, 190, So.) 3 Tommy Elliott (5-10, 185, Jr.)
Linebackers Southeastern’s linebacker corps features a pair of returning starters who will be playing at different spots, while also moving another key performer to strengthen the group.
Lion 5 John Graves (6-0, 210, Sr.) 8 Devante Davis (5-10, 175, So.) FS 23 Tyler Stoddard (6-2, 205, Jr.) 4 Theo Alexander (6-4, 205, Sr.) RAM 2 Kevin Harmon (6-2, 195, Sr.) 7 Marice Sutton (5-10, 180, Jr.)
Roberts also believes that plenty of newcomers will make their presence felt in the coming year.
RCB 1 Todd Washington (5-11, 190, Sr.) 27 Harlan Miller (6-0, 170, So.)
Defensive Backs Though the Lions lost the most accomplished player since the program returned in 2003, the Southeastern secondary still features a wealth of talent. The Lion defensive backs will have big shoes to fill after All-American cornerback Robert Alford exhausted his eligibility. Roberts realizes the void Alford – a second round selection by the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL Draft – left, however he believes the Lions will be improved in the back end.
▲Kaleb Muse Junior Kaleb Muse, who led the team with 80 tackles in 2012 will move to the outside after manning the middle last season. The Ponchatoula native switches spots with senior Cqulin Hubert, who moves inside after posting 9.5 tackles for loss from the outside in his first season with the Lions out of Texas Tech. Junior Justin Church joins the linebacker forces after playing at defensive end for the previous two seasons.
▲Greg Triay 14 | www.LionSports.net
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“It’s going to be hard to replace Robert and all he did for us,” Roberts said. “But as a core group, all of our returning starters and backups improved. I’m expecting us to be much better in pass defense and in run support this year.”
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