Breaking through; Aggie defensive line starting fresh
It’s all starts on the lines.
That is what most any football coach would say makes a good football team. Whether it is the protection of a team’s quarterback, opening holes for running backs on the offensive side of the ball or doing everything a team can to counteract those things from the defensive side, every play starts on the lines.
For 2011, Utah State’s defensive line will have a new look, as the defensive front seven will make the conversion from the 4-3 defense that has been run in years’ past to a 3-4, putting one less defensive lineman on the field at all times and demanding more push up front from the three lineman out there.
That challenge of learning to play in a new defensive scheme will be coupled with the task of replacing the production from six graduating lettermen who saw significant time on the D-line last year, losing would-be sophomore Jason Fanaika to a mission and sophomore D.J. Tialavea to the offensive side of the ball, where he’ll play tight end.
Replacing eight players at any position will come with its challenges, but new defensive line coach Frank Maile is optimistic that the unit as a whole can develop into one of the team’s strengths by the time the season rolls around.
“I have three returning players who have played a Division I snap,” Maile said. “So they have a long ways to go, but there’s a lot of promise there.”
Two of those three returners are defensive ends Quinn Garner and Levi Koskan, both of whom will be entering their senior seasons and both of whom have been steady contributors on the Aggies’ D-line throughout their careers.
Koskan returns following a season in which he led the team in both sacks and tackles for loss (TFL), with 4.5 and 8.5 respectively. Koskan also tied for the team-lead in sacks as a sophomore.
Garner wasn’t far behind, finishing third on the team in TFL’s with five and second only to Koskan in sacks with 2.5 on the year. Garner also had one interception last season.
Behind that returning duo, the D-line appears to be a work in progress, but one that coaches are viewing with optomism.
“We have a lot of great athletes and we’ve just got to develop them,” Maile said.
Leading the charge of those great athletes is the man who looks to be the anchor of the 3-4 defense, nose guard Evan Huahulu.
The junior transfer from Southern Methodist University will finally be suiting up for the Aggies after sitting out last season due to transfer rules, and his potential impact up the middle is something the coaching staff knows could be great.
“Evan has an opportunity to be a tremendous player,” USU head coach, and new defensive coordinator, Gary Andersen said.
That potential greatness isn’t without it’s kinks that need to be worked out however.
“Evan has a few technical things that we’re working on as far as his technique,” Maile said. “When Evan decides to clean everything up as far as his technique and when he gets everything down, there’s no nose guard like him in the WAC.”
While Maile did say that he anticipates Huahulu to be an impact player for USU, Andersen echoed that there is still work to be done.
“He needs to get better, there’s absolutely no question,” Andersen said. “He knows exactly what he needs to work on.”
One advantage for Huahulu is that the 3-4 defense is no unfamiliar territory for him, as his previous defense at SMU also ran a 3-4.
“It’s tough,” Huahulu said. “It’s guaranteed I’m going to get a double team the majority of the time. It might be a triple team. You never know.”
Huahulu said that he and the rest of the defense have adopted a new theme for themselves this season, “To’a,” which Huahulu said is a Tongan word for the bad guy or the tough guy.
“You’ve just got to be nasty,” he said.
And even if his contributions don’t show up next to his name on a stat-sheet, Huahulu is hopeful that his impact can be seen through his teammates’ production.
Huahulu said, “I’m hoping Bobby (Wagner) will take me out to dinner or something for all the sacks he’s going to get, because we basically make them look better than they already are. I’m going to help them out. Do it for the team.”
Huahulu, Garner and Koskan aren’t the only players in the mix for playing time among the front three for USU, though. With Koskan out for spring practices with a knee injury, sophomore Connor Williams, a converted linebacker, has stepped up and impressed coaches so far through practices.
“Connor Williams has come in and been steady all practices so far,” Andersen said. “He’s gained some weight, but he’s come in and been solid. Al Lapuaho has come in and played very well so far, as well as B.J. Larsen, as well as Kevin Whimpey.”
All-in-all, just six players out of 15 total defensive linemen were on USU’s roster at the start of last season, leaving plenty of spots in the two-deep open for competition, but players and coaches alike are excited about what they’ve seen so far from the newcomers.
Huahulu was straightforward when he said, “We’ve got a lot of new guys coming in that are going to be really good.”
Andersen has similar feelings.
“We’re looking at six ends right now that are really rolling through there,” Andersen said. “It’s a great problem to have to be able to start to develop some depth, but we’re looking for separation to occur in that group and a couple of them have stood out.”
– matt.sonn@aggiemail.usu.edu