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Sam Houston State defensive back DeAntrey Loche, right, wraps up a teammate Tuesday morning during position drills at Bowers Stadium. Last season the Bearkats’ secondary struggled with three starting freshmen in a new defensive scheme. With a year of experience and some talented returning players, the secondary could be one of Sam Houston’s biggest strengths heading into the season. d.j. shafer/the huntsville item

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August 10, 2010

A year after struggles, young Kats secondary looks to be strength in upcoming season

By Cody Stark Assistant Sports Editor The Huntsville Item Tue Aug 10, 2010, 10:39 PM CDT

HUNTSVILLE — It is no secret that one of Sam Houston State’s biggest weaknesses last season came in the secondary.

The Bearkats started three freshmen, two safeties and a cornerback, who got on-the-job training while taking their fair share of lumps.

One doesn’t have to look any further than last year’s season opener against Western Illinois to get an idea of how much inexperience played a part in Sam Houston’s struggles. The Leathernecks, who ran a run-oriented offense, threw for 437 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-28 victory at Bowers Stadium.

By the time the dust had settled, the Bearkat secondary ranked sixth out of eight teams in the Southland Conference in pass defense at 253.5 yards a game.

“Last season, at the beginning, we were just freshmen and we didn’t know anything,” sophomore safety Kenneth Jenkins said Tuesday morning. “We had mental errors, rookie errors. But toward the end, we started picking up the plays. We did better and we are carrying it over. Everybody is back this season.”

The Bearkats did protect the secondary better toward the end of last season. In the second-to-last game, Sam Houston held Central Arkansas to 106 yards passing and picked off two passes. That effort helped snap a three-game losing streak to the Bears.

What was once a major weakness could now be a strength for the Kats heading into this season. Those three freshmen — Darnell Taylor, Jenkins and Robert Shaw — are a year older, and more importantly, have now been in defensive coordinator Scott Stoker’s scheme for an entire season.

Throw in senior cornerback Jarvis Pippins and senior safeties Victor Carmichael and Brandon Bruce, and Sam Houston all of the sudden has a veteran secondary.

“I think the biggest thing is that these guys have been in the system for a year and we can go a lot faster and our adjustments are a lot easier,” Stoker said Tuesday. “That is a huge difference when you call something and they actually know what to do instead of having to pair back so much. We have been able to expand a lot with those guys this year.”

About the only concern right now is depth at cornerback. Pippins and Shaw give the Bearkats a pair of solid starters on the outside, but as of now, there isn’t much depth.

Redshirt freshman DeAntry Loche is one of the guys the SHSU coaching staff is looking at to provide help at the corner spot. Senior Michael Pittman could also factor in. He was listed as a backup on the two-deep roster following spring drills.

Depth isn’t an issue at safety. Jenkins, who led the team in tackles in 2009, Taylor and Carmichael all started at some point last season. Bruce, is also an asset, he started four games at cornerback and two at safety.

Junior safety Randy Stewart could also boost the secondary if he can stay healthy. He missed last season with an injury, and so far, he has been limited in preseason camp with a sore hamstring.

“We need to build some depth at cornerback. We feel good about Robert Shaw and Jarvis Pippins, but we need to get a couple of more guys that can play over there,” SHSU head coach Willie Fritz said Tuesday. “I really like our safeties. Darnell Taylor is a heck of a player. Kenneth Jenkins is a heck of a player. Chuck Obi has done some nice things. He had a pick today for a touchdown.

“Randy Stewart is hurt right now, and that is hurting us with our depth. Duke Bohall, a kid we thought could come in here and play for us, has been hurt. Mike Littleton is a front-line player in this league and so is Victor Carmichael. Brandon Bruce has played a lot of ball here.

“So we do have some depth at safety,” the coach added. “We just need to add some depth to the corner spot.”

Last season the SHSU offense had to score a lot of points to carry a young, inexperience secondary. It didn’t always work out, but the shoe is on the other foot this time around.

Most of the question marks heading into 2010 are on the offensive side of the ball, so the defense might have to bolster the load early on.

“Coach Fritz and coach Stoker are basically saying that we need to be rolling coming into the season,” Pippins said Tuesday. “They have a lot of great players on the offensive side of the ball, but they are just young. It might take a few games for them to get some experience, but we believe in our offense. Until they pick it up, we have to come with it on defense.”

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All grown up

A year after struggles, young Kats secondary looks to be strength in upcoming season

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