Will Idaho State contend for the Big Sky Conference championship and its first playoff berth since 1984? With a killer schedule, a new quarterback and a new offensive coordinator, a lot of folks will be looking at whether the Bengals' can reproduce last year's record-setting offensive production to answer that question. But if you assume that a new QB and OC can lean heavily on the large number of weapons returning on the offensive side of the football, then the more pertinent question is: can Idaho State's defense take a step up from the opportunistic and functional unit they were last season, to become a more consistently resistent force that championship teams rely upon?
If you look at the numbers associated with last year's Bengal defense, two jump out at you: the Bengals were second in the conference in turnover margin (plus 10), and third in the league in sacks (29). Turnovers and sacks: momentum crushing plays that allowed ISU to overcome a defense that finished 10th in the league in yards allowed (475 per game), 12th in first downs allowed (25 per game), and 11th in third down conversions (46 percent). Typically, there are two kinds of successful defenses in the Big Sky Conference: Montana's, which is usually the most physically-dominanting, "lock down" type of D (last year, the Griz led the conference in scoring D -- 21 PPG, and yards given up per play -- 5.0); and all the other teams who manage to overcome giving up large chunks of yardage and lots of first downs by creating turnovers and generating sacks to get their defense off the field, and create short fields for their offense.
Idaho State was clearly in that last category in 2014. The Bengals gave up over 31 points and 474 yards per game last year, but they used "big plays" on both offense and defense to finesse their way to an 8-4 (6-2 in league) mark, their best in a decade.
Will the 2015 version of ISU's defense be able to replicate that level of momentum-changing big plays? If they are, the Bengals will have to replace two huge contributors to last year's success: linebacker Mitch Beckstead and rush end Austin Graves. Beckstead had 9.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, four interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Graves wracked up 11.5 TFLS, 9 sacks, four quarterback hurries and forced two fumbles. Replacing that kind of production is going to be tough, but it looks like ISU has the potential to field a pretty solid linebacker corps, which is where a lot of those big plays typically come from.
Mario Jenkins, who finished an outstanding freshmen season as ISU's leading tackler (120), had 10.5 TFLS, 2 sacks, three interceptions, five quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. The converted running back ran out of gas at the end of the season, however, and hopefully he has used the offseason to get stronger and build the conditioning that will take him through an entire season.
The other returning linebacker that the Bengal coaching staff will be counting on for big plays is Hayden Stout, another converted running back from the Boise Valley who had 50 tackles, 3.5 TFLS, 1.5 sacks, an interception and a blocked kick last year. Stout drew high praise from the coaching staff during spring drills, earning one of five "leadership awards" for his performance.
Who will fill the other holes at linebacker? Redshirt sophomore Micah Breland, who won a Jared Allen strength training award and had a pick in the spring game, and senior Kurt Karstetter, who had a sack-and-a-half in limited duty last year, seem like the most likely successors. ISU is also bringing in two junior college linebackers who are expected to compete for playing time immediately: Jake Pettit, a 6-3, 230 pounder out of Santa Barbara JC, who had 3 sacks and 14 TFLS last year; and Luis Navarro, 6-3, 235, out of Grossmont JC, who had two sacks. Finally, ISU Coach Mike Kramer has raved about incoming freshman LB Kody Graves from Nampa, young brother of current Bengals Tyler and Hagen. He may be athletic and developed enough to see the field on special teams and in pass rushing situations as a true freshman.
ISU depends on the linebackers to make plays, and they are equally dependent upon a front three that is big and physical enough to keep blockers off the backers. ISU has the perfect nose guard for the job: senior Tyler Kuder, who had 56 tackles, 2.5 TFLS, 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries from a position where pure numbers are not necessarily the best assessment of performance -- unless they reflect the "number" of blockers engaged per play. Kuder also shared in the Allen strength training award, he had five tackles, two sacks and three pass deflections in the spring game, and he earned raves from Kramer.
But Kuder can't play every down in that demanding nose guard position, and ISU will have to develop depth behind him. Jeremiah Hazard, a 271-pound reshirt sophomore, had seven tackles in the spring game and looks like the obvious candidate to back up Kuder. ISU also recruited a lot of beef during the last signing period, bringing in eight defensive linemen. Two are JC players who should see immediate action: Spencer Hoff (6-3, 268) and Nikko Taylor, (6-1, 275). There are also two 300-pound-plus high school players who may be strong enough to see early playing time in the middle: Robert Schwenke, 6-2, 300, and Treven Aloi, at 6-1, 323. The coaching staff also likes freshman Daniel Heck, a 6-2, 270-pounder from Emmett. There are plenty of candidates to develop behind Kuder, and plenty of opportunity to redshirt the remainder.
Joining Kuder upfront at one end will likely be redshirt senior Chris Edwards, a 6-0, 279-pounder out of Meridian. Edwards started sporadically last season, recorded 9 tackles and a quarterback hurry, and won a defensive leadership award in the spring. Other veteran candidates to get into the end rotation include: Drew Sharkey, Tate Razor, Larry Tharpe and Thomas Ryan. ISU doesn't appear to be particulary deep or athletic at the end position, and you may see some of the newcomers get a shot at the rotation there.
Kramer has been working toward the day when he can point to his safeties as the leaders of his defensive unit, and this should be that year. Seniors Taison Manu and Cody Sorensen return as the team's Nos. 3 and 4 leading tacklers, respectively. Manu had 110 stops, 8 TFLS, 2 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and 8 passes defended. Sorensen had 95 tackles, 2 TFLS, a sack, two picks, and six passes defended. They will have to stay healthy and physical, a difficult combination, because there isn't great depth behind them.
At the corners, Erik Collins returns after picking off three passes last season, but he's the only really experienced corner on the roster. There are a lot of "names" who will compete for time in the secondary: Anthony Ricks, Cory Hollowell, Khary Coleman, Kyle Le Blanc, Joe Martin, Kahlil Bell -- but there is no proven depth there to start the season, and ISU didn't recruit a JC player to the secondary.
In summary, the Bengal defense faces a number of challenges this year: replicating that plus-10 turnover margin, replacing two established playmakers in Graves and Beckstead; and developing unproven talent along the defensive front and in the secondary. The good news is that defense, and the defensive line in particular, was an area of recruiting emphasis this year. So there should be plenty of raw material to work with.
If you look at the numbers associated with last year's Bengal defense, two jump out at you: the Bengals were second in the conference in turnover margin (plus 10), and third in the league in sacks (29). Turnovers and sacks: momentum crushing plays that allowed ISU to overcome a defense that finished 10th in the league in yards allowed (475 per game), 12th in first downs allowed (25 per game), and 11th in third down conversions (46 percent). Typically, there are two kinds of successful defenses in the Big Sky Conference: Montana's, which is usually the most physically-dominanting, "lock down" type of D (last year, the Griz led the conference in scoring D -- 21 PPG, and yards given up per play -- 5.0); and all the other teams who manage to overcome giving up large chunks of yardage and lots of first downs by creating turnovers and generating sacks to get their defense off the field, and create short fields for their offense.
Idaho State was clearly in that last category in 2014. The Bengals gave up over 31 points and 474 yards per game last year, but they used "big plays" on both offense and defense to finesse their way to an 8-4 (6-2 in league) mark, their best in a decade.
Will the 2015 version of ISU's defense be able to replicate that level of momentum-changing big plays? If they are, the Bengals will have to replace two huge contributors to last year's success: linebacker Mitch Beckstead and rush end Austin Graves. Beckstead had 9.5 tackles for a loss, three sacks, four interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Graves wracked up 11.5 TFLS, 9 sacks, four quarterback hurries and forced two fumbles. Replacing that kind of production is going to be tough, but it looks like ISU has the potential to field a pretty solid linebacker corps, which is where a lot of those big plays typically come from.
Mario Jenkins, who finished an outstanding freshmen season as ISU's leading tackler (120), had 10.5 TFLS, 2 sacks, three interceptions, five quarterback hurries and a forced fumble. The converted running back ran out of gas at the end of the season, however, and hopefully he has used the offseason to get stronger and build the conditioning that will take him through an entire season.
The other returning linebacker that the Bengal coaching staff will be counting on for big plays is Hayden Stout, another converted running back from the Boise Valley who had 50 tackles, 3.5 TFLS, 1.5 sacks, an interception and a blocked kick last year. Stout drew high praise from the coaching staff during spring drills, earning one of five "leadership awards" for his performance.
Who will fill the other holes at linebacker? Redshirt sophomore Micah Breland, who won a Jared Allen strength training award and had a pick in the spring game, and senior Kurt Karstetter, who had a sack-and-a-half in limited duty last year, seem like the most likely successors. ISU is also bringing in two junior college linebackers who are expected to compete for playing time immediately: Jake Pettit, a 6-3, 230 pounder out of Santa Barbara JC, who had 3 sacks and 14 TFLS last year; and Luis Navarro, 6-3, 235, out of Grossmont JC, who had two sacks. Finally, ISU Coach Mike Kramer has raved about incoming freshman LB Kody Graves from Nampa, young brother of current Bengals Tyler and Hagen. He may be athletic and developed enough to see the field on special teams and in pass rushing situations as a true freshman.
ISU depends on the linebackers to make plays, and they are equally dependent upon a front three that is big and physical enough to keep blockers off the backers. ISU has the perfect nose guard for the job: senior Tyler Kuder, who had 56 tackles, 2.5 TFLS, 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries from a position where pure numbers are not necessarily the best assessment of performance -- unless they reflect the "number" of blockers engaged per play. Kuder also shared in the Allen strength training award, he had five tackles, two sacks and three pass deflections in the spring game, and he earned raves from Kramer.
But Kuder can't play every down in that demanding nose guard position, and ISU will have to develop depth behind him. Jeremiah Hazard, a 271-pound reshirt sophomore, had seven tackles in the spring game and looks like the obvious candidate to back up Kuder. ISU also recruited a lot of beef during the last signing period, bringing in eight defensive linemen. Two are JC players who should see immediate action: Spencer Hoff (6-3, 268) and Nikko Taylor, (6-1, 275). There are also two 300-pound-plus high school players who may be strong enough to see early playing time in the middle: Robert Schwenke, 6-2, 300, and Treven Aloi, at 6-1, 323. The coaching staff also likes freshman Daniel Heck, a 6-2, 270-pounder from Emmett. There are plenty of candidates to develop behind Kuder, and plenty of opportunity to redshirt the remainder.
Joining Kuder upfront at one end will likely be redshirt senior Chris Edwards, a 6-0, 279-pounder out of Meridian. Edwards started sporadically last season, recorded 9 tackles and a quarterback hurry, and won a defensive leadership award in the spring. Other veteran candidates to get into the end rotation include: Drew Sharkey, Tate Razor, Larry Tharpe and Thomas Ryan. ISU doesn't appear to be particulary deep or athletic at the end position, and you may see some of the newcomers get a shot at the rotation there.
Kramer has been working toward the day when he can point to his safeties as the leaders of his defensive unit, and this should be that year. Seniors Taison Manu and Cody Sorensen return as the team's Nos. 3 and 4 leading tacklers, respectively. Manu had 110 stops, 8 TFLS, 2 sacks, an interception, a forced fumble and 8 passes defended. Sorensen had 95 tackles, 2 TFLS, a sack, two picks, and six passes defended. They will have to stay healthy and physical, a difficult combination, because there isn't great depth behind them.
At the corners, Erik Collins returns after picking off three passes last season, but he's the only really experienced corner on the roster. There are a lot of "names" who will compete for time in the secondary: Anthony Ricks, Cory Hollowell, Khary Coleman, Kyle Le Blanc, Joe Martin, Kahlil Bell -- but there is no proven depth there to start the season, and ISU didn't recruit a JC player to the secondary.
In summary, the Bengal defense faces a number of challenges this year: replicating that plus-10 turnover margin, replacing two established playmakers in Graves and Beckstead; and developing unproven talent along the defensive front and in the secondary. The good news is that defense, and the defensive line in particular, was an area of recruiting emphasis this year. So there should be plenty of raw material to work with.