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Young defense and struggling offense suffer through growing pains
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has seven catches for 49 yards in his senior campaign.
Offensive Line
Three of last year’s five starters return, but they’ve still had their struggles this season, particularly in the run department. Junior tackles Tyler Miller (6-7, 300) and Ryan Considine (6-5, 290) are both experienced but aren’t all-conference caliber.
In fact, the Bulldogs lost their 3-time All-WAC performer Aaron Lips and 3-year starting Center Marcus Stewart from last year.
The Bulldogs are obviously still trying to fill those big holes. Stepping in at center has been senior Jacob Peeler (6-3, 261) and filling in at the guard spot is sophomore David Accardo (6-5, 316).
The face of the Bulldog offensive line is gigantic right guard Marcus Lindsey. The senior from Monroe, LA, comes in at an intimidating 6-7, 386 pounds.
If the Bulldog offensive line can mold together and step up its performance in WAC play, then look for the running game to improve and ultimately turn the offense into a potent one like Louisiana Tech teams from years past.
Defense
No other unit on the Bulldog roster is probably more excited to start conference play than the defense.
Giving up 41.5 points per game, including 51 against Atlantic Coast Conference and top-25 ranked Clemson, has left the Bulldogs sketchy defense with their tails tucked between their legs.
They only return two starters from last year’s squad and are trying to grow through their inexperience on the fly.
One thing the Dogs should be excited about is they don’t have to play Nebraska, Clemson and Texas A&M again this year.
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Defensive Line
The Bulldogs only use a 3-man front and none of the starters saw very much time last year. This is evident by the numbers opponents have put up on them so far.
Clemson ran 393 yards against the Bulldogs including three players who ran for more than 100 yards each. Head Coach Jack Bicknell said he won’t be making any personnel changes, but first-year starters senior Sammie Collins (6-3, 249), junior Josh Muse (6-3, 310) and sophomore Wes Day (6-4, 249) have a lot to prove through the next few weeks and need to step up their play.
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Linebackers
Just as the defensive line has struggled, much could be said about the young and inexperienced linebacking corps. Only one starter returned from what many say was the best group of linebackers to ever come through Louisiana Tech last season. Junior inside linebacker Brannon Jackson (6-2, 263) is that lone returnee. Jackson was third on the team in tackles last season with 54 and is second on the team this year at 29.
Junior Anothony Crosby (6-0, 227) joins Jackson as the other inside linebacker and has made 20 tackles so far this year.
Sophomore outside linebacker Quin Harris (6-3, 221) has been the most-pleasant surprise early this year for the Bulldog defense.
Harris leads the team with 31 tackles and has forced two fumbles and recovered three. He has two pass breakups and has one of only two sacks made this season by the La Tech defense.
Junior Marquis McBeath, a Junior-college transfer from Pearl River Community College, has stepped in nicely at linebacker for the Bulldogs. He is third on the team in tackles with 24, and has made multiple tackles for losses.
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Secondary
The Bulldogs use four players between the two safety positions.
Free Safety Dez Abrams (6-0, 198) is the second returning starter from last year, but junior Mark Dillard (5-11, 208) has stepped in and played very well this year. Dillard already has
3.5 tackles for loss and a sack on
the season.
That’s not bad for someone playing free safety. The strong safety spot is being shared between freshman Deon Young (5-11, 191) and sophomore Weldon Young (5-10, 180).
Both have been fairly unproductive so far. Neither has an interception and only Brown has made one pass break up. But that goes for the entire secondary.
The Bulldogs only have one interception this year.
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Special Teams
Junior kicker Danny Horwedel (6-2, 200) has been successful in his limited chances so far this year.
He is 2-for-3 on field-goal attempts with a long of only 23 and 7-for-7 on extra points. Sophomore punter Chris Keagle (5-11, 225) has had some struggles. He only averages 34.2 yards per punt.
Horwedel has made some appearances at punter too, but isn’t faring much better. He only averaged 37.2 yards per kick on his four attempts.
KYE JOHNSON
Assistant Sports Editor