Defense drawing share of attention - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

MAGNOLIA -- Southern Arkansas University football Coach Bill Keopple is talking up his defense and not just the merits of the seven returning starters.

Keopple, preparing for his 11th season as SAU's head coach, said he is eager to take the wraps off a group of talented defensive linemen he believes will open the eyes of Muleriders' fans and the other Great American Conference teams.

2019 SAU schedule

DATE OPPONENT TIME

Sept. 5 at Southern Nazarene 6 p.m.

Sept. 14 Oklahoma Baptist 6 p.m.

Sept. 21 Harding 6 p.m.

Sept. 28 at Arkansas Tech 6 p.m.

Oct. 5 SW. Okla St. 2 p.m.

Oct. 12 at NW Okla. St. 2 p.m.

Oct. 19 SE Okla. St. 2:30 p.m.

Oct. 26 at East Central (Okla.) 3 p.m.

Nov. 2 Ouachita Baptist* 2 p.m.

Nov. 9 at Henderson State 2 p.m.

Nov. 16 Arkansas-Monticello 2 p.m.

*Murphy USA Classic, El Dorado

2018 SAU results

8-4 overall, 8-3 GAC

DATE OPPONENT RESULT

Aug. 30 Arkansas Tech W, 38-0

Sept. 9 Harding W, 28-23

Sept. 15 SW Okla. St. W, 36-12

Sept. 22 NW Okla. St. W, 27-14

Sept. 29 Oklahoma Baptist W, 55-45

Oct. 6 Southern Nazarene W, 21-16

Oct. 13 SE Okla. St. L, 20-0

Oct. 20 East Central (Okla.) W, 48-9

Oct. 27 Henderson State W, 34-14

Nov. 3 Ouachita Baptist L, 35-10

Nov. 10 Arkansas-Monticello L, 20-17

Dec. 1 Missouri Western* L, 30-25

*Live United Bowl, Texarkana, Texas

Southern Arkansas glance

MASCOT Muleriders

COACH Bill Keopple (57-50, entering 11th season at SAU)

LAST SEASON 8-4, finished third in the Great American Conference

OFFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH QB Hayden Mallory, WR Jared Lancaster, FB Jaidon Parrish, TE Dalton Wright, RB Kor’Davion Washington, RB SirCharles Perkins, C Trey Thomas, OT Mason Grant

DEFENSIVE PLAYERS TO WATCH DT Antonio Washington, LB Malik Preston, LB DeMarcus Pegue, CB Lorenzo Watkins, FS Brock Floyd; CB Vonte’ White

NOTEWORTHY Muleriders received one first-place vote and were picked to finish third in the Great American Conference coaches poll . … 7 starters return on offense, 7 on defense. … Muleriders started last season 6-0 and were No. 15 in the AFCA Division II poll before being shut out on the road at Southeastern Oklahoma State. SAU ended up losing its final three games. … Junior Hayden Mallory (9-25 passing, 130) replaces the program’s all-time leading passer Barrett Renner (11,506 passing, 97 TDs). Mallory will be handing off to senior SirCharles Perkins (424 rushing, 4 TDs) and redshirt freshman Kor’Davion Washington, who shined in the spring. Mallory’s most experienced target at WR is Jared Lancaster (59-659j receiving, 5 TDs), but the school’s all-time leading receiver Karonce Higgins (182-3,103 receiving, 25 TDs) will be difficult to replace. The defense also lost linemen DaVondrick Lison and Anthony Washington, two All-GAC players, but just about everybody else returns, Junior defensive tackle Antonio Washington is the anchor, along with all three linebackers and 3 of 4 starters in the secondary. Coach Bill Keopple said he is hoping Northeastern Oklahoma State transfer La’Vonte White, an all-conference performer in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, can solidify the secondary.

It's true that SAU won't have Division II All-America sack man DaVondrick Lison and All-GAC tackle Anthony Washington, two of the players who anchored a defense that allowed fewer than 20 points per game and ranked No. 23 in the nation.

Get ready to hear about the likes of Tarrion Thompson (6-0, 250 pounds), Briant Parker (6-2, 255) and Slade Manlief (6-0, 302), three redshirt freshmen who were sight unseen last year except on the practice field.

"We recruited some really good players two years ago, knowing those guys were going out the door, and added some more along the way," Keopple said. "Those guys have been everything we thought they were going to be, and more, actually.

"We just didn't have to play them. It's a special group. They're as talented as anything we've ever had. These are guys are hungry. They've been in the program two years now, and it's their turn. They're very coachable."

And get this?

"Some of them possess some of the same skills DaVondrick had," Keopple said. "That's positive for us."

Keopple said he is so excited about this group of young linemen, along with juniors Antonio Washington and Demoni Boyd, that he is hoping to catch the Great American Conference teams by surprise when the Muleriders open their season against Southern Nazarene on Thursday night at Wilkins Stadium.

Keopple said he doesn't know when the other teams will start looking at the new SAU defenders on film, but he knows they will.

Keopple bantered with defensive coordinator Chad Adams about the kind of reaction he would like to get.

"Where'd they get those guys?" Keopple said. "I told him that all spring. 'Where they get those guys?' "

Adams, reading from the same positive-thinking script, said it might take a game or two, but the Muleriders defense will be a force.

"We've got a group that's been in the mix, that's as good, if not better than the ones we lost," Adams said.

And that's without talking about the return of all three linebackers and 4 of 5 members of the secondary, which has added cornerback transfer La'Vonte White, who was an all-conference selection in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

Talking about defense is something Adams said is long overdue after three seasons of lauding an offense led by all-time SAU leading passer Barrett Renner and all-time leading receiver Karonce Higgins.

"Everyone wants to talk about offense," Adams said. "I'm so sick and tired of talking about offense around here it's unbelievable."

The ingredients are in place, the coaches believe, for the Muleriders defense to carry the load as redshirt sophomore quarterback Hayden Mallory and a slew of untested receivers get their feet under them.

Washington said he is not overwhelmed by the praise heaped on him by Keopple, who said the junior tackle may be the best defensive lineman in the GAC.

"I would say I am, but at the same time I'm humble, just knowing I can be replaced any day," said Washington, who recorded 17.5 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks last season. "If they think of me that way, I've got to go out and deliver."

Washington has accepted being the leader of the defensive line.

"If I've got to be the one giving the pep talk, get 'em going, or if I've got to be the one to get on somebody, I accept that role," Washington said. "They look up to me. Whatever I feel that day, that's what I got to go with it. I've got to make sure I'm on my A game every day."

Linebacker Malik Preston and senior cornerback Lorenzo Watkins said a more disciplined approach to defense is going to help.

But neither one buys into the fact that the defense has to carry the offense.

"The game is always in the defense's hands," said Preston, a fifth-year senior. "Whether the offense is going good or not, we have to do our job if we expect to win. So there's really no pressure. It never changes."

Watkins, who had four interceptions last season, said the defense will do its job, but the offense will have to carry its weight as well.

"I feel like we've got to play as a team," said Watkins, a three-year starter from Hamburg. "If we play as a team, we'll be one, and if we play as one, then we'll be great."

Great enough to contend for the GAC title?

"We're going to win this conference," he said.

Sports on 09/01/2019

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