Today's preview...The Governors defensive secondary.
After the 2008 season, a decision was made to switch from the standard 4-3 defense to a new scheme, a 4-2-5. It meant the Governors would be playing with four down linemen, two linebackers and five secondary.
"Most of the people we were playing have gone to the wide open offenses-the four wide (receivers) and three wides," APSU coach Rick Christophel said. "We felt like we needed another defensive back on the field instead of a linebacker as far as match ups are concerned. At times last year in certain situations we felt like we just out-athleted on the edge. When we had a (then-senior safety) Kelvin Young on the field, we felt like a little more solid.
"If people decide to run against us because we have five DBs, we are going to have eight or nine guys in the box. We want people to throw the ball. Also, by playing five defensive backs, we can play more man coverage."
The biggest change will see three Govs safeties in the mix. Senior Tremayne Townsend, who played free safety the previous two seasons, has moved over to the strong safety spot. He will be backed up by another senior Spencer Gulmire, who began his career as a running back. He had 45 tackles as a weakside linebacker a year ago.
Junior JayR Harper, who gained great experience in his first two seasons in relief of Jason Vanatta, finally will have the opportunity to start at free safety, with sophomore newcomer Delton Teeter serving as his back up.
The other safety, the weak-side safety, will be manned by one of the team's best athletes, sophomore Amius Smith. The local product gained significant experience a year ago. He will be backed up by seniors Daniel Swenson and Jay Courtney. The former was third on the team in tackles (66), including five for loss, a year ago as a weakside linebacker. The latter has gained a great number of defensive snaps during his APSU career along with being crucial to the Govs' special teams.
Townsend, who played his freshman season at cornerback, provides great leadership as does senior cornerback Kevin Buckley, an All-Ohio Valley Conference selection last season. The Lexington native, in his fourth season as a starter, has led APSU in interceptions in each of his three seasons, including picking off six a year ago. Two other seniors, Marvis Malone, one of the team's fastest players, and Tay Robinson, coming off knee surgery, are backing him up.
On the other side, LaDarius Davis returns for his third season as a starter. Two redshirt freshmen Chris Taylor and Antwaun Majors, who each had strong springs, respectively, will be his backups.
"We may be a little thin at cornerback," Christophel said. "But overall I like the talent we have in our secondary.
"This (scheme) is going to allow us to get our best athletes on the field. But one thing we are going to do defensively, as long I am here and Granville (Eastman, defensive coordinator) is here is we are going to run to the football. I will sacrifice a little bit of size on the edges if we can chase the football."
The secondary now is being coached by former Titans cornerback Dainon Sidney. The former NFL player joined the Governors late in the 2008 season after immigration issues sidelined Eastman. When Eastman returned late in 2008, he took over the linebacker corps while Ryan Taylor shifted to defensive line coach.
"I like what they are doing defensively," Christophel said. "You throw Chad (Creamer, graduate assistant) in there and that group is starting to build a real good chemistry."
-AP-
