Hornets’ secondary filled with speed and depth
Emporia State secondary coach Bryce Saia stands in the middle of the field each day behind his defensive backs, critiquing their every move.
After almost every play, Saia is approaching one of his players, teaching the fundamentals and proper technique.
For a young Hornet secondary, Saia has been exactly what the defensive backs needed, a coach that devotes all of his attention to them.
“We’ve benefited from it a lot,” sophomore cornerback Kameron Gee said. “Having that presence there, and that’s all his focus is. He doesn’t have to focus on four positions, he can just focus on two.
“It’s really helped us out a lot. We get a lot more technical coaching, and it’s taken our game to the next level.”
When Saia arrived, he started with the basic fundamentals in the spring. Once the players started to understand the concepts he was trying to teach, he started to install more complex schemes. The Hornets had always run base coverages.
“It’s starting to look good now,” sophomore safety Chris Lohman said. “Everything is starting to come together.”
The main reason the Hornets will be able to run more man-to-man coverage and do different things than in the past is because of the talent in the secondary. The cornerbacks are led by Travis Lee, a fifth-year senior, who is the only defensive back with more than a year’s experience at Emporia State. Lee is healthy once again after an injury-ridden junior season.
Lee, when healthy, has been the Hornets’ top corner the last few seasons, making the All-MIAA second-team in 2007 when he pulled in four interceptions and returned two for touchdowns. Last season, he battled turf toe and was never operating at 100 percent. Lee had to sit out the spring so he could retain his eligibility this year, and that helped him recover from his injuries.
“Since I don’t run track anymore, my body feels a lot better, because usually I’d be year-round with sports, so without doing track, my body feels a lot fresher,” he said. “I sat out in the spring, so that also helped me build my body up. Usually coming into camp I’m already run down, but I feel good, and my turf toe problem is all handled.”
Opposite Lee will be Gee, who had 42 tackles, an interception and two fumble recoveries, including one for a touchdown, during his redshirt freshman season. The Hornets were thin in the secondary last year, forcing Gee and fellow freshman Quincy Williams to step in, but now both are earning their spots this year.
“I feel a lot more comfortable with the defense,” Gee said. “I kind of know what to expect, day to day, game to game. From last year to this year, I feel a lot more comfortable with what I can do.”
Backing up Lee and Gee will be senior Shaunquez Powell and freshman Julian Dozier. The Hornets have high expectations for Dozier, who was rated as a three-star recruit and the 68th-best cornerback by Rivals.com.
“So far, so good,” Saia said. “He’s got a chance to be special. He’s just got to pick his game up mentally, understand that he’s at a different level now, and just like most of the group, just be a consistent athlete.”
At safety, the Hornets have been hit by the injury bug during training camp. Sophomore Chris Poston has been out with an ankle sprain since the second day of practice, Lohman has missed the last four days of practice with a pulled hamstring and freshman Travon Brooks is also out with a pulled hamstring. Coach Garin Higgins said the team is hoping to get all three back practicing by the weekend.
Poston is probably the most important of the three. He was an All-MIAA honorable mention last season as a true freshman, recording a team third-best 44 tackles. He also had six pass breakups and returned an interception for a touchdown.
“Chris has got to get healthy first of all,” Saia said. “He’s banged up and in the secondary, you have to practice to be able to play, so he’s got to get healthy. When he’s healthy, he’s a kid that’s got a lot of range.”
The Hornets also lost Tyler Mikkelson at safety. Mikkelson’s season and career was cut short last year because of a neck injury. Mikkelson, who was just a freshman, was one of the defense’s top performers last year and also earned All-MIAA honorable mention.
To compensate for the injuries to Poston, Lohman and Brooks, Williams has moved over from corner to safety. Lohman is also back at safety this year after moving from safety to linebacker midway through last season because of a lack of depth at linebacker.
Once Poston, Lohman and Brooks return, the safeties — like the corners — should have plenty of depth.
“The best thing we’ve got going in our group right now is our depth,” Saia said. “We’re not just counting on Travis Lee. We’re not just counting on Shaunquez Powell. We’re counting on a handful of them to come through. The best thing that a senior or any of them has going for them right now is their backups.”
Although the depth is there, the only concern as the season approaches has to be a lack of experience. The safeties do not have any upperclassmen. Powell is the only other senior corner, and he’s only played in five games for the Hornets.
“The physicalness at that position isn’t a problem,” Saia said. “Guys like Quincy Williams and Poston, they’re long, length guys, have a lot of range and can run to the ball well; it’s just mentally getting them where I need ’em in the zones or the technique in man-to-man coverages.
“... Consistency is an issue right now, but they are willing to learn and there is some physical ability there, so that tells me we’ve got a chance.”