Fresno State defensive coordinator Kevin Coyle evaluated the tape from last Saturday’s scrimmage and something stood out that raised his confidence in his group — depth.

“We have more depth than what we have had in the past and that’ll be a plus for us,” said Coyle. “The rotation will help us in terms of production and finding out who are the real game players.”

The Bulldogs are midway through fall camp. As they approach their second scrimmage this Saturday, Coyle will examine his younger players, transfers, and returning veterans to assemble a defense that he hopes will corral high-powered Mountain West Conference offenses like Boise State and UNLV.

“Each position group has something that we took from the practice that we know we need to get better at. We let the quarterbacks run (at the first scrimmage) and that’s an issue. We’ll be facing that throughout the season, and we got to be more disciplined in our rush lanes and compressing the pocket and cage rush the quarterback.”

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Evaluating Talent and Preparing With an Eye Toward Michigan

The players higher on the depth chart will be featured in Saturday’s scrimmage.

“We’re going to play the starters and the main contributors in this scrimmage. We didn’t do that in the last one. It was good because our younger guys got a lot of reps,” said Coyle.

“I was pleased with the young defensive backs, and they stepped up and made a lot of physical tackles, and they didn’t shy away from anything. That was a positive. This week we got to get more in a game mindset with the guys who are going to be on the field against Michigan, and that’ll be more of a focal point, and we’ll go from there.”

Defensive Backs coach J.D. Williams agrees with Coyle’s assessment of his squad and believes in the direction they’re going. “It’s a physical group. It’s about playing together. When you do that, you become elite.”

Senior defensive back Camryn Bracha likes the progress of this group from last year’s to this season and how they’ve come together. “The defensive back crew looks really good this year. I’m excited to see how they perform this year. It’s going to be one of the best parts of the team,” said Bracha.

“Last year we had a lot of good guys, but we shortened ourselves and didn’t perform to the standard we should’ve with the athletes we had. I’m excited to see the variety we have and the ability the players have to play other positions.”

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Competition Heats Up for Starting Positions

There’s been six departures on the defensive side of the ball, which is allowing players to step into those roles. Even though the coaches have players in mind to fill the top slots, nothing is set in stone. That has promoted strong competition in fall camp.

“There’s still competition. Most of the spots we have two deep that are in our minds that we’ll be hanging our hat on. The people in the second group are pushing hard for playing time,” said Coyle. “We have key players on the backend and at linebacker that have earned playing time.”

And some players are showcasing why they deserve to be high on the depth chart. “We have good competition at the linebacker spot. Malachi Langley, Tuasivi Nomura, and Phoenix Jackson have really stepped up. On the backend we have competition at both cornerback positions. Cam Lockridge is back, he’s been a very productive player for us,” said Coyle.

“Julian Neal, Al’zillion Hamilton, they’re in a battle for playing time. It’s good because we can rotate guys and have some position flexibility. Camryn Bracha, Dean Clark, Kosi Agina is back and Jayden Davis has had an excellent camp. We’ve got four safeties that are in the mix, it’s good to have, and this week will tell a lot, and then we’ll start trying to tighten things up.”

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The Return of Cam Lockridge

Lockridge returned to practice this week from injury. He’s been in good spirits and is looking to get into the flow of things as they prepare for their opening game in Ann Arbor against defending national champions Michigan Wolverines on Saturday, August 31.

“I’m ready to go. The Big House, we’re going to get that W. Go dogs,” said Lockridge.

Depth Will Contribute to Defensive Improvement

Perhaps the players in the best position to evaluate the defense are the safeties, who have a clear view of what develops on every play. There’s been a lot of talk about the front seven and Bracha believes that the depth up front will set the Bulldogs apart from the previous year.

“Last year’s front seven was very talented but we lacked depth. We got banged up as the year went on, but we have more depth up front. We’ve improved in the pass rush. The depth is going to be huge for us this season. I’m really excited on how the front seven is going to show up and help us on the backend,” Bracha said.

“We’re playing fast. We look good. Coach Coyle calls a very aggressive scheme. We’re going to reap that harvest and get some turnovers this year and that’s going to be the plan for the defense.”