Defense Taking Control


by - Correspondent -

During fall camp last season, the offense imposed its will on the defense. Looking back, now you can see it was a maturation process for the defense. Head coach Tommy Bowden has stated numerous times he would prefer the defense to be ahead of the offense.

For the first half of spring practice, things have gone in favor of the defense, which may not be a big surprise.

The defense received a big lift, when Anthony Waters and Gaines Adams decided to return for their senior seasons. Waters is the heart and soul of the defense, while Adams is working to become the most dominant defensive end in college football.

The big surprise on defense has been redshirt freshman Etta Etta-Tawo. At the start of spring, most believed redshirt freshman Antwon Murchison would steal the show, but Etta-Tawo has been very impressive.

The secondary has held up thus far after losing Tye Hill and Jamaal Fudge. CJ Gaddis has performed well after being moved back to corner. The big change has been Gaddis’ work ethic, which saw big improvements in second half of last season.

Defensive coordinator Vic Koenning was under heavy scrutiny after the start of last season, but now it appears he could lead on of the nation’s top ten defenses

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