Bryant defense vows to improve
Stopping run game proved to be Bulldogs’ undoing at end of 2018
SMITHFIELD — Through the first five games last season, the veteran Bryant University defense had the Bulldogs in position to win a Northeast Conference championship. Led by current San Diego Chargers linebacker Tom Costigan, along with a slew of talented upperclassmen, the Bulldogs held their first five opponents to just 143.6 yards rushing.
Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs were 4-1 headed into their second NEC game of the season against reigning champion Central Connecticut. The Blue Devils, thanks to Drew Jean-Guillaume’s 203 rushing yards, ran the ball 52 times for 442 yards in a 48-14 victory at Meade Stadium.
Future Bulldog opponents took notice and started running the ball against the Bulldogs, who never found an answer.
“It’s at a point now where we’re hearing about what happened last year and people are disrespecting us,” senior captain Robert Brown said last week. “At the end of the day, that’s what we put on film last year. The numbers don’t lie. At the end of the day, going into this year, our mindset is to be the best defense. We want to be a top10 defense in the FCS.”
The numbers put up last year were, quite simply, embarrassing for a defense that had the raw materials to be special. After the CCSU loss, the Bulldogs allowed Sacred Heart to rush for 538 yards on 49 carries in a 49-26 loss. Jordan Meachum (20 carries for 318 yards) and Julius Chestnut (13 carries for 164 yards) each rushed for three touchdowns.
A week after allowing Wagner’s Ryan Fulse to run for 218 yards and three touchdowns, the Bulldogs allowed Howard to run for 434 yards in a 56-55 victory. It was a frustrating season for a group that started the campaign with such promise.
“We played one defense the whole year and that made it easy for teams to exploit that defense,” senior captain Logi Portugal said. “We’re a lot different this year, so I think a lot of people feel confident in what we’re doing.”
When coach Chris Merritt replaced the departed James Perry in January, he made it a point of saying his teams will run the ball and stop the run. In the spring, Merritt tested the defense’s mindset. During spring camp defenders were not allowed to hit the quarterbacks, but in the spring game at Beirne Stadium, the quarterbacks became fair game.
Merritt was disappointed to watch how tentative his defense played around the quarterbacks in the game. Needless to say, Merritt made it clear to the upperclassmen that won’t fly in the fall.
“I was point-blank frank with seniors on defense after the spring game,” Merritt said. “I told them my name’s not going to be attached to a defense like that. We are going to attack and we are going to swarm to the football. I don’t care how you get there, but we’re going to have 11 hats on the football. We have focused on running to the football and attacking. If you have any pride, what happened last year won’t happen again.”
There were some bright spots on defense last season, including defensive end Tomas Wright, who was a first-team all-NEC performer after setting a program record with 12.5 sacks. He also had 45 tackles and three forced fumbles. Wright is expected to form a strong partnership with Richard Ukele, Kodi Ojukwu and Fernando Casanova.
“The difference this year is we’re more mature and coming together,” Wright said. “The defensive scheme is different and we want to attack the ball and we’re hungry. We want to prove to everyone in NEC and in the country that we can play better defense and stop the run. For me, it’s all about focusing on the little things and not being mediocre.”
Even though Costigan, a 2018 preseason All-American, is gone, the Bulldogs have potential to be strong at linebacker. Senior inside linebacker Jesse Nemerowicz needs just 75 tackles to become the first player in school history to record 300 tackles. After an injury ravaged sophomore year, the Hudson, Mass. native recorded 73 tackles, four sacks and two forced fumbles last season.
“We just have a better scheme and mindset this year,” Nemerowicz said. “We’re focused on one goal and we have one thing in mind – to take it all home. Tackling is just a mindset, you have to have the tenacity to want to get to every single play. You want to be the one to make the play. [Merritt] is defense oriented and wants to pound the line of scrimmage – I love every minute of it.”
Brown will also be roaming the middle of the field after recording 70 tackles, to go along with two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries. Portugal, Andre Brackett and David Onyemem provide leadership in the back third of the defense.
Thursday night on Long Island, the Bulldogs will find out just how much their defense has improved since last season. Stony Brook, which rushed for 273 yards thanks to star back Jordan Gowins in a 50-21 victory over the Bulldogs early last season, is Bryant’s first opponent of the season.
“At the end of the day, with our team goals, it all comes down to blocking and tackling,” Merritt said. “To run the ball you have to block, to stop the run you have to tackle. We’ve focused hard this preseason on blocking drills every day, tackling drills every day. If there’s one thing we’re going to be at, it’s that.”