Daily Local News (West Chester, PA)
Duggan the backbone of WCU’s defense
All-league senior leads strong group
“We knew coming out of high school that Kevin was a really good football player. But we had no idea where he was going to play for us: a safety, a linebacker, an offensive player.” – West Chester University coach Bill Zwaan
WEST GOSHEN » Five years ago, Kevin Duggan was a lightly recruited football player at West Chester without a position. Today, he is a senior coming off an all-league campaign, and has developed into the heart and soul of a unit that could wind up being one of the best defenses of the 15year Bill Zwaan era.
A native of Chalfont, Duggan is the poster boy for the way unsung prospects can navigate their way into a position of prominence through persistence and hard work. A starting inside linebacker since his redshirt sophomore year, Duggan has amassed more than 100 tackles, eight tackles for loss and three fumble recoveries in the past two seasons.
“It’s not necessarily a surprise,” Zwaan said. “We knew coming out of high school that Kevin was a really good football player. But we had no idea where he was going to play for us: a safety, a linebacker, an offensive player.”
In 2013, Duggan came out of Central Bucks West a 205-pound tweener, not big enough to be a
college linebacker and not quick enough to flourish in the secondary. He started out as a safety, but it wasn’t going well.
“At one point, I was considering quitting the team,” Duggan acknowledged. “I was like fourth string on the depth chart.”
He didn’t, of course. Duggan kept plugging away, and a year later all of the work on the field and in the weight room paid off.
“The coaches quickly realized I wasn’t great in pass coverage,” he recalled. “So they moved me to inside linebacker, and I felt a lot more comfortable there.”
Duggan got his foot in the door by taking on any special team task that came his way, and a year later, he was a starter.
“He put some weight on, moved to linebacker, and when he got his opportunity, he did well with it,” Zwaan said. “He’s grown a lot mentally since his sophomore year. He has become a true leader of our defense.”
Now, Duggan has added 20 pounds, is a team captain, and Zwaan describes him as a “calming influence” on the defense. He has matured into a leader, both on the field and off.
“There are some guys on the team who are down on the depth chart, struggling, and thinking of quitting. Those are the guys I will go to and talk to,” Duggan said.
“I look out for those kinds of guys because I’ve been there. I tell them that I was in the same position, but if they work their tails off, they will get to where they want to be one day.”
An anchor in the middle of the defense, Duggan is an important piece of WCU’s promising defensive puzzle. The Golden Rams have seven starters back, and even though there are some question marks in the secondary, the front seven is experienced, deep and talented.
“(Defensive Coordinator Mike) Furlong said the other day that we may have one of the better defenses that he’s coached,” Duggan said. “We have big expectations. We will go into every game expecting to get a shutout.
“Realistically, that’s probably not going to happen, but that’s our goal.”
Everyone is back along the defensive front, including space-eating tackles Josh Ganzelli and Kavon Johnson, along with ends Ch’Aim Smith and George Shipp. Add experienced senior John Dubyk and junior college transfers DiQuan Gilbert and Mark Webb to the mix, and WCU is expected to have the kind of quality depth everybody wants up front.
“Our defensive line is one of the best in the PSAC,” Duggan said.
“Our inside guys are doing a good job of making runners bounce the ball into guys who can run, and our guys on the edge – Ch’Aim (Smith), George (Shipp), DiQuan (Gilbert), John (Dubyk) – they can all run,” Zwaan added.
The linebacker corps is also a strength with Duggan and Tyler Morrissey inside, and playmaker Nydair Rouse at the hybrid linebacker/defensive back spot. And if sophomore Zack Hoffman can come back from a knee injury that cost him the 2016 season, he will likely see plenty of action.
“We have a lot of experience and depth in our front seven,” Zwaan said. “We will be able to keep guys fresh. Even the older guys understand that there is going to be a rotation, and they are doing a good job of taking on that role and making sure when they are out there, they are going hard.”
Speedy and athletic, Rouse returned three interceptions for touchdowns last season, and added a sack, a forced fumble and a blocked kick. Morrissey is an oft-injured 6-3, 256-pound specimen who is a junior and has all-league abilities if he can stay healthy.
“He is a big body and I think he is going to have a breakout season,” Duggan said.
The lone returnee in the secondary is lock-down cornerback Shaquille James, but there is projected up-side at the other three positions. A case in point is sophomore safety Jarey Elder, who played in all 11 games a year ago and is being groomed as a star of the future.
“We have three guys we think can pick a ball off and take it to the house.” Zwaan said, referencing Rouse, James and Jarey Elder. “We are hoping they don’t just have the ability to cover people or be in the right spots, but also make plays.”
The other two DB starters will likely be sophomore Deionte Wilson, who played some a year ago, and junior corner Quinton Smith, who saw lots of action at California (Pa.) before transferring.
“Depth in the secondary is still an issue, but we are starting to build some of that,” Zwaan said. “We still have concerns until they are on the field and they do it. But what we are seeing (in workouts) has eased our concerns to a certain extent.”
In 2016, West Chester ranked second in total defense in the PSAC and third in scoring defense. And with so many key components back in place, it’s easy to see why expectations are so high.
“Our players know that (the coaches) believe this is going to be a really good defense,” Zwaan said. “Everybody can say those things, and it doesn’t mean anything until they get out there and get it done, but they know what they have.
“If we can keep guys healthy and stay fresh, look out.”