Red Wolves still looking for right defensive mix

JONESBORO — Frankie Jackson didn’t like what he saw Saturday night, so the junior linebacker/defensive back let everyone know it.

During halftime at South Alabama with Arkansas State trailing 6-0, Jackson told the offensive line to block harder, the wide receivers to run better routes, the defensive backs to cover tighter and the defensive line to get a better push.

“We needed somebody to say it,” Jackson said. “So I said it.”

ASU responded by outscoring South Alabama 17-10 in the second half of a 17-16 victory.

Jackson’s remarks were directed at the entire team, but it came in the middle of ASU’s best defensive showing of the season. ASU allowed just one touchdown while holding South Alabama to more than 100 yards less than its pergame average against Sun Belt Conference opponents.

“You hope that we finally drew a line in the sand,” ASU defensive coordinator John Thompson said.

If so, it came after about two months of tweaks and adjustments by Thompson.

Thompson has used seven different starting lineups through the first eight games heading into Saturday’s 6 p.m. game at Louisiana-Monroe (54, 3-1), including six consecutive games in which his starting lineup was different from the previous week.

Some of it has to do with injury. Defensive tackle Amos Draper isn’t expected to play Saturday for the second consecutive week after having bone chips removed from his ankle, Coach Bryan Harsin said. Senior Dexter Blackmon and freshman Darius Rosser have started in his place.

Cornerback Rocky Hayes also suffered a hamstring injury Sept. 7 at Auburn and has been in and out of the starting lineup since. Andrew Tryon has started the past three games alongside Artez Brown at the other cornerback spot.

Six ASU defenders have started every game — Eddie Porter, Ryan Carrethers, Chris Stone, Qushaun Lee, Brown and Sterling Young — while Thompson has struggled to find the right mix at the other five spots.

Lee has started every game at middle linebacker, but Kyle Coleman started the first six at the strong side spot before freshman Xavier Woodson started against Louisiana-Lafayette. Coleman was back in the lineup against South Alabama.

At the weak side spot, Charleston Girley started the first two games, but Jackson started against Troy on Sept. 12 and has held the position since with the exception of a loss to Memphis, when ASU opened in a three-linebacker look and Qaunterio Heath started his first game.

Chris Humes started alongside Young the first four games at safety before Money Hunter took over the week of the Missouri game. What does it mean? ASU hasn’t reached the level at which Thompson thinks it should be competing, and he’ll continue to tinker until it does.

The Red Wolves (4-4, 2-1) don’t rank higher than fourth in the Sun Belt in any of the major defensive categories. They are fourth in scoring defense (27.2 points per game), fifth against the pass (238.6 yards per game), sixth in total defense (435.2) and seventh against the run (196.6).

“You want to be consistent, and we haven’t been,” Thompson said. “Obviously, that creates changes. That creates competition. Hopefully, we’re settling into some packages and guys are comfortable and will get more consistent, and that will decide who plays more or less.”

Young, who has started 28 consecutive games at safety, entered this year knowing he’d spend part of it directing traffic in the defensive backfield. Brown and Humes started five games last year and Hayes played on offense.