Defense Rising: New wave of Lights emerging in camp

Much of the talk of the first week of the Montana State University-Northern's fall camp has been about offense. After all, the Lights have a four-way quarterback battle going on, and they have to find a replacement for the greatest running back in school history.

So forgive some if it seems like the Northern defense is flying under the radar a little bit as camp progresses.

Under the radar or not though, the MSU-N defense has its bright spots in camp and like the offense, there are major position battles going on all over the depth chart.

"It's going great so far," MSU-N defensive coordinator Jake Eldridge said after Tuesday's practice. "The guys are playing physical football, they're working hard, their mentality is great and their effort is great. They're doing it out here every day."

And some of that was on full display Tuesday afternoon. Former Cut Bank standout Wylie Novak had an interception in 7-on-7 drills, while Steven Fernandez picked off a pass in the live contact portion of practice. There were also a couple of touch sacks and several passes defended by Lights' cornerbacks.

"We're seeing some good things every day," Eldridge said. "The real evaluation comes when we're competing with those live reps. That's when you can really evaluate how these guys are doing. And with the way our offense is playing so well right now, and they're going at a really fast tempo, getting as many live reps we can is so good for us."

Live reps and hitting, especially against an MSU-N offense operating at a break-neck pace in camp, is especially meaningful for Northern's defense, which will have a lot of new faces on the two-deep this fall. The Lights basically graduated their entire defensive front, including all-time sack leader Tyler Craig, as well as standouts in the secondary in Logan Sprouse and Garett Jerricoff.

"When you have so many spots you need guys to step up and fill, the teaching part really comes into play," Eldridge said. "We're trying to teach these guys how to practice, how to play assignment football, to understand the play calls all of it. We have a lot of new guys in those roles, and younger guys, but the progress has been really good. We've kind of thrown a lot of them into the fire, but they're responding the right way.

"It also helps to have such great senior leadership," Eldridge added. "Garet Fowler is doing a great job of working with the young guys, and guys like Elijah Dennison and Mitch Harmon, they've done a great job of taking on that leadership role as well. So when some of your veteran players can step up and help a coach coach, like those guys are doing, that's huge."

While veterans like Fowler and Dennison will lead the way, for the most part, the Lights' defense is going to be somewhat inexperienced this fall, at least in terms of starts and past playing time. But just like what is transpiring with the offensive position battles, the competition for playing time on the Northern defense has really amped up practices.

And Eldridge says plenty of new faces are stepping up to the plate.

"Devariej Criss (DB) is a guy who's playing really well right now," Eldridge said. "He red-shirted last year, and he's doing a heck of a job in camp. He's not the biggest guy, but he plays with so much heart, and on a play-by-play basis, he's been awesome so far. Another guy who's really stepped up is Dakota Schelling (at linebacker). He's a fifth-year guy who has played some different positions for us. And he's really stepping up and doing a great job."

Eldridge also talked about several true freshmen who have had an impact on fall camp thus far, including Jaren Maki, Adrian Lios, who had a PBU Tuesday, Cut Bank teammates Justin Pfeifer and Pete Hamilton and 290-pound defensive tackle J.P. Sullivan.

"There are a lot of young guys who have come in and are really having a good camp," Eldridge said. "But overall, everybody on this defense is progressing, from the older guys and leaders, to guys who are brand new. The mentality and effort they bring every day has been great. They're all working hard and progressing really fast. And I'm excited to see how they keep progressing. It's been fun to watch."

The Lights practiced just once Tuesday, but will return to two-a-days today. Northern is closing in on the end of fall camp, as Sunday marks the start of game week. The Lights open their season Sept. 2 when they play Rocky Mountain College in Billings.