Position Breakdown: The Defensive Secondary

4/5/2017 6:00:00 PM | Football

Dale, Moffatt, Minter, Ward lead way

By: Josh Vardaman

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – Middle Tennessee's defensive struggles in 2016 were no secret, and if the Blue Raiders want to take a major step in the right direction this season a lot may hang on the play of their defensive backs.

Like the linebacking corps, which returns four players who started at least a game in 2016, the DBs may be one of the most experienced groups on the team and the one with the least amount of holes to fill.

Five players who saw significant time last season return, while NFL Draft hopeful Jeremy Cutrer is the only starter who will have to be replaced.

"We're working hard and trying to work on the philosophies that Coach [Scott] Shafer is trying to instill," redshirt senior safety Alex Dale said. "We're just excited to be out there competing … we're going to work hard, but we're going to have fun while we're working hard."

Determining who will start where once the season opener against Vanderbilt rolls around on Sept. 2 has begun in this year's spring drills, which are the defense's first chances to learn under new defensive coordinator Scott Shafer.

Redshirt senior Mike Minter, who started all 13 games a season ago and picked off two passes, is expected to take his normal starting slot at one of the cornerback positions. Junior Jovante Moffatt, the team's second-leading tackler last season (76), and Dale (61 tackles in 10 games in 2016) are the two likely candidates to get the nod at the two safety positions. That leaves one cornerback spot up for grabs.

Senior Charvarius Ward is the returner who likely has the leg up in the competition. The Hinds Community College transfer played in 12 games and started twice in 2016, and he showed flashes of his pass defense skillset. He tallied five pass breakups and two interceptions, just one behind Cutrer's team high and tied with Minter despite playing in far fewer snaps.

Other names who could be in line for action at the cornerback spot include redshirt junior Darryl Randolph (sixth on the team with 63 tackles as a safety in 2016) and redshirt freshman Kylan Stribling.

"I think we're making good progress," Shafer said. "We've thrown a lot at them as far as install and implementation with the goal of trying to get all of our concepts in. I think we have some good competition going on … for the most part, I've been pleased."

Despite having a lot of talent returning, there are quality players coming in that Shafer thinks can make an impact, especially if the guys already in place don't show proper improvement.

Newcomers Wesley Bush and Kamau Farrell-Burke, both juniors who are transferring to MT this season, are expected to step in and provide depth and compete for playing time right away. Both are already on campus, and they've gotten a chance to prove themselves early thanks to some minor injuries in the group.

"They've looked good so far," Dale said. "It's a new culture coming in here from a junior college and the work ethic is different, so they are getting used to that. But, I feel like they've assimilated pretty well."

Being that the season is still several months from starting, Shafer has plenty of time to figure out the right pieces that will help MT's defense improve from being Conference USA's 11^th-best scoring and ninth-best total defense team.

The trick will be putting those pieces in the right places into his schemes.

"I think the kids have been great, I really do," the defensive coordinator said. "I think it will be really important that we have a good pre-camp summer with them. Then, we'll start getting our eyes on the opponents."

Here are some headlines from the defensive backs:

Key losses: Jeremy Cutrer
Key returners: Mike Minter, Alex Dale, Darryl Randolph, Charvarius Ward, Jovante Moffatt
Key newcomers: Wesley Bush, Kamau Farrell-Burke
Players to watch: Charvarius Ward, Kylan Stribling, Darryl Randolph

Roster:

2 Charvarius Ward [6-1, 192, Sr.]
6 Mike Minter [6-0, 177, R-Sr.]
7 Jovante Moffatt [6-0, 200, Jr.]
17 Kylan Stribling [5-11, 183, R-Fr.]
21 Justin Brown [6-0, 184, R-Fr.]
22 Alex Dale [5-10, 212, R-Sr.]
29 Darryl Randolph [5-11, 180, R-Jr.]
46 Vernon Walker [6-0, 192, R-So.]
80 Jermel Walker [6-1, 192, R-Jr.]
-- Brandon Archer [6-0, 175, R-Fr.]
-- Sidney Austin [6-0, 180, R-So.]
-- Reed Blankenship [6-1, 175, Fr.]
-- Wesley Bush [6-1, 186, Jr.]*
-- Kamau Farrell-Burke [6-3, 180, Jr.]*
-- DeMonte Felton [6-0, 178, R-Jr.]
-- Joseph Freeland [6-2, 195, R-Jr.]
-- Raheme Fuller [6-3, 192, Fr.]
-- O.J. Johnson [6-0, 195, Jr.]
-- Tad Onwu [5-11, 186, R-Jr.
-- Wayne Parks [5-11, 216, Fr.]
-- Cody Smith [6-2, 205, Fr.]
*Denotes player already enrolled at MTSU