Sunday – Offensive Preview
Today – Defensive Preview
Tuesday – Special Teams Preview
Wednesday – Week 1 Preview

ASHLAND – During the first chunk of the Craig Howard era, Southern Oregon's defense was relegated to 'B' storylines, some less flattering than others, while the Raider offense lit up scoreboards with record frequency.

That stopped being the case by the end of 2014 and throughout last season. With seven starters back, the second-ranked Raiders again have the potential to field a show-stealing defense that allows them to win more than just shootouts.

James Gravelle – an SOU alum and longtime staffer who returned to Ashland last season and was promoted to defensive coordinator in the spring – will depend on senior All-American Julius Rucker to lead the secondary, a deep group of linebackers that includes six players who have at one point been starters, and an experienced mix of returning upperclassmen to keep the pressure on up front. They'll use a 4-3 base for the second year in a row, but the depth at linebacker has triggered the incorporation of a three-man front, too.

"Coach Howard's philosophy has always been to have an attacking and swarming defense that makes big plays, and the kids really believe in and thrive off that style," Gravelle said. "It's fun when effort is already installed in the culture and you don't have to coach it. As hard as these guys play, I've never been happier to come to work in 19 years of collegiate coaching, and that's the truth."

Thirteen players who appear on the team's first two-deep depth chart contributed to a defense that ceased being just a complementary unit in 2015. They again defended more plays per game (77) than any team in the Frontier Conference – the product of an offense that works as quickly as any in the NAIA – but their average yards allowed per play (4.9) ranked third in the conference and was the team's best mark since 2007; they were eighth in the NAIA with three sacks per game, which was twice as many as SOU's offensive line allowed; they were second in the Frontier in passing yards allowed per attempt (6.3); and their two takeaways per contest led to an average of 7.4 points off turnovers.

Just as valuable as those numbers, though, was the defense's ability to succeed in the clutch:
– On Sept. 12 against Eastern Oregon, SOU held the Mountaineers scoreless on their final five possessions to aid a 38-35 comeback win.
– On Oct. 10 at Montana Western, the Raiders got four straight stops at the goal line to finalize a 37-30 overtime win.
– A week later, on Oct. 17 against Carroll, the Raiders shut out the Saints in the fourth quarter and ended a 28-27 OT victory by nixing a two-point conversion try.
– And in the quarterfinal and semifinal rounds of the NAIA Championship Series, SOU's defense held No. 2 Baker (Kan.) and No. 1 Morningside (Iowa) to season-low point totals in games that were decided by a combined eight points, and AJ Cooper's block of the potential game-tying field goal at Morningside ensured the Raiders' return trip to the national title game.

"We have some guys who have shown that they want to be on the field in big moments," Gravelle said. "That has to be the case if you're going to win close games."

POSITION BY POSITION
DEFENSIVE LINE: Departed conference all-stars Joseph Lealofi and David Weider left a 500-pound, 13-sack void in the trenches, but there is no shortage of Raiders eager to take their spots.

They'll fill in around the likes of junior Sam Woods, an All-Frontier second-teamer on the interior who had 55 tackles and team-highs of 7 ½ sacks and three blocked kicks in his first season with the team. Senior Jacob Proul and junior Kalan Hoedl, who have been in the rotation the last two years, are also competing for starting jobs on the inside, and they're joined by transfer Trevor Candelaria, who had four sacks at Butte College (Calif.) as a sophomore in 2015.

"Sam is our anchor – he's a proven guy – and Jacob and Kalan have really been nice surprises in camp with how far they've come along and their readiness to step into bigger roles," Gravelle said. "Those guys and the addition of Candelaria make our interior pretty strong, so that's a group we're excited about."

On the ends, junior Armando Gauger is arguably the line's top athlete and the incumbent after taking over as a starter just in time for the 2015 postseason. He totaled 38 tackles, the bulk of which were made during the latter half of the season, and 2 ½ sacks.

"He's just a playmaker who truly understands the game and where he needs to be," Gravelle said.

Redshirt-sophomore Sean Rogers has emerged as the frontrunner to start on the other end after last year making 24 tackles, including four sacks, and coming up with a pair of quarterback hurries and a forced fumble in the playoffs. Colin Davis, in his fourth year with the program, is making noise to join the rotation, and redshirt-freshmen Sage Delong and August Forrest III are expected to provide depth.

LINEBACKERS: Nearly every one of SOU's linebackers went down at some point last year, but extraordinary depth got the Raiders through a wrath of injuries even though they lacked a single senior at the position.

Devvon Gage, a redshirt-sophomore, benefited most from those injuries by taking over at middle-linebacker and making the starting job his own. He led all Raider linebackers with 95 tackles, and had tackles for losses in each of the last three rounds of the playoffs to go with his first interception in the national quarterfinals. Lining up on his outside will be junior Isiah Carter, a third-year starter who has made 157 tackles with 14 for losses and recorded 6 ½ sacks through his first two seasons despite battling through injuries and missing three games in 2015.

"Isiah has turned into a leader on defense whose play speaks for itself," Gravelle said. "He's a special player, and we've really built our defense around him and (Rucker)."

Senior Mylz Blake has been a part-time starter since breaking into the lineup as a redshirt-freshman in 2013. He was fifth on the team in tackles (63) and tackles for losses (six) in 2015 and is a favorite to win a starting job at the other outside position. Tyson Cooper, who started as a true freshman before being sidelined for the season in the fourth week, is also in the mix.

Redshirt-junior Kevin Blueford has earned snaps as a backup at middle-linebacker, and Austin Schmidt and Aaron Downes are also expected to be capable reserves. The newcomer in the mix is an impressive freshman, Collin Crown, and the only player lost is senior Oshay Dunmore, who may be out for the season with an injury suffered during camp.

DEFENSIVE BACKS: The secondary is a unit to watch while the Raiders work on replacing three seniors who started the last two years, but the ability to build around senior free safety Julius Rucker and redshirt-sophomore corner AJ Cooper should ease concerns.

Rucker last year became just the sixth first-team NAIA All-American in SOU history while leading the team with 109 tackles (89 of which were solo, and a career-high 17 of which were tallied in the national championship game), nine pass break-ups and two forced fumbles. Junior Brad Badali (a redshirt last year) is penciled in to back him up, while senior Nathan Torres-Walker and junior Keegan Lawrence have had strong camps at the other safety spot. Torres-Walker has served as a primary reserve each of the last years, and Lawrence made a smooth transition this spring from running back to defense, where he was most recently an all-state performer in high school.

At corner, the Raiders didn't miss a beat when Cooper was made a starter halfway through last season. He'll reassume his spot after proving to be up to the task, and the other starter will come from a group that includes junior Kyle Alexander (who sat out last season), junior College of the Siskiyous (Calif.) transfer Drakkar Sweet, and redshirt-freshmen Michael Chisley Jr. and Clayton Jones.

"Overall, we're pretty excited about the productivity that back four has given us during camp," Gravelle said. "It's a mature group with a nice mix of experience, but Julius is our true leader back there. He gets us lined up, gets us checked, and he is pretty locked in mentally right now."