When a college football team loses the players to graduation that the University of Charleston did in corners Torie Wagner and Trei Kelly and safety John Knox, there's usually real cause for concern. The trio made up five of UC's 15 interceptions, 21 of its 48 pass breakups and all three finished in the team's top seven in tackles.
The three players' absence will be felt this spring, but the Golden Eagles have an advantage - a slew of veteran defensive backs returning from injury who will recharge the UC secondary with talent and experience.
Two of those defensive backs - Cedric Amadi and Hayes Gaines - didn't make it out of the first game intact. Amadi, now a rising junior, broke his ankle, and Gaines, now a rising redshirt sophomore, injured his knee, forcing both out of the lineup for the rest of the season. Logan Cox's torn posterior cruciate ligament kept him out of all but two games in 2015. Amadi and rising senior Cox each played in all 11 of UC's games in 2014 and finished in the top 10 in tackles. And Zack Hadlock, a rising fifth-year senior who played in 10 games in 2014, missed the entire season with a medical redshirt.
"We have four guys that have all had a lot of playing experience back," Kirkland said. "I expect that group on defense to be the strength right now and leaders."
Sitting on the sideline was neither easy nor fun, Amadi said, especially when those injured players watched the Golden Eagles reach the Division II playoffs for the first time in program history. UC hosted a first-round game against Indiana University of Pennsylvania, losing 47-21. But Charleston did tie the program record of 10 wins in a season.
"It was very frustrating, but it got me so excited, how well they did," Amadi said. "They kept winning games. I felt like they were playing for me."
As those injured players watched, they saw new faces put on some impressive performances. Zaire Lewis was named an All-Mountain East Conference first-team selection as a sophomore after a six-interception season. Junior college transfer Johnathan Pruden battled his own injuries to finish eighth on the team with 46 tackles.
Now those players mix with the returning foursome for a strong secondary.
"It's definitely exciting," Cox said. "They picked up the defense and learned it just as well as the guys who were hurt. Now we can interchange. Guys get tired, and we don't lose anything. We can swap out series and be fine and keep fresh legs out on the field."
Charleston's defense took its lumps in the early part of 2015. The Golden Eagles allowed 44 points in their season-opening win versus Notre Dame College, and followed that with 45 points allowed in a loss at Shepherd. But UC rallied at season's end to finish fourth in the MEC, allowing 27.4 points per game.
UC's pass defense was one of the team's strong points. It ranked third in the MEC with 220 yards allowed per game, finished second in allowing opponents to complete 51.5 percent of their passes and was third with 15 interceptions.
Cox said now that he's actually in the mix on the field rather than playing a mentoring role in street clothes, he can tell how much better the defense has gotten.
"It feels great," Cox said. "You can definitely see it, just coming out for the first couple days of spring ball. The defense is kind of back and offense and defense are more even. As good as our offense was [last year], it made the defense better."
Kirkland hopes his secondary can anchor that improved defense, and believes that pack of returning veterans should allow it to fulfill that mission.
"I'm excited with the guys we have coming back," he said. "We got hit hard last year in the back end. It really hurt us. Now, to have all those guys coming back, it's a great thing."