When you look at the West Virginia State defense on paper, it's clear to see that there are a few major differences from last year's team.
Gone are the Yellow Jackets' four leading tacklers from the 2016 season. Linebacker Mitch Rowell and defensive lineman Jay Terry graduated, while defensive back Ayinde Warren and linebacker Dennis Gardeck - who was second in the Mountain East Conference with 111 tackles last season - have joined former WVSU coach Jon Anderson at the University of Sioux Falls.
But with a new defensive coordinator and a new scheme, the Yellow Jackets are ready to turn the page this season and move forward with new leaders stepping up and playing those key roles.
"They've been getting after it. We've had some days where the guys have really dominated the offense," West Virginia State coach John Pennington said. "They have really started to develop that toughness we need and they're coming into every day with the right mindset."
Pennington said the defense is beginning to make strides since it has started working with new coordinator George Shehl and the 3-3-5 scheme that the Yellow Jackets will be playing in this year.
As the team has started to grow more comfortable with that scheme, leaders have started to emerge.
"We lost some great players from last year, but we've got people back who have been great leaders for us," Pennington said. "We've got leaders all over the field for us, some guys who have made a lot of plays for us and some who might not be seen as much on the stat sheet but give us a lot on our defense.
"When you put those guys in with some of our guys who are ready to step up and our transfers, it's an exciting thing."
It's not only the upperclassmen who have stepped up. Some of the newcomers and other underclassmen, who have learned from veterans like Kevin Coffie, Trent Williamson, Khave Konteh and Brandon Dickerson, have started to show the coaching staff that they are ready to compete when State opens the 2017 season at noon Sept. 2 at home versus Kanawha Valley rival Charleston.
"We came in not sure how ready they'd be, but in the couple of weeks we've been out here some of those guys have shown us that they are ready to go," Pennington said. "Our goal has been to encourage them to push and reach their potential of what they can do for our football team. George has done an incredible job of pushing our guys along and helping them do that."
Now that the Yellow Jackets have worked a few days of practice in full pads and the coaching staff has had the chance to evaluate the results, Pennington said he's happy with where the defense is heading as it looks to improve off a tough 2016 season.
The Yellow Jackets were last in the MEC last year in scoring, total and passing defense. Their 39.5 points allowed per game ranked 154th out of 170 NCAA Division II teams in 2016. Yet State believes that by getting back to the basics, and with the leaders the Jackets have returning on that side of the ball, it can begin to take positive steps in 2017 to establish itself as a gritty, blue-collar defense.
"We know we have guys capable of making those things happen and doing what we want to do as a defense," Pennington said. "It starts with being physical and tackling well, that's the foundation of any defense. We've been driving home the fundamentals and we should be a defense that will not beat itself, because that's been a big problem the last few years.
"This group is a defense that will make offenses beat them. They'll play physically, tackle well and will make the other team work if they want to put points on the board. That's all we can ask of them, and we think we have a defense that can do that."
Contact Michael Carvelli at 304-348-4810 or michael.carvelli@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @carvelli3.