TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – It was another beautiful morning at Memorial Stadium for Day Three of Training Camp for the Indiana State Football team – the first of two days in shoulder pads for the Sycamores before going live in full pads on Saturday morning.
 
After previewing offensive coordinator Jeff Hecklinski's offense yesterday, today we take a broad look at the defense helmed by defensive coordinator and secondary coach Brad Wilson.
 
Wilson has a bit of an advantage in help from his boss on the defensive side of the ball, as head coach Curt Mallory has been a defensive coach his entire career since playing linebacker himself at the University of Michigan from 1988-91.
 
Notable defensive coaching stops along his career include helping lead a stout Illinois defense to the 2007 Rose Bowl – where he mentored future NFL star cornerback Vontae Davis. Mallory was also a secondary coach at Michigan from 2011-14, helping guide the Wolverine defense to seventh-best in the NCAA in 2014 with 311.3 yards allowed per game.
 
"When I first met Brad, he was a guy that would just wear you out wanting to know everything about defense and was a true professional," Mallory said. "When I had the opening, I knew if I could get Brad Wilson it would make us a better defense."


 
Wilson, meanwhile, takes over the Sycamore defense following five seasons as the DC at Wayne State from 2012-16 after four seasons as the secondary coach at his alma mater, Ashland, from 2008-11.
 
"He's passionate and he's real," Mallory said. "You see it and the kids see it. He cares about his players and he loves what he does."
 
Like the offense moving from the multiple set spread to a more pro-style oriented system, Wilson and staff have instituted a 4-3 defensive system this spring and fall to replace the 3-4 nickel front of years past. Wilson said the spring was about installing the basics, but now it's game time.
 
"The difference between the spring and now is we're not scaling it back," Wilson said. "In the spring we only put in so much and we kind of pulled the reins back on them a little bit, and now it's go, go, go."
 
As for the Sycamores on the field, ISU returns a relatively experienced front seven that should have a chance to flourish in the 4-3 system. Up front, senior defensive end Kenyota Rollins returns after leading the Sycamores in TFL in 2016 with 9.0 (and 3.0 sacks). Senior Justin Hornsby makes the transition from outside linebacker/standup end to full defensive end in the new system, hoping to keep his production going following a 6.0 TFL and 2.5 sack season in 2016.
 
Inside, senior Norvell McGlaun transitions from the only nose tackle in the 3-4 to one of two defensive tackles in the 4-3. McGlaun has been an unsung hero of the Sycamore defense as an excellent gap disruptor the last two seasons – recording a career-high 36 tackles, 3.5 TFL and 2.5 sacks in 2016. Another interior lineman gaining the attention at camp so far is Northern Illinois transfer and junior Rex Mosley, who played in 20 games without redshirting in his two years with the Huskies in DeKalb.
 
Linebacker looks to be a profitable position for the Sycamores as well. Senior Jordan Jackson played in 10 games and started in four in 2016 after missing the previous two years due to injury. As a true freshman in 2013, Jackson played in 11 and started in five. Junior Katrell Moss returns as one of the most productive Sycamores on defense, with 22 career games played and 93 career tackles.
 
One linebacker impressing heavily throughout the spring and through camp right now is 6-foot-4 sophomore Jonas Griffith, who played in 10 games as a reserve in 2016 and was instrumental in a near upset at No. 14 Youngstown State, where he recorded a career-high nine tackles and snared a leaping interception to nearly turn the tide against the eventual national runner-up Penguins.
 
"You can't put a price tag on experience, and (the front seven) play with confidence because they're experienced players," Mallory said.
 
One area of the defense that will be key to watch throughout camp will be Wilson's own position group: the secondary. Indiana State actually didn't have an awful year in pass defense in 2016, ranking right in the middle in fifth in the MVFC at 219.7 yards allowed through the air per game. However, the unlucky timeliness of the long passing play helped eclipse the Sycamores several times throughout the season.
 
That said, Wilson's group has had high energy throughout camp and is embracing the competition heading into the season. Tough cornerbacks Rondell Green and Devin Brockington return for the senior seasons and are sure to find plenty of playing time on the edges, but the Sycamores have a bevy of safeties vying to be the centerfield ballhawk, like seniors KeAaris Ardley and Jamal Jones, and juniors Lonnie Walker II and De'Jaun Tyson – among several others.
 
"With all the one-on-one situations that we're putting them in, they've got to be the most competitive guys on the field," Wilson said. "They've got to have the mindset and mentality that it's you and them; someone's winning, someone's losing. Our defense is counting on them to win and counting on them to do their job."
 
Stay tuned to GoSycamores.com – as well as our Facebook and Twitter pages – for extensive coverage and position previews this season, including video content courtesy of Luke Martin.