Jax State football: Early in preseason practice, rebuilt defensive front is coming up big

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JACKSONVILLE — After Jacksonville State's first practice in full pads, head coach Charles Kelly could figure out this much:

His defensive line is ready to work.

When discussing how practice went and what got accomplished, Kelly made a point to single out the guys up front.

"I really felt like our defensive front was very intentional," he said. "They had good pass rush lanes. They pressed the pocket and affected the quarterback and those are things that we got to be able to do."

He also dropped this nugget about the defensive line:

"We're a lot deeper than we were last year," he said. "We're a lot bigger than we were."

That's a surprise for a group that lost the talent it did from last season, when Jax State finished third in Conference USA in total defense and second in rushing yards allowed per attempt (4.0).

Three of the key players from a year ago are now at Power Four schools: defensive end Emmanuel Oyebadejo (Florida), starting nose guard Talan Carter (Vanderbilt) and backup nose guard Darrell Prater (Illinois). Also, backup defensive end Gharin Stansbury has completed his eligibility.

Still, Kelly and his staff went to work in the off-season, and Kelly said they now have 14 players up front rotating in and out in practice.

"You've got to be able to play a lot of defensive linemen," Kelly said. "When you run out of D-linemen and they get worn down, it's hard because this game is still about moving people. You got to move people here, move people there. So whoever wins the line of scrimmage is going to win the game."

One of the leaders of the group is fifth-year defensive tackle Khurtiss Perry, who had 21 tackles last year, including 4.5 behind the line. He spent two seasons at Alabama and one at Virginia Tech before transferring to Jax State last year.

"Khurtiss is very talented," Kelly said. "He plays really hard. He's practiced really hard."

Jawaun Campbell, a junior, is back after missing the last five games of last season because of an injury. He started the first nine at defensive tackle.

Kelly also pointed out defensive linemen Quay Hood, a sophomore, and junior Chris Johnson. They didn't play a lot last year, although they got more action in the Salute to Veterans Bowl win over Troy, and Kelly lauded their performance in that game.

He also complimented the preseason work of senior Tae Floyd and senior Angel Toombs, a transfer from Wisconsin.

It adds up to plenty of competition, which is what Perry said he's happy to see.

"I just see a lot of guys that's just trying to get better up to this point," he said. "I see a lot of guys that's just coming in and just they're willing to learn. So it's easy to work with these guys because no matter who the starter is, no matter what, we're just trying to grow and feed off each other and just pick each other up along the way."

He added that he's thankful for Kelly and the coaching staff, which includes defensive line coach Xavier Garcia and defensive coordinator Brian Williams.

"Not to boost Coach Kelly's ego or nothing, but when he says he built this team, he really did build this team," Perry said. "I'm talking about from the O-line to the wide receiver room to the running backs to the D-line to the linebackers room. He did a wonderful job recruiting. I can tell you that."

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