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Show SUSC coach expects defense to feature strength and speed f . t :,!. ' ; 4 -:; ! i - iff " f A u CEDAR CITY Aside from some uncertainties concerning the backfield and the experience of backup players, the defensive unit of the 1982 Southern Utah State College football team looks solid and effective. Head Coach Jack Bishop figures that while his defensive unit will not be quite as big as last year's crew, it will probably make up for less size with more speed. "The defensive line looks strong on paper with good first unit talent and good, but slightly untested, depth," Bishop indicates. "Our defensive defen-sive backfield effectiveness ef-fectiveness will depend heavily on how what looks like excellent talent meshes into a unit. Linebacking looks strong despite a slight lack of experience." Most of this year's nose guard duty is expected to come from either Doug Snell (6-1, 270, senior) or Kevin Singleton (5-11, 255, senior). Whichever veteran is not playing at nose guard will be seeing considerable action at the tackle slot. Both are proven tough and dependable. Backing up the position will be Ernie Pena (6-0, 225, junior). Talent, depth, and experience ex-perience should make it tough for opponents to exploit the middle of the T-Bird line. Increased quickness could make SUSC's defensive tackles even stronger than last year. Along with either Snell or Singleton, the T-Birds are expecting good things from Bob Johnson (6-1, 225, sophomore). Other seasoned players are also battling for playing time. They include Dale Loveland (6-2, 250, sophomore), Jeff Aeck (6-4, 220, junior transfer from L.A. Pierce JC), and Bruce Stacey (6-1, 250, senior). "Johnson has great potential for a young player; Loveland can be strong, and Aeck and Stackey are both good. The depth is very solid; I feel good about the degfensive tackles,'" Bishop says. - Quickness at defensive end will remain good, despite the untimely death of all-conference David Crook. The position will be staffed with relatively young players, and total effectiveness ef-fectiveness will not be determined until the heat of competition. Bishop is counting on Dan Nelson (6-2, 195, junior), Jess Cox (64, 220, sophomore), Jeff Gunnarson (6-4, 205, sophomore), Tracy Smith (6-3, 205, junior transfer from Moorpark JC), and Tracy Keel (6-4, 200, sophomore) to provide the talent pool from which to draw. Several good freshmen will also work in to the program at defensive end. Three linebackers with at least semi-regular experience will be available for duty. The first line talent is good; there may be some problem with inexperienced inex-perienced depth, but the young talent looks impressive. im-pressive. Sharing most of the duty will be Marvin Mar-vin Magalei (6-1, 215, junior), GeneGatza (5-11, 210, junior transfer from Ricks College) has good credentials, and several freshmen, including Don Adams (6-1, 200 from Cedar High School and and Ken Clark (6-0, 200 from Clark High School in Las Vegas, Nev.) will get a crack at playing time. Only two defensive backs with extensive playing time return this year, cornerback Sam Gallegos (5-9, 165, senior) and free safety Dave Peck (6-1, 175, junior). Scott Henderson (6-2, 200, junior) was used some last year and could move into a starting strong safety spot. After those three, the talent will be new. "It looks to me like we have some excellent defensive backs coming, but they are untested yet, and we'll need to work hard to put everything together. How well and quickly the defensive backfield comes together as a unit could well determine our early-season early-season success," Bishop points out. The new talent includes Jack Hulse (6-2, 185, junior from Glendale, Ariz., JC), Tai Vaimaona (5-11, 185, junior from West Los Angeles Junior College), Mike Stoedter (5-9, 165, sophomore) and Babe Malifau (6-1, .285, junior from Mira Costa, Calif., Junior College). Freshmen recruits also look good in the backfield positions. While some questions about defense still need to be answered, and the early-season competition will be rugged, Bishop is relatively confident that he has the defensive players to be strong Gerry Kloepfer, of Yucaipa, Calif., shows his winning style during tournament play. Kloepfer captured the Men's Class A title this week in the Cedar City Open Horseshoe Tournament. |