Grambling's defense, triumphant in 2008, a focus this spring

There’s more on the line than a return to championship form for the Grambling defense.

This group, which powered GSU to its 22nd Southwestern Athletic Conference crown last December, not only bested bounce-back numbers from 2007 — the first under new coordinator Clifford Yoshida — it had one of the finest statistical years of the post-Eddie Robinson era.

Rising senior Christian Anthony, MVP of the title match, is approaching these spring sessions with typically quiet resolve. Numbers, of course, feed into larger goals.

“My motivation is to get back to the championship,” the defensive lineman told me. “It starts here in the off-season, lifting and running every day to get better. That’s my main motivation, and also to get that a chance to play in the NFL.”

Anthony, who co-led the team with 8 sacks and 7 quarterback hurries, is perhaps the best returning starter from a Grambling unit that surrendered just over 1,000 yards rushing in 2008 and 2,300 yards passing to finish No. 3 in the league for total defense. Opponents averaged just 4.3 yards per play (third in the SWAC), and scored a total of 21 touchdowns (second in the SWAC).

That’s 200 yards less on the ground, and nearly 150 less in the air than a year before. Over the 2007 campaign, when Grambling finished No. 2 in the SWAC for rushing and total defense, opponents gained almost a yard more per attempt, and scored two more times.

In fact, taking away its non-conference dates, GSU’s 2008 defense surrendered just one TD every time it took the field.

“They’re really confident in what they are doing,” said Yoshida, who with third-year Grambling head coach Broadway has claimed three conference titles in four years dating back to their tenure at North Carolina Central. “They think they can stop anybody. And they did.”

Grambling sacked opponents a staggering 44 times, held teams to a 28 percent conversion rate on third down, and picked them off 29 times. (Returning defensive back Desmond Lenard had six picks, a mark that’s only been matched or bested five times in 20 seasons — 8, Chris Brown in 2001; 7, Akili Johnson in 1994; and 6, Charles Davis in 1988, Calvin Spears in 2000; and Denmark Reed in 2001.)

That was 23 more sacks than in 2007, and the most at Grambling since 2000 when a defense that finished ranked No. 18 in all of Division I-AA had 45 quarterback tackles on the way to the first of three consecutive SWAC titles under Doug Williams.

Grambling knocked 10 percentage points off its third-down stat, after allowing opponents to convert 37.2 percent of the time in 2007. Grambling’s most recent conference champion, the 2005 squad, allowed conversions at a 36-percent clip. In fact, the 2008 squad’s number is the best at GSU since 2002 and 2000, both championship seasons under former Tigers defensive guru Michael Roach.

The 3,300 yards total yards surrendered by GSU defenders last season actually bested Roach’s celebrated group from 2000, which also gave up more on yards-per-play as well as three more scores on the year.

“We played great defense all year,” Broadway said. “Our defensive coaching staff has done an outstanding job getting our guys prepared and we have some good players.”

Several of the very best, however, have completed their eligibility, making GSU’s goal of recapturing this dominance all the more elusive in 2009.

Grambling is projected to lose a series of seniors, including Bayou Classic MVP linebacker Keefe Hall (team-leading 102 tackles), All-America defensive lineman Melvin Matthews (34 tackles; 8 sacks) and emotional leader Jeffery Jack (82 tackles, team-leading 3 forced fumbles) — as well as senior defensive lineman Otis Young (48 tackles; 2.5 sacks), among others.

Expect this unit to be a focus during the looming spring sessions, which begin on Monday.

Nick’s note: Defensive backs Kenneth Anio (45 tackles; 5 interceptions) and Nigel Copeland (27/2), both listed as seniors in 2008, returned to the practice field for the opening of the spring sessions on Monday.