Idaho State begins fall camp in 23 days. Before that, we’re sifting through ISU’s position groups in a series that takes a look at how they stand coming out of spring practice and heading into fall camp. Friday it was the safeties, Saturday the linebackers and in our final installment: the defensive line.
OUTLOOK
The Bengals have three starters returning in the secondary, two at linebacker and nine on the offensive side of the ball. At defensive line, however, Tyler Kuder is the lone man back from 2014.
Kuder represents the one solid piece Idaho State knows it can count on up front. Beyond the Payette native, however, it’s a mystery. In the spring, Chris Edwards, Larry Tharpe Jr., Drew Sharkey, Matt Lewis and Thomas Ryan rotated through ISU’s three-man front.
Head coach Mike Kramer and Idaho State also heavily recruited the defensive line to bolster their depth and talent level. Junior college transfers Spencer Hoff and Nikko Taylor will play right away and possibly start. And the Bengals snagged freshmen Robert Schwenke and Treven Aloi who look talented enough to play immediately.
CONCERNS
Idaho State’s defensive line hasn’t been good over the past four seasons. They’ve been shoved around and manhandled by offensive lines and haven’t been able to rush the opposing quarterback.
The Bengals fixed their offensive line issues through smart recruiting and great coaching from Matt Troxel, directly resulting in Idaho State piling up the best offensive numbers in the history of the school last season. To cure the defensive woes, Kramer hired a new defense staff, including defense line coach Steve Fifita two years ago. When, and only when, Fifita and the Bengals have a competent D-line will Idaho State’s defense take a similar jump forward like the offense.
THE STAR
Tyler Kuder had 56 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks as a junior. Those last two numbers are what the 6-foot-3 defensive lineman and his coaching staff want to improve in his final season.
To do that, the nose tackle spent some time at defensive end in the spring, moving him away from the interior line where centers and guards can constantly double-team him. It allowed Kuder to take on offensive linemen in one-on-one situations.
It’s a move that could drastically alter Kuder’s effect on games.
“I think it’s going to be awesome because he can really push past those tackles that are longer and not so burley,” Kramer said in the spring. “Chris Edwards and Nikko Taylor can hold the fort in the middle along with Robert Schwenke. ... Those guys can hold the fort in the middle while we push Kuder off the edge.”
PLAYER ON THE RISE
Junior college transfers Nikko Taylor and Spencer Hoff.
Here is what Kramer had to say about them in February on signing day.
On Taylor: “Nikko Taylor is a junior college kid that we think can come in and certainly will start. Regardless with how we go through spring ball and fall camp, we think Nikko Taylor, who played on a great junior college defense, can come in and play right away. ... He’s got great speed and good hands and great quickness. Our defensive front is taking a step forward with him.”
On Hoff: “Spencer Hoff is a junior college defensive tackle who will be a quasi-starter for us right now. Our down defensive front outside of Tyler is really a huge question mark. A lot of it will have to develop in spring and then we’ll have to redevelop it during two-a-days, and I think Spencer will come in with an opportunity to start.”
UNDERRATED PLAYER
Drew Sharkey, a junior, and Chris Edwards, a senior, combined for 15 tackles a season ago. And it would seem the Bengals don’t have a lot of faith in their returning defensive linemen since they brought in a bevy of them in the offseason to compete for playing time this fall.
But that outlook isn’t totally fair to Edwards and Sharkey. ISU will need both to play well this season whether they end up as starters or not. Injuries are bound to happen. Depth is essential.
BOTTOM LINE
Of the 23 players Idaho State signed in February, 17 were on defense and eight of those were defensive linemen. The Bengals are happy where their offense is and now is the time to fix the defense. It will start to come together when the D-line begins to push and shove back.
“We’re ticketed for greatness on offense. The problem is defensively we’re not as physical in our front as we have been and as we need to be,” Kramer said. “We’ll take some junior college guys that have some opportunities to play, some young true freshmen who will play quite a bit in backup roles ... so that, defensively, years from now, as we’re building on of the best defenses in the nation, you’ll have been in on the ground floor.”