The Colonels’ football team hopes the sports clich “defense wins championships” holds true once again this season.After a season that ended with a Southland Conference championship where the Colonels finished first overall in run, red zone and total defense, new defensive coordinator Steve Ellis said replacing the seniors who left may be a challenge.

The biggest loss for the Colonels was at the defensive line position where eight seniors were lost.

“We have a lot of talented guys and big shoes to fill,” Ellis said. “We’re counting on guys like (senior) Greg Casnave, (sophomore) Chris Noble and (freshman) Jairus Jarvis to step in and fill the void. It’ll be tough, but if they keep working hard then I think good things can happen to the defensive line.”

Besides Casnave, Noble and Jarvis, seniors Brady Vavala and Kyle Freeman will return to help anchor the defensive line. The rest of the line consists of freshmen, including Jarvis Sigler, Ronald Demby, Tracey Howard, Austin Williams, Zach Reddix, Baylor Ordoyne, Matt Fairchild and Chase Martin.

According to Ellis, the defensive leaders on this year’s team will be the linebackers, who are returning with all their starters from last season.

Senior Cory Vavala, who expects big things from his fellow linebackers, will lead this year’s linebacker core.

“We have so much depth at the linebacker spot,” Vavala said. “We feel that we can run the defense and that we are the coaches of the defense. The leadership and experience we have is going to help our defense.”

Linebacker coach Jeremy Atwell said having experience makes coaching a lot easier, but there is always room for improvement.

“Last year is done, so we’re looking at it as if last year never happened,” Atwell said. “If we go out there and improve everyday, then we’ll be very successful.”

Besides Vavala, seniors Levon Bailey and Dustin Gisclair are also returning. Juniors Robert Ellis, Mike Heyl, Ivan Perry and Chase Pertella are returning along with sophomores Chris Broussard and Cody Dimak. Freshman LSU transfer Dominique Cooper joins fellow freshman Yashua Willis and Jarrod Fanguy to round out the Colonels’ linebackers this season.

Another position that suffered key losses was the secondary. Now that Tommy Lee Brown, Joe Ogletree and Henry Johnson are gone, the Colonels will see new faces in the defensive backfield.

“We lost some key playmakers,” senior defensive back Toney Edison said. “We have some pretty good athletes, very mobile, and it’s all about learning the defense and rolling with it.”

Even though this team is young, Edison believes the Colonels can still finish at the top of the conference.

“Last year we felt like we could go all the way and run it,” Edison said. “We had a taste of it, but it left a bitter taste on our tongue. We think we have a good chance to win the conference and possibly a national championship.”

Joining Edison in the secondary this season will be senior Marcques Lewis, a former LSU Tiger, senior Danarus Hall, junior Nick Reasons, sophomore Lawrence Luquette, and freshmen Dominique Sykes, Rance Lasseigne, Jamal Simmons and Jordan Ogletree, brother of former Colonel football player Joe Ogletree.

Now defending their title, Colonels head football coach Jay Thomas said it is important to handle the pressure since this team has higher expectations. The Colonels are predicted to finish third this year instead of last, as they had over the last couple seasons.

“It’s an honor to be picked where we are,” Thomas said. “The key to our success this season is going to be how fast we establish an identity. The more we go through camp, the more we can see how tight the bond is with this team.”

Vavala agreed, saying the key to success this year is playing Colonel football.

“Colonel football is all about defense three and out and letting the offense control the ball for at least 35 minutes a game,” Vavala said. “We’re striving to be in the top five in the country by playing Colonel football.”

NSU opens the season Aug. 31 against Southern Arkansas. Game time is set for 6 p.m. in Guidry Stadium.