If you’re not familiar with the name Maxen Hook, there’s still time to learn.
The 2023 Toledo Rockets pieced together the best regular season the MAC had seen in quite some time. They entered the MAC Championship Game riding 11 consecutive victories, assembling the first 11+ win regular season by a MAC team since 2016 Western Michigan.
The Rockets dropped the ensuing MAC title game to Miami (OH) and the Arizona Bowl to Wyoming, but coming up short in those monumental games shouldn’t completely overshadow what Jason Candle’s team accomplished in 2023. They became the first MAC team to invade the AP rankings since 2020, spending two weeks in the poll until the conference championship in Detroit.
Much of Toledo’s 2023 success can be attributed to the defense. The unit ranked 23d nationally in fewest points allowed per contest at 20.3 and 27th in fewest yards allowed. With NFL first round draft pick Quinyon Mitchell — the first cornerback selected — leading the charge, Toledo fielded an elite pass defense, checking in at 17th in the FBS in fewest passing yards yielded and holding opponents to the fifth lowest completion percentage in the country.
Although Mitchell and strong contingent of that defense departed this offseason, the Rockets are still led by defensive coordinator Vince Kehres, who enters his fifth season at the helm. Kehres’ defenses have been remarkable, ranking 36th or higher in fewest yards allowed in all four years — even more impressive considering he took over a unit which ranked 123rd in the category in 2019.
Defensive line
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Toledo’s defense is very multiple — it’s a hybrid of a 4-2-5 and a 3-3-5, depending on if you label the edge rushers as defensive ends or outside linebackers. But based on the classification Toledo officially provides, one edge rusher is designated as a defensive end and the other as an outside backer, so for the sake of this piece, there are three starting linemen and three starting linebackers.
Toledo’s defensive line will take on a different look in 2024 without reigning First Team All-MAC defensive tackle Judge Culpepper anchoring the front. Culpepper, who was diagnosed with cancer and deemed cancer free between the MAC Championship Game and Arizona Bowl, was a superstar in his role by producing 9.0 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss, and he’ll be difficult to replace.
The other two starters on the line are back — defensive end D’Andre Ragin and defensive tackle Darius Alexander. Ragin has been rostered since 2019 and suiting up since 2020, but last year was his first exposure to a starting role. With Culpepper no longer in the mix, he is the team’s returning sack leader by registering five in 2023 in addition to 41 tackles and eight tackles for loss. Alexander also stepped into a starting gig for the first time last fall and thrived by earning Third Team All-MAC honors. The 6’4”, 310 pound defensive tackle proved to be one of the best at his position in the MAC after a 4-sack season, and he’s a constant threat to bat balls down at the line of scrimmage given his height and awareness with his hands.
Who is the other defensive tackle stepping up in Culpepper’s place? Most signs point to Cavon Butler who is entering his fifth year with the program. Although Butler played in all 14 games last year as a reserve, he previously earned eight games of starting experience in 2021 and 2022. But even in a backup role, Butler remained impactful with a personal-best 29 tackles and four tackles for loss.
The next batch of defensive tackles behind Alexander and Butler includes Martez Poynter who generated 17 stops after a significant uptick in playing time. There’s also Esean Carter who saw a breakout performance in the Arizona Bowl with his first career sack and forced fumble. Doran Ray Jr. is another reserve looking for expanding playing time after logging eight games in three years, producing seven tackles along the way. Rounding out the unit are redshirt freshmen Laith Shamma and Zach Potter (who both played sparingly in 2023) as well as true freshmen Carlos Hazelwood and Wayne Peart II.
The backup defensive ends include Florida A&M transfer Anthony Dunn Jr., who racked up 8.0 sacks and 12.5 tackles for loss in two seasons at the FCS level. There is also a quartet of sophomores in Josh Lee, Malachi Davis, Travion Ford, and Kiel Eldridge. All four played last year — Lee at Hillsdale College — but Ford made the most impact as a Rocket with 10 tackles in his first season after transferring from Missouri. London, OH native Andrew Sims is the true freshman joining the mix, hoping to suit up sometime in 2024.
Linebacker
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Toledo’s starting linebacking corps in 2023 consisted of edge rusher Terrance Taylor, middle linebacker Dallas Gant, and outside linebacker Dan Bolden. Taylor and Gant both graduated after six-year COVID eligibility assisted stays in college, leaving Bolden as the only man back for 2024.
Gant ranked atop the unit in tackles with 116, holding that title for two consecutive seasons with the Rockets. But Bolden was somewhat of a tackling machine himself, finishing with 94 and 6.5 behind the line of scrimmage in a breakthrough campaign. Bolden was a starter in 2020 but injuries limited him to one game the following two seasons. Granted with a full slate of health, the linebacker looks to tap into All-MAC caliber play this year after four games with 10+ tackles in 2023.
Taking over Taylor’s spot as the edge rusher outside linebacker is most likely Deshawn Holt, who amassed four starts a year ago. Holt was highly visible in the rotation for the Rockets, garnering 4.0 sacks and 6.0 tackles for loss in 12 games of action. Toledo finished top 15 in sacks last fall with four players generating at least four, and three of those guys — including Holt — are back in the mix this season.
Gant bequeaths his position in the middle to sixth-year senior Jackson Barrow, who like Holt, has been a fixture in the defensive rotation for years with a handful of starts under his belt. Rising to a starting role shouldn’t be too steep of a learning curve for the Indianapolis native who already has 96 tackles on his personal résumé.
Even after replacing two starters, Toledo remains deep at linebacker thanks to a trio of experienced additions from the portal. Lance Dixon arrives from West Virginia where he manufactured 86 tackles as a part-time starter. The sixth-year senior’s starting experience goes back even beyond his Mountaineer days as he registered one start during two seasons at Penn State from 2019-20. Although the aforementioned linebackers have an advantage of playing in Kehres’ system for a long time, don’t be surprised if the outside linebacker finds his way back to a starting role this season.
K’Von Sherman is another transfer and his collegiate background couldn’t be any more different than Dixon’s. Sherman upgrades from the JUCO level where he shined as a first team all-conference selection at Hutchinson Community College — totaling 77 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss, and 5.5 sacks for the No. 1 JUCO team in the country. If those abilities translate, Toledo could be especially lethal at this position with five starting-caliber players.
The final newcomer from the portal is Division III prospect Owen Gibbs, arriving from Heidelberg University. Other linebackers include Damon Ollison II and Chris D’Appolina, both special teams staples who recorded a combined 18 stops in 2023, as well as a triumvirate of true freshmen in Ibraheem Kamara, Isaac Zay, and Trae Gaston.
The edge rusher outside linebacker position features Jeremiah Peters, CJ Wilson Jr., Don Munnerlyn, and Tommy Huss as the reserves. Peters was a recurring piece of the defense with 22 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss, and 3.5 sacks, while Wilson made 11 appearances and four tackles in 2023. Munnerlyn is an incumbent roster member, but not as an outside linebacker. He previously played wide receiver at Rutgers and last year at Toledo, recording one catch for 14 yards in the Rockets’ 71-3 annihilation of Texas Southern last September.
Secondary
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Quinyon Mitchell cemented himself into legendary status at Toledo. He was a two-time First Team All-MAC selection, once picked off four passes in a single game with two touchdowns, finished second in pass breakups last season with 18, and exchanged all of that success into a 22nd overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Quinyon Mitchells don’t grow on trees, and it’s even rarer to keep players of that caliber in the transfer portal/NIL modern world of college football. Toledo’s secondary will certainly miss the playmaking of a first round caliber cornerback, but the Rockets must move forward to 2024 with the pieces they currently tote.
But Toledo’s defensive backfield loses more than an AP All-American. Cornerback Chris McDonald and safeties Zachary Ford and Nate Bauer also leave the group, making strong safety Maxen Hook the lone returner in the position group.
Hook is already an established star. He collected 2021 All-MAC Third Team honors before earning the First Team promotion in both 2022 and 2023. He ranked third on Toledo with 69 tackles last fall and accumulated 81 and 95 in the prior two seasons. Over the last two years, Hook has five interceptions and eight pass breakups to his name, and his track record of dominance is already intriguing the nation. He’s on the Nagurski Trophy watchlist for best defensive player in the country and Jim Thorpe Award watchlist for best defensive back.
The starting free safety to pair alongside Hook shouldn’t bring much concern. Toledo is well aware of Emmanuel McNeil-Warren and the talents he offers. He’s started several games over the last couple seasons and he actually tied Hook for third on the roster in tackles in 2023. McNeil-Warren played as much of a role in the turnover battle as anyone with two interceptions and four forced fumbles — ranking first in the MAC and third in the FBS. Toledo needs more of that aggressiveness, especially after finishing a -3 in turnover margin despite a successful defensive season.
Since Toledo starts three safeties (one in a nickelback role), Braden Awls has potential to become a starter, gaining valuable on-field reps in 2023 although primarily in a special teams role. Other safeties include Eric Williams, Sam Smith Jr., Nicholas Thompson, and Dylan Hohler — all redshirt freshmen who sat out the entirety of 2023. Michael-Arinzé Ezirim, Jay’Quan Bostic, and Landen Delich are the true freshmen added to this group.
Cornerback is the biggest question mark on the defense considering the lack of starting experience to go around the room. Projected starters include Avery Smith and Nasir Bowers. Both corners saw action in all 14 games in 2023 and considerable action in 2022, preparing them to be the next men up after Mitchell and McDonald. Smith produced 15 tackles, while Bowers at seven, and both seek their first career interceptions, a statistic Toledo’s previous cornerbacks generated quite regularly. Andre Fuller is another returning corner that could thrust himself in the conversation after logging 11 tackles and two pass breakups as a participant in every game last year.
Florida transfer Jadarrius Perkins could also elevate into a starting role at corner, or take over as the No. 1 nickelback. Perkins took the community college route to Gainesville and served as a steady contributor for the Gators in 2021 with 25 tackles and in 2022 with 14 tackles and an interception.
Zeke Blake is another transfer infiltrating the cornerback room after a stint at in-state FCS school Youngstown State, where he made one start in 10 games in 2023, picking up 19 tackles along the way.
Other cornerbacks include a special teams mainstay in Peyton Reasonover, as well as redshirt freshman Kaden Holmes who sat out all of 2023. It’s a position group Toledo invested in when recruiting, bringing in three true freshmen in hopes of finding the next NFL first round draft pick. Those freshmen are Hyajah Miller, Tyler McKinstry, and Amare Garrett.