The Broncos have experience from a defense that didn’t perform a year ago. Can they take the next step with help from the transfer portal?
The Western Michigan defense was their weakness in 2023, ranking ninth in the conference in rush yards per game allowed and last in passing yards and efficiency against MAC teams. The advanced stats paint the same picture. The defensive front could get pushed around, last in line yards allowed and allowed the third-highest success rate in the MAC.
They did create havoc plays (tackles for loss, sacks, deflected passes, fumbles and interceptions) but that wasn’t enough to keep the points off the scoreboard.
The emphasis on havoc plays was something that former defensive coordinator Lou Esposito really focused on. His early defenses at Western Michigan were prone to give up the big play, but the last two seasons were maybe his best. He got the defense to not give up the home run, but there were too many easy yards on early downs to reliably get off the field.
Lou Esposito has bounced around since leaving WMU. Initially, he left for the defensive coordinator position at Memphis but has settled in as the defensive line coach at Michigan. Scott Power was hired to be the linebackers coach after being fired at Louisiana Tech, but the Nick Saban retirement caused a shake-up on the WMU staff when Robert Bala left. Now Power is in control of the defense in 2024.
He has his work cut out for him.
The defense wasn’t spectacular last season and the two All-MAC players have left the program for the NFL. Defensive end Marshawn Kneeland was a second-round selection by the Dallas Cowboys and cornerback Keni-H Lovely is currently trying to make it stick as an undrafted free agent with the Buffalo Bills.
Despite the two best players gone, there are a lot of returning starters, which is a reason for some optimism. The keys for the defense in 2023 will be finding playmakers and adjusting to a new system quickly.
Depth in the trenches
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Missing Marshawn Kneeland will be felt by the group up front. Kneeland missed some time in the middle of last season so this rotation won’t be totally foreign. Redshirt juniors Corey Walker and Mason Nelson return as regular starters and pre-season Athlon All-MAC defenders. They combined for 63 tackles, 13 for loss and 5.5 sacks. Isaiah Green started five games and chipped in 4.5 tackles for loss including two sacks.
Green and Nelson are interior defenders on the defensive line and Nick Esposito, no relation to Lou Esposito, transfers in from the College of DuPage to compete for snaps. He has the size to compete right away.
Walker was the defensive end opposite Kneeland and should hold his spot on the defensive line. That’s not a given though. The incoming group of players includes three players coming from Power 4 programs. Popeye Williams and Rodney McGraw are coming from Louisville via the transfer portal and Anterio Thompson is from the Iowa Hawkeyes. All three saw the field sparingly but could make an impact at WMU quickly. Thompson is right around the right size to be light and quick for an interior player or a powerful edge defender. He might play both.
Those three, plus Walker, could be a solid defensive end rotation, but players like Marcel Tyler and Jayden Childers played in almost every game last season. They want to see the field and contribute as well. We’ll see who is ready in Camp Randall against Wisconsin in week one.
Three freshmen join the position group including Jalen Buckley’s younger brother Jordan. The highest 247Sports composite score of the group belongs to Joshua Lloyd from Florida. He had 20 scholarship offers including seven from Power Four programs. He chose to come to Western Michigan over Georgia Tech, Indiana, Iowa State, Michigan State, Missouri, Notre Dame and Pitt.
The volume approach and heavy rotation are the best ways to take an inventory of the group, especially with Wisconsin and Ohio State as the first two games. This group’s ability to be disruptive will unlock the rest of the defense.
Linebackers need a jump in production
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Fifth-year senior Nate Norris started five games in 2023 and is the only major contributor not returning. Damari Roberson, Jacob Wahlberg, Donald Willis and Boone Bonnema are four redshirt seniors back for one last ride in college football. Roberson and Wahlberg each had more than 65 tackles and Willis and Bonnema saw more limited action.
Roberson led the group with 68 tackles and was best in pass defense. He broke up six passes and intercepted one. Wahlberg, Willis and Bonnema were better at getting behind the line of scrimmage. They combined for 16.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks and that wasn’t enough last year.
The Bronco defense combined for 62 tackles for loss and that only beats three teams in the MAC. It isn’t all on the linebackers, but with a group of four seniors in 2024 they need to lead the defense. Wahlberg and Willis were named to the preseason Athlon All-MAC teams and should lead the way for the defense. The tell will be the tackle-for-loss numbers after the Broncos get past week two in their schedule.
Domanick Moon is a sophomore transfer from Purdue fighting for playing time with Jelani Willis, Dillon Moore and Brendan Budeselich. The last three are the returning players from the 2023 squad who weren’t major contributors to the defense on game day.
Huston Eubank looks like the prize recruit in the linebacker room. He had 16 offers according to 247Sports, all to G5 and FCS programs. Enough teams though he was a college football player to make me confident that he will be, maybe not on day one. Maddux Babin, WMU All-American Jason Babin’s son, commits to WMU as well.
On one hand, four major contributors return to the group. On the other, they didn’t produce like a great linebacker group should. The new leadership on this side of the ball could be a good thing for the group. The linebackers are always going to be asked to do the same job, make tackles, but how they are asked to do it is important. Hopefully, their experience shines through and they can make their living in the opponent’s backfield.
Two cornerbacks are clearly on top, but there’s unproven depth
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Keni-H Lovely exhausted his eligibility at the end of 2023, but the Broncos secondary is in a good place— albeit a little thin. Lovely led all WMU cornerbacks in interceptions, tackles and tackles for loss, but Bilhal Kone had the most pass breakups.
Kone broke up eight passes and intercepted one in only three starts last season. As the year went on he saw the field more and more and made drive-changing plays. He is a preseason Athlon All-MAC second-teamer and should slot right into the gap left by Lovely.
DaShon Bussell is the corner that is going to start on the opposite side, and his talent since the transition to the defensive side of the ball has been unquestioned, with 24 tackles, a sack and a PBU in seven games. When Bussell and Kone are on the field, the first line of pass defense is in a good place. The only concern will be Bussell’s health; he missed five games in 2023, 11 games in 2022 and nine games in 2021 due to injury.
Behind these two are players untested at the FBS level. Lorenzo Williams Jr. and Corey Webb return from last season, while two transfers will compete with them for snaps at nickel corner and rotation snaps. Nyquann Washington played three seasons at FCS Tennessee Tech and totaled 75 tackles, an interception and 11 passes broken up. Versie Walker III comes from NAIA Indiana Wesleyan after one season without playing time.
The freshmen incoming look good on paper and that’s better than the alternative. It still needs to translate to the field, but four of the newcomers had at least one Power Four offer. Carlos Mitchell Jr had 19 offers and offers from UNC, Kentucky, Nebraska, Penn State, Purdue and WVU and selected Western Michigan. Cameron Powell’s offer sheet included Iowa State, Purdue and Tennessee as well.
It’s a good class. How quickly can they be ready, and maybe more importantly, how quickly will they be needed?
Safety is a strength
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The Broncos have both of their starters back at safety and they were strengths for the defense in 2023. Tate Hallock led the team in tackles (75), intercepted two passes and broke up four more. Aaron Wofford was second on the team in tackles (71), also intercepted two passes and broke up five.
It says something when the leading tacklers on the team are safeties, and it’s not good. Lou Esposito liked them to play aggressively in the running game and often had them closer to the line of scrimmage than safeties typically are. That can explain their tackle numbers to some extent, but the biggest adjustment may come in how they are used. The new defensive coordinator may want them as true safeties, farther away from the line of scrimmage. It will be interesting to see how Scott Power employs this group.
Saveon Brown transferred to Buffalo as he saw the pair of players at the top of the depth chart and decided to go elsewhere.
Three transfers are in to fill the depth chart ahead of the freshmen. Armani-Eli Adams is a fifth-year player from Florida Atlantic and started most games for the Owls last season. His stat line looks very similar to Hallock and Wofford at an American Athletic Conference program. He totaled 69 tackles, an interception and eight passes broken up. Michael Gravely started at Michigan State before dropping down to the College of DuPage where he played well. Ryan Raybuck intercepted four passes and deflected 23 in his four seasons at Division 2 Anselm. Raybuck can play, but he’s making a big jump from DII to FBS.
Freshman CJ Miles is a MAC athlete if his offer sheet is evidence. He chose Western over seven other MAC schools according to 247Sports.
The safety position is in a good place. Two starters that can do it and a transfer that proved he can do it elsewhere for depth. Hopefully, they provide the foundation that the Bronco’s defense big step forward builds on.