GETTING DEFENSIVE: Nicholls State looks to smother offenses in 2007

From the 2005 Southland Conference Championship, to a disappointing 2006 campaign that left the team tied for fourth place in the conference, Nicholls State Football has had its share of ups and downs the past two years.

But the return of several key players and the addition of several key transfers has Colonels fans feeling optimistic about 2007.

“Every year our goal is to end the season as Southland Conference Champions and we didn’t get there last year,” said head coach Jay Thomas. “We contended, but didn’t capture the crown.”

The Colonels strength this year appears to be their defense. It was one of the best in the conference last season, finishing first in scoring and pass defense.

The Colonels only allowed an average of 20.7 points a game and held opposing teams to only 148.9 passing yards.

The Colonels hard-hitting defensive strategy made them the second best overall defense in the conference.

The main question mark on the 2007 defensive squad is at the linebacker position.

The Colonels graduated all three starters. Gone are starting linebackers Levron Bailey, Dustin Gisclair, and Cory Vavala.

The squad will also miss experienced backup linebacker Robby Ellis.

The Colonel coaching staff hopes to find lightening in a bottle with former John Curtis Christian High School standouts Mike Heyl (senior) and Cody Dimak (junior). Also filling in the defensive holes are two sophomores – linebacker Yashua Willis and Solomon Ono, a transfer from Mississippi State who will take over defensive tackle duties from the departed Greg Casnave.

Coach Thomas sees the linebacker position as a strength in numbers situation.

“We are looking at a lot of guys to fill those positions. The competition is heated but healthy between the players. We hope to rotate them quite a bit against Rice and see who will step up and take over.”

Even with these new additions to the defense, coach Thomas feels that the Colonels’ coaching staff will keep the defense at the top.

“Steve Ellis and his coaches work hard on game prep to put our players in the right place to make plays,” he said.

On offense, the Colonels need good play from the quarterback position and with all three returning in 2007, they should get just that.

“All of quarterbacks are having a great camp. Its a healthy competition much like the competition at linebacker,” said Thomas.

Colonel faithful should see lots of fireworks from quarterback Vincent Montgomery (junior) in the now-famous Colonel triple-option attack that made them the only school in the conference to average over 200 yards a game in 2006.

Throw in a returning senior backfield led by Broderick Cole and Joseph Tobias, and the Colonels should be able to move the ball on opposing defenses.

“This is the first time since 2005 that both Cole and Tobias will be in the same backfield,” said Thomas, “We are looking for really solid seasons from both those guys.”

Grant Thorne is another running back that should see a lot of action this year. Keeping the running backs fresh and healthy is a concern for the coaches.

“We’ll be rotating a lot of players in and out,” said Thomas, “We feel that this will allow our offence to open things up out of the triple-option formation.”

With a mixture of old and new players, Colonel Fans should enjoy some great football on Bayou Lafourche this fall.

With home games that feature conference foes like Northwestern, McNeese, and Texas State, plus road games against Rice, Sam Houston, Central Arkansas, and the season finale against Southeastern Louisiana, this season will test Jay Thomas’ Colonels in every facet of the game.