LAKE CHARLES – McNeese's secondary could be the primary force of the defense in 2015.
 
The Cowboys return all but one starter from the backfield from last year while regaining the services of senior Wallace Scott, who has moved back to his original position from linebacker, and gaining speedster Kelvin Bennett who is making the transition from running back.
 
Bennett will be called upon to use his speed at the corner position but is still learning the defensive system.
 
"Every day is a new day with Bennett," said defensive coordinator Lance Guidry. "He's learning as he goes. He sampled with it in the spring but he only participated in team drills. He didn't do any individual or group work. We would just stick him in team and tell him to play man or zone, and he did fairly well.
 
"But now he's with us full time and each day he gets better and better. I think what he has that the others don't possess as well is he can flat out run, which is good. Not that the others are slow, it's just this kid has good speed. It feels good that if we're up against a really fast receiver, we have a guy that can counter him."
 
Bennett is currently backing up sophomore Jermaine Antoine who played in all 11 games, starting in eight, as a freshman last year, and ranked second on the team with five pass breakups.
 
"Jermaine Antoine transferred to us from TCU and never played defensive back until last year when he started for us," said Guidry. "Now that he has a year underneath his belt, he's getting better and better."
 
At the other corner position is senior Gabe Hamner who came on strong during his junior season last year with a couple of interceptions and 29 tackles. Now he's primed to breakout in his final year.
 
"Gabe is solid," said Guidry. "Gabe went through some battles when he was young. He got beat a lot and lost a little bit of confidence but these last two years he's gained it all back. He should have a solid year."
 
Junior Carlos Carroll and redshirt freshman Kamon Darby are two other playesr Guidry has hopes of making some contributions.
 
"Carlos is going to be a role guy. He can play into the boundary and he can play the field. Also Kamon Darby, who redshirted last year, had a good spring and is having a good fall camp.
 
"We have a bunch of guys we can play in there (cornerback). (Junior) Shea Nutt and (sophomore) Ja'Len James. So we feel like we have a bunch of different options at the corner."
 
McNeese is well seasoned at the safety positions with Scott, preseason all-American Brent Spikes, and Dominique Hill.
 
"Wallace is doing really well (at free safety)," Guidry commented. "Our two fastest guys, as far as safety, are at the free safety position in Wallace and Erik Jones. Wallace used to be, before he hurt his knee, faster than Tiger (former speedy wideout Diontae Spencer). I don't know what he's clocked lately but I know he can still run. And Erik Jones ran the fastest 40 in the spring. We feel like we have two safeties that can run."
 
Scott was voted as a preseason first team all-conference selection at linebacker, a position he played last year and finished with 42 tackles, 3 ½ sacks, and 7 ½ tackles for a loss. Jones played in eight games as a freshman last year and finished with 10 tackles.
 
Spikes will be back at the weak safety position and is one of the best tacklers on the team. In addition to his all-American status, he is also a preseason first team all-conference selection at the position.
 
The senior started all 11 games last year and led the team with 83 total tackles and four interceptions. He set a new school, conference and Louisiana record with 148 interception return yards off three picks against Incarnate Word. One of those interceptions he returned for a touchdown.
 
"Spikes is a big safety who has speed and is a great tackler," said Guidry. "But we also have some good players behind him in Andre Fuller and Damion Morgan."
 
As freshmen last year, Fuller played in eight games with one start while Morgan appeared in nine games.
 
Hill, a sophomore who started at the Buck Safety position, returns as the starter in that same spot. He ranked eighth on the team with 34 tackles, intercepted two passes, had one sack, and recorded 7 ½ tackles for a loss.
 
"The Buck position is our version of the Nickel," said Guidry. "Dominique was a solid starter last year as a freshman and behind him is Josh Washington. I feel like we have a lot of depth at the safety position also.
 
"We've got more depth in the secondary than we've had."
 
Guidry says the freshmen are talented but it's a lot for them to take in.
 
"It's a learning curve for our newcomers," he said. "Some of them are playing new positions than what they played in high school. I like what I see with our freshmen. It's a little much for them right now but they all have a great attitude."
 
So how good can this experienced and talented defense be?
 
"I think if we stay healthy, of course, I think we can be really good," said Guidry. "I think we can be better than we have been since I've been back just because we have depth. We have more players that can play. And I think in the fourth quarter, that's going to really help us, that we do have depth. Whereas in the past, like the past couple years, the guys had to play all four quarters. Now I think we can relieve them a little bit so we can be stronger in the fourth quarter."