MOORHEAD, Minn. (8/24/06)--Like the offense, the defense has no problem dominating the run game. The Cobbers were second in the MIAC in stopping the run last year allowing a meager 88.8 yards per game in their eight conference games. Overall, the CC defense ranked 22nd in the nation in putting the clamps on the opposing team’s ground game. Conference foes know the only way to try and beat the Cobber defense is to open up the field and try to turn the game into an aerial attack.

The key for Concordia in 2007 will be to come up with more experienced defensive backs who will be able to disrupt the opposing team from continually taking shots down the field. The Cobbers ranked sixth in the conference in passing defense which led to giving up an average of 20.4 points per game. That figure was up considerably from the 12.6 points allowed per MIAC game during their title campaign of 2004.

The good news for the Cobber defense is that they return seven starters. Most of the seven saw their first collegiate action in 2006 so the “wow” factor will have worn off and they will be ready to prove they can play at a high level. Nowhere is that more evident than in the secondary where three of the four returning starters played for the first time in 2006. Corner backs Tom Flynn (Jr., Shelby, Mont.) and Levi DeVries (Jr., Bejou, Minn./Mahnomen HS) will be ready to put their stamp on a new year. Free safety Levi Pole (So., Sioux Falls, S.D./O’Gorman HS) led the team in interceptions and is no longer in a learning stage after being moved over to defense after starting his collegiate career as a wide receiver.

The linebacker corps is eerily similar to the secondary in the fact that two of the three returning starters will have a year of experience under their belts and will no longer be surprised by the difficult MIAC offensive schemes. Senior captain Brennen Lewis (Great Falls, Mont.) and Dave Moll (Sr., Battle Lake, Minn.) will help CC reestablish the program as one of the best programs for turning out top-flight linebackers in the country.

The defensive line might turn out to be the biggest surprise of the entire team. Dustin Carlson (Sr., Willmar, Minn.) and Clinton Strother (Jr., Brainerd, Minn.) lead a crew that is full of energy and ready to help Concordia return to the top half of the MIAC. The brightest part of the defensive line is that almost all will return for next season. Of the top 12 linemen listed on the depth chart, 11 will return for another year in 2008.

Bet You Didn’t Know: Junior defensive back Tom Flynn placed second in the javeling at the MIAC Outdoor Track and Field Meet in his freshman season.

If the Cobber defense was:
A Classic Rock and Roll Song:

“Taking Care of Business” by Bachman Turner Overdrive
An Oldies Song:

“The Best is Yet to Come” by Frank Sinatra
A Dave Matthews Band song:

“Crash Into Me”