Coach Zac Spavital Looks to Take Advantage of a Veteran Defense

By Jacob Staires
Sports Reporter

With a brand new coaching staff this season for Texas State football, the question has to be asked: how will the defensive staff look to take advantage of having a veteran defense for the upcoming season? Defensive coordinator Zac Spavital, senior linebacker Bryan London, and senior cornerback JaShon Waddy have the insight into the progression and the goals of the defense going into this season.

Coach Spavital inherited a veteran defense and he commented on how this helps him with implementing his schemes.

“I think it makes things easier having the experience at the end of the day; but regardless, there will be people who play more than others even if they are a more recent addition to the team.” Spavital said. “The offense is constantly telling us how much we’re pushing them; it makes everyone better in the end.”

Although this is Coach Spavital’s first season as the defensive coordinator, the effort in camp has been noticed and London commented on the energy the defense is bringing.

“Right now, everyone is putting out high effort and high energy; execution has gotten so much better,” London said. “All we want to do is get to the ball and make plays.”

London has had a successful career at linebacker in his tenure with the Maroon and Gold, but the lack of a bowl game is what motivates him in practice as he enters his last season.

“It’s all I think about,” said London. “When we have tough practices in the heat, it’s all I think about and that is what pushes me.”

This is also Waddy’s last season as a Bobcat, he leads the most experienced part of the defense into a new scheme with every one of the starters in the secondary returning from a year ago.

“I think we’re in a good place because we have most of the playbook pieces figured out,” said Waddy. “Our pass defense is something that needed a little help last year, so I feel like having an extra guy with the Nickel look will bring a big change for us.”

Last season, this defense was pushed as much as any defense in college football because of the constant trouble the offense had moving the ball. This season, all Bobcat fans can’t wait to see how much this defense will benefit off of the new strategies that are taking place in all three aspects of the game.

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Featured image by Garrett Martin.