July 23, 2008

The following feature on the defensive secondary is the second installment of position by position over the next six weeks on the Wayne State football program.

WSU has seven defensive backs that are entering at least their fourth year in college in fifth-year seniors Joe Claiborne and Cornelius Dillard, fourth-year seniors in Dante Dunn, Jonathan Klyce and Steve Wisniewski, and redshirt juniors Bruno Shkreli and Brent Wisniewski. This contingent gives the Warriors plenty of game experience in the secondary.

Add in four redshirt sophomores in Stan Thornton, Kenny Watson, Wendell Thompson and Andrew Pack, along with three players that were redshirted in their rookie seasons (Jeremy Jones, Kenny Loney and Myles McNichols) and one can see that good things are on the horizon for this group. WSU added four players from the high school ranks in Mazen Jaddou, Jordan Kidd, Dominique Reed and James Stewart to provide additional depth.

WSU had 13 interceptions last year, the most in a single-season since 1989.

Defensive backs coach (and defensive coordinator) John Hauser thoughts on each player:

Cornelius Dillard - Dillard is a competitor. He is a senior and needs to be a great leader for us on the defensive side of the ball. He has showed signs of being that leader this summer. He has a great desire to play the game. Cornelius showed signs in the spring of being a great cover corner. A lot will be expected of him this fall to match up on opponents best WR's and win consistently. He needs to become more consistent and contribute on special teams because he can be a force also in that area of the game.

Stan Thornton - Stan is a play-maker with great instincts for the game. Stan sees the QB and plays the ball better than most DB's I have coached. We need to put him in a position to be able to maximize those abilities. He needs to continue to work on the little things of the game and be a more physical player but the good thing is that he likes to work on his craft. He is a young guy with game experience. Like most of our DB's, Stan is a very important part of our special teams and return game.

Dante Dunn - Dante is a senior who has been through the battles here at Wayne State. He finished spring practices up as a definite starter and field general. He is a smart kid who can be the QB for the defense. He is a great example of what we expect from our kids on and off the field. Dante made a ton of plays towards the end of spring which was great to see. We are going to expect a lot out of our safeties. They are expected to make a lot of tackles in the run game and be ball hawks in the pass game. I feel like he can do both and needs to do both for us to be successful.

Steve Wisniewski - Steve is another senior leader for us. Steve had a solid spring and picked up the new schemes well. Steve has played and has a lot of good game experience. It is a good thing to have two safeties that you know they are going to do the right things. Steve needs to continue to be a force in the special teams game. We expect Steve to be one of our team leaders on defense and special teams.

Jeremy Jones - Jeremy is a redshirt freshman. Jeremy was one of the freshmen that had not played that came on early in the spring. For a freshman to pick up the defense and execute it on the field is exciting to see. He made a lot of tackles when he had the opportunity. He also played the Nickel back position and we think that is somewhere he could help us. Mentally he needs to grow and mature because he could be a special player in this conference.

Kenny Watson - Kenny had a solid spring. He brings a good positive attitude to the group. It is fun to coach guys that are always positive and have fun playing the game which I think for the most part our whole secondary possesses some of those qualities. Kenny has played some and has the game experience. He can help us defensively because he is smart and understands the game. I would like to see him challenge some of our starters more for playing time.

Myles McNichols - Myles is a redshirt freshman. Myles has a lot of the things you look for in a cornerback physically. He did some good things in the spring in the run and pass game. Mentally he needs to mature and become more consistent in his techniques. Myles needs to challenge our starters for playing time. I expect a lot from Myles in the fall because all the things he learned in the spring are not new now and he can just play ball and not think as much. As all of our DB's he needs to be a game changer on special teams.

Jonathan Klyce - Jonathan is another one of our seniors in the secondary. Jonathan has been a force on special teams and needs to continue that trend. He played some Nickel back for us in the spring and we think he can thrive in that roll. He brings a lot of different things to the table as a player. He can blitz off the edge and at the same time cover a slot receiver. We expect him to be a leader and set a good example to our younger players.

Bruno Shkreli - Bruno moved over to defense in the spring. He is a great kid to have in our secondary because he has a great work ethic and attitude. We really emphasize pursuit and Bruno was one of the few guys on defense that pursues the way we want all 11 of our players to. Being a defensive back was new to him so there was a learning curve. It is going to be hard to keep him off the field because he is around the ball so much. He just needs to be more consistent in other areas of the position.

Andrew Pack - Andrew is a great asset to have on our football team. He has a true sense of team and will help us in any area he can. He has a great work ethic and has a positive attitude. We expect him to help us on our special teams this fall and be a force.

Kenny Loney - Kenny is a redshirt freshman. Kenny played running back in high school and made the transition to DB here at Wayne State. One of the more difficult positions to learn is the safety one. You could see Kenny making progress every practice in the spring. He has a lot of the tools needed to be a great safety and we expect big things from him in the future. He is another young man that can help us on special teams because of his athletic ability.

Brent Wisniewski - Brent is a great kid to have in our program. He has had some injury issues which we are expecting to be cleared up by the fall. He is a vital part to our success on special teams. With limited reps in the spring he showed us positive things on the field.

Wendell Thompson - Wendell has some game experience for us in the secondary. He is a safety that loves contact and he will hit you. We expect Wendell to be a force on special teams this fall. He gives us great depth at the safety position and when called on will get the job done for us.

Joe Claiborne - Joe is a transfer that we are excited about. He was not with us for spring ball. He has already shown a great dedication and commitment to the program and we are excited to see him in the fall.

Jordan Kidd - Jordan is a safety we signed this winter. We are excited to have him on campus. He was always around the ball in high school. He has a great motor and we expect him to do great things at Wayne State.

Mazen Jaddou - Mazen is another one of our DB commitments. Mazen comes from a great high school program Brother Rice. If you turn on his tape you can pick him out right away. He was all over the field making plays. He can play a bunch of positions and will be a productive player for us.

Dominique Reed - Dominique is a corner we signed this winter. He possesses great speed and athletic ability. Played option QB in high school and did a great job running the offense. We expect him to compete right away for playing time at the corner position.

James Stewart - James is a corner who will be joining us this fall. We are excited to have James in our program. He can cover down a WR and also come up in run support and deliver a blow.