Each week during fall camp, we'll take a look at how the various position groups are taking shape for the CMU football team. Next up: The offensive skill positions. Check back on Thursday, Aug. 22, to read about who will be calling signals as the starting quarterback, and who will be running the ball and catching passes as the Mavericks prepare for their season opener.
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — It's all so familiar, yet feels so different.
Without a doubt, linebacker and defensive back are the most experienced positions on the Colorado Mesa football roster.
All four starters return in the secondary and five linebackers have starting experience, three of whom started the majority of the season.
That experience allowed the defense to jump right into preparations for this season.
"Day by day we're getting better and better. It feels special, it feels different," said senior cornerback JaCari Williams, who has taken on more of a leadership role this season. "We're taking on more roles. As far as the environment, guys are coming to work. There's no lagging energy like nobody wants to be there. Everybody wants to get better in the film room, on the field, so it just feels different."
Williams and junior Kash Bradley are back at the corners, with redshirt senior Liban Shongolo and sophomore Jason Thome returning at safety. Those four, however, know they don't have to play every down, because CMU has built depth in all positions. Williams, Bradley and Shongolo earned all-conference honors last season, and Bradley was a second-team Academic All-American.
"I think we're going to have a lot more depth so if we do get tired, a little banged up, we don't have to worry about someone coming in for us," said Bradley, also one of the Mavs' primary kick returners. "It's just the next person up and they're going to take care of the job."
A half-dozen transfers, a pair of redshirt freshmen and six incoming freshmen join the experienced core in the secondary, which combined to intercept 11 passes — linebackers picked off three more — a number the Mavericks want to see increase this season. Williams broke up a dozen passes, Bradley eight, Thome five (along with his team-leading five INTs) and Shongolo, the Mavs' leading tackler with 63, broke up another.
The secondary likes the pressure that comes with being the last line of defense.
"I feel lonely out there, but it's a great feeling, because you have to perform," Williams said. "We don't get a lot of action (at corner) but when we do, most eyes are going to be on us. It's pressure to stay locked in each play, because something is going to happen sooner or later."
The linebackers are another group that makes plays, filling gaps to stuff the run and defending the underneath routes. Senior Levi Krebs and redshirt juniors Colin Stuhr and Lex Leany have the most starting experience, with sophomores La'Markus Reed and Charlie Smith getting some starts and plenty of playing time. Stuhr was an honorable mention All-RMAC pick last season after leading CMU with 4.5 sacks.
Junior Ricky Weimer, a 6-foot-2, 230-pound junior, transferred from Monterey Peninsula College, and Xavier Brayboy, a 5-10, 190-pound senior, came in from New Mexico Highlands, with seven redshirt freshmen and a whopping 13 freshmen joining the Mavs.
"I think it'll be a pretty formidable group, and we've got a bunch of young guys," Krebs said. "I think we've got probably 10 linebackers each, inside and outside. A lot of (the freshmen) came out in the summer, so that was really good. We had a bunch of guys out there. They learned the playbook before camp even started, so that was good."
Krebs was third (58) and Reed fifth (46) on the team in tackles last season — the top five tacklers and eight of the top 11 are back. With so much experience, the defense is confident it can set the tone early and get the ball to the offense.
The Mavs won the coin flip four times last season and kicked off all four. The defense loves taking the field first.
"I kind of settle down more once I get into the game and get a few plays there, so I like going out there first," Krebs said.
"(We believe) they're not going to score, so I feel like it's a good momentum swing to get the defense out there first, because they're not going to score on us," Williams said. "We're going to put our backs to the wall and make sure they don't get in the end zone, get some momentum going for that offense so they can get rolling."
Nearly two weeks into fall camp, the intensity has ramped up, especially on days the Mavs are in full pads. Much of the first week, the squad was split into morning and afternoon workout groups, but the full squad worked out together the second week, with the first full scrimmage planned for 7 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 18 at Stocker Stadium.
With classes beginning Aug. 19, the day-long schedule of practice, weights and meetings will be pared down as the Mavericks get closer to their season opener Aug. 29 at Texas A&M-Kingsville.
The defense is eager to avenge their 2023 losses, and the players believe their experience will help them adapt quickly on the field.
"When adversity comes, because we know they're good teams, we have a good conference," Bradley said. "Something bad is going to happen; we've just got to stay together as a team and get through that."
"I feel like we left some out on the field," Williams said of their four conference losses. "Each of those games we didn't bring our best games. In years before that, they were tight games, so I feel like it's a lot we need to get back. A lot of us are itching to win those games; we can't just let it slip away."
