GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — The Mavericks are chasing excellence.

The Colorado Mesa football team's defense was the linchpin of the Mavericks' success in 2024.

Fast forward to 2025 and there's a new defensive coordinator and a host of new players, but the expectations are the same.

"My expectations are always high," said Hunter Hughes, a veteran coach of more than 25 years who joined the staff in the spring as the new defensive coordinator. Trent Matthews, who coached the top overall defense in the conference last season, returned to the defensive staff at Colorado State after first accepting a high school head coaching job in Denver.

"I told these guys that I compete in everything I do. I mean, if I'm playing a card game and everybody thinks it's for fun, I'm trying to win. It doesn't matter; I've got to try to find a way to win. If I don't win, I'm not very happy. That happened the other day in some drills that we did."

Hughes was the defensive coordinator at CSU Pueblo for the first nine seasons after that program was restarted, including the national championship run in 2014, when his defense shut out Minnesota State in the title game. From there, he became the head coach at West Texas A&M, where he hired a young assistant coach, Miles Kochevar, as his defensive coordinator.
"Ironically, at the same time at Humboldt State (where Kochevar was coaching), they were shutting down their program. I had known Coach K ever since he played at Colorado State when I was a GA at Colorado. … When I was at Pueblo, he was here at Mesa for a little bit."

Long story short, the two got acquainted, and when he was building his first staff in Canyon, Texas, Hughes picked up the phone.

"That opportunity was there to hire him, and I jumped at it."

They worked well together at West Texas A&M, and the past couple of years, Hughes was a long-distance mentor for Kochevar when he needed a sounding board as he navigated his first head coaching job. Last spring when he needed a DC, Kochevar returned the phone call to Hughes, who was a "free agent" after University of Idaho head coach Jason Eck left for the University of New Mexico.

Kochevar and Hughes are once again collaborating on the defensive side of the football, only with their roles reversed.

"I wanted to come here because I knew him, I knew Miles, I knew what his expectations were," Hughes said. "I know the type of person he is, on and off the field. I know he cares about the players and I trusted him when I hired him and he kind of said the same thing to me; he trusted me to come and help him. I think we've got a great relationship, we work well together."

It also didn't hurt that Hughes was inheriting a solid unit despite the Mavericks' defense being hit hard by graduation and players leaving the program. CMU led the RMAC in total defense last season, allowing 249 yards of total offense and 16.5 points per game.

The defensive line boasts plenty of experience despite not having a senior in the bunch and will key the Mavs' success this fall. Junior Kade Street and sophomore Hunter Hamilton are two players the Mavs will rely on to shut down opponents' running game and get pressure in the backfield.

Both played every game — and nearly every defensive down — last season. Street, a 6-foot-7, 260-pound defensive end from Rifle, finished with 34 total tackles, four for lost yardage and 1.5 sacks. He broke up three passes, recovered two fumbles and forced a fumble.

Hamilton, who lines up at the other end position, is 6-1, 250 out of Columbine High School. He had 30 tackles, eight for lost yardage, six sacks and eight quarterback hurries his freshman season. Also back is sophomore tackle O'Marius Dimry-Lockhart (6-0, 280 from Lewisville, Texas), who started six games and played in nine, making 11 tackles.

"We're still pretty young, but with the scheme, we use the quickness that they have and it's really an advantage for them, and they know that," Hughes said. "They know that everything is going on the front of the lines, the offensive and defensive lines. I think they're accepting the challenge of doing that."

The defensive scheme will remain relatively unchanged from last season, running a 3-4, with the linebackers filling gaps in run support. That helped with the coaching transition, even though there was a getting-to-know-you period in the spring and early in fall camp.

"Being able to trust in Coach Hughes and knowing that he's building upon what our previous coaches had here, he just wants to make us the best defense in the country. We have to fully buy into his program," Hamilton said.

"When someone makes a huge play, you see the defense light up, and Coach Hughes will get extremely excited, and you can obviously tell he cares about us a lot, the same way that Coach Matthews did. Knowing we have something like that still in our defense is critical for us."

As far as the pressure of shouldering the load, at least early, the linemen say bring it.

"I think last year, the defensive line was one of the groups that was a little underestimated, and the coaching staff didn't exactly know what they were going to be able to do with us as a group in the unit," Hamilton said. "I think this year, obviously, we've got some guys set in stone in the positions that we have at defensive line and I think they're really expecting us to make a huge step.

"The biggest thing last year was stopping the run. We were obviously a great pass defensive team, but now this year, it's going to be more so being able to stop the run and kind of own up to that responsibility."

"Coming into fall camp, I knew we had to step it up," Street said. "Being the most experienced in a way, on the team, we had to be able to do our jobs and focus more on stopping the run, getting a pass rush and helping out our linebackers and DBs."

Getting pressure on the quarterback is crucial for the defensive ends, and there's nothing like getting a sack. Just as satisfying, though, is forcing the quarterback to throw the ball before he wants to and see it turn into an interception.

"I mean, the sack is more fun," Street said with a grin. "I'm definitely more of a team-first player, so I'd probably get more excited for someone else getting a pick or a big play than if I got the play. Just a team-first mentality for me, I guess.

"All the D linemen definitely hype each other up when we make a big play. It's pretty fun."

Hughes expects the Mavericks to be better tacklers this season, which comes with experience and the added strength as the players mature.

Linebackers Lex Leany, George Soppe, Christian Speller and Jack Kimbrough come in with experience. CMU brought in five mid-year transfers last spring, four on the defensive side of the ball — two linemen, one linebacker and one defensive back.

The secondary outside of preseason All-RMAC kick returner/cornerback Kash Bradley is relatively untested, although senior Lane Branstetter played in 10 games last fall after transferring from College of the Redwoods.

Bradley sees the front seven making plenty of tackles this season, allowing the defensive backs to defend the pass and hunt interceptions.

"Something that's progressed since I've been here is the amount of tackles I've had to make," said Bradley, who is the leading tackler returning this season, with 37. "As a freshman and sophomore I feel like I had to make a lot of tackles (92, including 60 in 2023) and to me, that wasn't the best thing. Last year and this camp has been really good about the D line; it's been great. The linebackers have been filling, so really (the secondary is focused on) the passing game. We haven't had to fill as much in the run game, so it's been good."

As far as the secondary, yes, Bradley said, there will be new names lining up with him, but several younger players got a lot of reps last season and are ready for their shot.

"I think we did a good job the past couple of years coaching up the younger dudes as we go and helping them grow as players, understand the scheme and what we're trying to do," he said. "I think they're good right now. They've been good, they're growing and it's been good to get the younger guys in and let them know what the standard is and what the expectation is on defense."

Another key, he said, is adding former cornerback JaCari Williams to the coaching staff this season.

"When I heard he was going to come and help, I was super excited. It's good to have someone that's been there and kind of knows what you're going through. … Even when he was a player, he helped me develop into the player I am today," said Bradley, who has started all four years of his career and is CMU's nominee for the Campbell Trophy. The College Football Foundation's award goes to the top college football player based on the combination of academics, leadership and on-field performance and is often called the 'academic Heisman.' Bradley said he's honored and humbled by the nomination, but his sole focus is on winning a conference title.

Hughes is confident that the front seven will be the strength of the defense and likes how they're coming together and understanding what's important when they step on the field: Winning the game. During a two-minute drill in camp, he pulled the defense aside and reminded them of what to do when they got a turnover in the final minute with the lead. Fall on a fumble, and do not return an interception.

Lo and behold, a linebacker came up with a pick. Despite having an open field in front of him, instead of taking off for the other end zone, he took a couple of steps and went to the ground, allowing the offense to run out the clock and win the game in victory formation.

"I was like, OK, he gets it. Now we understand it's about us winning, not about personal gain," Hughes said.

That's part of how the Mavs are chasing excellence.

"Everybody says perfect. Practice makes perfect. You're never going to be perfect," Hughes said. "I'm always going to find something to nitpick and find a way for it not to be perfect, whether it's a false step, footwork, one little thing.

"I tell the guys to chase excellence. If you chase excellence, try to be excellent, get better every day, chase excellence in everything you do every day, then you're going to be a successful person. That's part of the expectation. The cupboard was not bare when I got here. It's my job to continue to help this unit grow with these players, grow on and off the field and show them ways to be successful."