WEST LONG BRANCH—Hopefully, sophomore safety Jaeden Jones’ 70-yard interception return for a touchdown on the final play of last Sunday’s Spring Showcase scrimmage was a sign of things to come because the Monmouth secondary will be counted on heavily this fall.
Monmouth’s defensive front seven was decimated this offseason when four starters and two potential starters entered the transfer portal and found new homes, along with four reserves and two starters, including leading tackler Ryan Moran, who graduated. This left Monmouth scrambling to find replacements through its own utilization of the transfer portal.
The Hawks brought in two defensive linemen and three linebackers to help fill the vacancies in the front seven. The hope is they can step right into starting roles or at the least provide needed depth. Still, nothing is guaranteed. Senior defensive tackle Brendan Bigos, a backup last season, who played in all 12 games and recorded 10 tackles, one TFL, and one sack a year ago, will slide into a starting role. Bigos had a good showing in Sunday’s scrimmage, so hopefully he’ll be the answer at one tackle spot.
If you’re keeping count, the Hawks lost 10 of their top 16 tacklers to the transfer portal or graduation. What really stung is when two of Monmouth’s top defensive players, who were to be counted on heavily this fall, defected with just days remaining in spring practice.
“It’s challenging because it disrupts your continuity and you never really know where you stand,” said Monmouth head coach Kevin Callahan. “What they have to do is adjust the transfer portal windows. You can’t have one in the middle of spring practice, and you can’t have one at the end of spring practice. Think if we finished a week ago and everyone had taken every rep, and you think they’re a first-team guy, and then they go into the portal and you lose them.”
Unfortunately, that’s pretty much what happened to Monmouth this spring. Most everyone agrees that changes must be made to the portal; now, it’s up to the NCAA to make them.
That brings us to the defensive secondary, which conversely brought back three starters and four backups who saw extensive playing time last season. In addition, Monmouth signed two cornerbacks and two safeties out of the portal: all with starter potential.
The secondary is deep and experienced and will be expected to be a strength on a team desperately in need of playmakers on that side of the ball.
Junior Deuce Lee and senior Justin Bennin, who was a team captain last season, will anchor the unit after solid 2024 campaigns. Lee was third on the team with 70 tackles, including 46 solo stops, along with five passes defended, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. Bennin, a 6-foot-2, 210-pound bruiser, is transitioning into a hybrid linebacker-safety role called the viper position. He was fifth on the team with 55 tackles, including 35 solo stops, tied for the team lead with two interceptions, and added one fumble recovery.
“We’re just stacking on top of what we’ve already developed and built,” said Bennin. “Last season, we had a lot of young guys; now they’re developing with age and experience that comes with college football and being more comfortable. So, now we’re really starting to see progression at a higher level in our defensive backfield.”
On his transition to the viper position, Bennin says, “It’s been a great transition. It allows me to play a lot faster and I’m very comfortable there. I think I’m more suited to help my team at this position; I really like it there. I feel like it makes me versatile to help this defense a lot more.”
Bennin is aware of the weight on the shoulders of the defense this season. With an offense that returns virtually its entire starting unit after being ranked No.1 nationally in numerous offensive categories last season, it’s up to the defense, which ranked 14th defensively out of 16 CAA teams last season, to pull its weight if the Hawks are going to contend for a conference title.
“Absolutely, it’s definitely on us,” Bennin said about the defense needing to improve significantly. “We have a great explosive offense that’s definitely going to put points on the board. Now it’s on us to step up and make sure everything is being handled properly on our side. We understand that a lot of the games are going to come down to defense. So, there’s a lot of pressure on us to play well.”
Lee is also aware of the urgency of defensive improvement and the role the secondary will play in accomplishing that.
“I feel very confident,” Lee said about the defense stepping up. “I feel like coming into this spring, that was our motto. We have the mentality that this season is on us. Obviously, we know how last season went, but we have a new mentality that this season’s success is going to be based on how the defense plays, and this spring we’ve been great on the defensive side of the ball.”
Practicing against Monmouth’s top-rated offense day in and day out certainly can’t hurt.
“I’d stand on the table for those two guys,” said new secondary coach and former Hawk standout Kamau Dumas of Lee and Bennin. “They’re great young men, and I love the way they carry themselves and go to work every day. They’re leaders who set a standard every day and come to practice hard. Our guys in the secondary look to them as leaders.”
Dumas knows the pressure the defense is under this season to improve and attempt to complement the offense.
“I definitely embrace that challenge,” Dumas said. “We know there are guys in the back end right now that have had quality game experience last year. I have always believed that experience is the best teacher. Now, I think the guys are a little bit more confident in what they’re doing and are more familiar with the defense. So, we’re just trying to build on top of that and create more production and takeaways as well. That’s been a huge emphasis for us.”
Callahan is confident the secondary will play a significant role in rejuvenating his beleaguered defense and help set a new standard of play.
“It was a very young group last year from an overall position,” said Callahan of his secondary. “The good thing about that is they’re more of a veteran presence this year. You’ve got Bennin and Deuce Lee, who are kind of the leaders back there. Then there’s Israel Clark-White, a guy who played a lot as a freshman and is coming along. Emmanuel Lane also played a lot as a freshman, and he’s coming along too, so any time you have game experience coming back, it will carry over to the unit’s success, and we’re starting to see that here this spring.”
Here is an early list of the defensive backs who will be battling for starting jobs this fall, leaving Lee and Bennin out as they are more likely than not already penciled in as starters: Sophomore cornerbacks Dana Johnson Jr. (10 games, five starts, 16 tackles, 10 solo stops), Israel Clark-White (10 games, eight starts, 37 tackles, 21 solo stops, two interceptions – tied for team lead, 1.5 TFL, one pass breakup, three QB pressures), and Emmanuel Lane (12 games, two starts, 10 tackles, three solo stops, two passes defended). Sophomore safety Jaden Jones (seven games, one start, FCS Special Teams Player of the Year finalist, 23 tackles, 10 solo stops) and junior safety Ayden Martin (seven games, 14 tackles, nine solo stops, one pass defended).
Transfer Portal additions: junior cornerback Zach Ricci, Wagner (2024 Phil Steele second team All-NEC, tied for the NEC lead with four interceptions, 30 tackles, 17 solo stops, four TFL, five pass breakups), junior cornerback Geovanny Fabian, Delaware State (12 starts, 29 tackles, 22 solo, one interception, one pass breakup), grad student safety Elliot Porter, Pace University (fourth on the team with 45 tackles, 20 solo stops, three pass breakups, one interception, two forced fumbles, one fumble return), grad student cornerback Jalen Newman, Princeton (nine games, 16 tackles, seven solo stops, two passes defended).
“All those guys (transfer portal) brought more competition to the room, and it’s only going to make us better,” said Duman.
As you would expect, the roster is very fluid at this point. Players may be added to the roster while others may decide to leave, and there is always the chance that a freshman or sophomore might work their way up the depth chart.
“Right now, I’m just figuring out who can play at a consistent level,” said Dumas. “We’ve been mixing in guys both at the corner and safety positions. Really, I think the battle between those guys is going to come in the summertime. I think four guys will emerge at corner, and the same thing at safety, maybe four or five guys. And from there, we need to figure out who is playing at a high level, most consistently, to determine the starters. We’re not playing any favorites; the guys that show up and play at a high level consistently and do their job are going to play.”
