Courtesy of Norfolk State Athletic Communications
NORFOLK, Va. – The coronavirus pandemic forced the cancellation of not just all collegiate spring sports seasons, but also all off-season practices and team workouts for the time being. That includes spring football practice and intrasquad scrimmages.
In lieu of reports from spring practice, NSUSpartans.com will instead give a breakdown of each position grouping for Spartan football. This week concludes the analysis of the defense with a look at the defensive backs.
A year ago, the Spartans went into the 2019 season with experienced safeties but youth at the cornerback spots. This year, the roles are somewhat reversed.
The biggest question mark for new co-defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Kermit Buggs will be replacing safeties Bobby Price and Nhyre' Quinerly. Both earned All-MEAC honors last year. Price, who recently signed with the Detroit Lions, was a second-team All-MEAC selection after recording 73 tackles and eight pass breakups last year.
Quinerly earned first-team All-MEAC accolades after ranking fifth in the conference with 103 total tackles. He started all 34 games he played in at NSU, while Price started 37 times in four years.
"Everything is a work in progress right now without having spring practice," said Buggs, who played quarterback at NSU from 1990-93. "Losing the two inside guys, that'll be key for us to find a way to replace them."
Softening that blow somewhat is the experience the Spartans return at cornerback. Rising junior Brandon Savage and sophomore Devyn Coles started last season for the first time in their careers, and acquitted themselves well.
Savage started all 12 games and finished the year with 60 tackles, two interceptions and four pass breakups. Coles played in all 12 games and started the last six of the season. He tied for the MEAC lead with five interceptions, made 38 tackles and broke up six more passes.
"Their talent level is huge," Buggs said of Savage and Coles. "They love to play man-to-man. Technique-wise they can still grow, so I know they are constantly working out on their own and watching film during this shutdown.
"I love the way they compete and the attitude they bring to work every day."
Another returner at cornerback is redshirt sophomore Justin Toler. A special teams contributor as a freshman in 2018, Toler started three of the first four games in 2019 before missing the final eight games of the year with an injury. He made 14 tackles, one for loss, and broke up one pass in the first four games.
"I like Toler's aggressiveness and mental makeup," Buggs said "He's a real leader in our room. He does everything we need him to do and gets everybody organized."
With three experienced players in the fold at cornerback, Buggs said another key will be establishing depth at that position.
"All we can do right now is go off film and how they played last year and the few (offseason conditioning) workouts we had in February," Buggs said. "It's an interesting group and I'm excited to work with them."
At safety, Buggs will look at a quintet of returners to help fill the void left by Price and Quinerly. Rising junior Shaviaea Williams is the most experienced of the group. Williams has moved between safety and corner in his first two years, but figures to settle in at safety. He made 39 tackles and broke up five passes last year.
NSU will also look for big things from redshirt junior Johnathan Gregory and sophomore Cameron Foreman. Gregory has appeared in 11 games the last two years including some special teams action. Foreman played in 11 games as a freshman last season, making five tackles in what was mostly special teams duty.
Sophomore R.J. Coles and junior Stuart Anderson are also names to watch for. Coles, who is coming off an injury, has played in five games in his two years at NSU. Anderson is a converted wideout and special teams stalwart who is transitioning to safety. Anderson played all over the field in high school, so Buggs thinks he can make an effective position switch.
"It shouldn't be a problem for him with the skill level he's demonstrated," Buggs said. "I'm looking for him to have a good year."
The challenge for Buggs will be to see which safety position those five will best fit into.
"It's all to be determined, an unknown for us as a staff," Buggs said of himself and fellow DB coaches Andrew Hauser and Ron Bolton. "It's an open competition for those spots."
Being new to the staff with only a limited time to work with his new charges before the campus shut down, Buggs is eager to get players back to campus and develop his group.
"I'm looking forward to working with a good group of guys," Buggs said. "The talent level is there, we just have to see where everyone fits and find some depth."