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Inside Hokie Sports
2016
DEFENSIVE LINE
Returning starter:
Ken Ekanem
(26 career starts)
Starters lost:
Dadi Nicolas (26 career starts),
Luther Maddy (46 career starts),
Corey Marshall (20 career starts)
Projected new starters:
Woody Baron,
Nigel Williams, Seth Dooley
Top reserves:
Ricky Walker, Tim Settle,
Trevon Hill, Darius Fullwood, Houshun Gaines
Newcomers:
Settle, Hill, Fullwood, Gaines
Breakout candidate:
Walker
Notes:
Ekanem, Baron, and Williams are the
only members of Tech’s defensive line to start
a collegiate game … Ekanem has started 26
straight games … Williams has played in 39
career games—tied for the most on the team
(Sam Rogers) … Tech’s defense ranked 70th
nationally in sacks per game (2.00) … Tech’s
defensive line recorded 16 of the team’s 26
sacks … The Hokies’ returning defensive line
accounted for half of those sacks last season
… The Hokies’ rush defense ranked 75th
nationally (180.7 ypg).
A QUICK GLANCE
One would think that no player on Tech’s
squad is more anxious to play Tennessee in the
“Battle at Bristol” than Woody Baron.
But if one asks the Nashville, Tennessee
native—and the lone player on Tech’s roster
from the Volunteer state—one gets a different
response.
“I have a lot of former [high school]
teammates who are on the team at Tennessee,”
Baron said. “We talked even before we knew
we were going to play that game.
“I’m excited for that game, but I’m more
excited for Liberty. I’m just ready to get back on
the field with this new team and see what we’re
all about. When we do get there, I’ll probably be
really excited, but for now, it’s all Liberty.”
Spoken like a senior.
Baron ranks as a veteran and also one of the
Hokies’ most dependable players. He plays on a
defensive line that features two other seniors in
KenEkanemandNigelWilliams and the three of
them hope to be leaders on a defense that seeks
to play with more consistency than last year.
Tech’s line lost three talented players off last
year’s squad in Dadi Nicolas, Luther Maddy,
and Corey Marshall. Yet even with those three,
the front seven struggled, as opponents rushed
for 180.7 yards per game. Tech thus ranked
75th nationally in rush defense.
Injuries certainly played a role—Nicolas,
Maddy, and Marshall all nursed various
ailments at different points throughout the
season—and opponents’ success passing
against Tech’s Kendall Fuller-less secondary
opened things in the running game. But the
Hokies admit they need to improve.
“If you look back on the year as a total,
we were up and down as a defense,” Baron
said. “There were games where we played
really well. We executed the game plan and
played well. Then there were games when we
got picked on by offenses in some instances,
whether that was in the run game or the pass
game. There is definitely some things you can
build on from last year, but there is also a lot of
room for improvement.”
WOODY
BARON
Led by Baron,
DEFENSIVE LINE
looking for
improved play
this season
by
Jimmy Robertson