If Prairie View has any aspirations of challenging for the SWAC Western Division championship and beyond, the defense will have to be a catalyst in 2014.
In the offseason, Prairie View went heavy on the defensive side of the ball signing six interior lineman during National Signing Day, which helped seal its best recruiting class in four years.
Head coach Heisma Northern also attempted to bolster the defense by hiring longtime defensive stalwart Cliff Yoshida as defensive coordinator to help improve on a unit that finished No. 9 in the conference overall and No. 7 against the run.
There are still questions that need to be answered with less than 10 days remaining until the start of the regular season with a new personnel that has to adjust to a defensive scheme.
Defensive line coach Earl Cochran says jobs are still up for grabs on up front as fall camp comes to a close.
“Gradually we’re (the defensive line) getting better and better,” he said. “We’ll get there.”
“Everyone is new, it’s very competitive,” Cochran said. “It’s going to be a tough decision. Right now we can’t declare who is going to start.”
