UNI football defense eyes another quick turnaround

CEDAR FALLS — Northern Iowa football has been through turnover before.

A year ago, the narrative surrounding the Panthers' defense was figuring out how UNI would replace guys like Xavier Williams, Jake Farley and Max Busher. It was a lot to replace in a front seven that had been dominant in the 2014 season.

But as has been the case much more often than not, the Panthers found guys to step up, and names like Brett McMakin, Isaac Ales, Jared Farley, Karter Schult and Preston Woods entered the conversation.

As the 2016 spring football practice season gets rolling, it's the same narrative for UNI, just with a different position group. Deiondre Hall, Makinton Dorleant and Tim Kilfoy are all gone — McMakin, too, after leaving a year early. Who replaces them and how well they're replaced has an obvious impact

Coach Mark Farley and Co. aren't sweating the task. In fact, the Panthers are driven by it.

'The most fun part about this whole thing is the anticipation of getting back on the field. This is where you learn,' Farley said. 'You get on the field, you get some reps; you find out what kind of players and coaches you have. This is where it's at.

'Now you come into this phase where we have to find the next (Deiondre) Hall, the next guy to step up and take charge and lead this football team.'

The word leadership gets thrown around a lot in these types of conversations. Not every player can be a leader, and there are obvious successors to the Hall and McMakin roles of being the vocal leaders on the defense.

McMakin's departure means the bulk of that leadership — both in production and in teaching teammates — falls to Schult, a defensive tackle who was a second team STATS FCS All-American last season. He had 82 total tackles (third behind McMakin and Jared Farley), a team-high 15 sacks and a school-record 23 tackles for loss.

Schult gave a wry smile when asked about his role this season. Going unnoticed while others held the spotlight was enjoyable. He held a joking hope it would stay that way this season. He also said he knows well what his role will be for this defense.

'I love flying under the radar. It's probably not possible anymore. People know my name,' Schult said. 'Hopefully other teams this fall don't worry about me; that'd be great. It's going to be exciting to get everybody's best. But I need to make sure I prepare as well as I can so I'm ready for that.

'With Brett being gone, I think there's less people to spread out the voice. People are probably going to look to me for leadership, stability and that unwaveringness that you need on a defense.'

Schult's productivity last season had an effect on the rest of the front seven — of that there can be no doubt, Mark Farley said.

The Tripoli native certainly has a different personality and way of going about getting the most from his teammates than Hall, Dorleant or Kilfoy might've, but the end result is the same.

'Karter is going to get numbers on Saturday afternoons. But Karter is going to make other players better because of how he works during the week and how he works during the summer,' Mark Farley said. 'He expects the guy beside him to work as hard as he does. When you have that kind of workhorse on your team, it has a ripple effect among the others.'

Jared Farley knows that well.

The junior-to-be laughed when asked what having a guy plug up the middle of the line does for the linebacker group. Jared, who will miss all of spring ball while recovering from off-season ankle surgery, said Schult and Woods — like Xavier Williams and Max Busher did for Jared's brother, Jake, two years ago — makes everything a little easier.

'Any time you've got an All-American in front of you, it helps a lot,' Jared Farley said. 'He's taking a lot of attention and double teams. We've also got Preston (Woods) as a returning starter. It's great to have those guys taking up some offensive linemen for you.'

Like Schult, Jared Farley will have an increased leadership role, and his superb production — 97 total tackles, nine tackles for loss and three sacks — will be crucial for a defense in flux.

Both those guys, as well as Woods, D'Shawn Dexter and a few others know they'll have to bring along their less experienced teammates. It's been done before, and spring ball is where the process starts for it to happen again.

'Obviously our DBs really need to step up and emerge as a group. The starters, whoever those four may be, those guys need to really shine this spring,' Jared Farley said. 'The other inside linebacker spot, along with myself, needs to improve and we'll see who comes out on top for that job.

'We did lose a lot of great players for us, but year-in and year-out, UNI is known for defense. No matter who's on the field, we're going to be flying around and knowing our responsibilities and making plays.'

l Comments: (319) 368-8884; jeremiah.davis@thegazette.com