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UNH hoping defense is frontloaded

DURHAM – Similar to their comrades on the offensive side of the ball, the University of New Hampshire defense is taking the approach to the 2022 season that is enough is enough.  Seasons that lead to a 3-8 record like last fall’s just won’t do.

“Sitting around with a bunch of the guys, the feeling is it’s time to right the ship,” said senior defensive tackle Niko Kvietkus. “They’re giving us every tool to do it. It’s kind of on our shoulders to turn this thing around and get it going the right way.”

The Wildcats will close out the latest segment of their offseason work when spring practice comes to an end with the annual Blue/White game on Thursday night at 7 p.m. in Wildcat Stadium.  After that, they will have three weeks of lifting and conditioning work in the weight room before the semester ends.

The 2020 season, the first as fulltime head coach for Rick Santos, begins on Thursday, Sept. 1 against Monmouth University, which is a newcomer to the Colonial Athletic Association.

Kvietkus is one of the veterans tasked with leading the way and has had an impressive spring as he returns from a hip injury that cost him the last few games of last season.

“Niko’s awesome,” Santos said. “He’s a leader for us and a physically imposing guy up front. He and (offensive lineman) Patrick Flynn are our two tough guys, our two enforcers. On the defensive side, if we’re not starting fast in practice, Niko will call everyone out. He sets a standard.”

Kvietkus is joined up front by defensive end Josiah Silver, who had an absolutely huge year last fall as a freshman. Silver was named the Colonial Athletic Association Defensive Rookie of the Year and to a couple of freshman All American teams.

Silver led the CAA in sacks and with 12.5 (one off UNH’s record for a season of 13.5) and also led the league in forced fumbles with six, which was tied for second nationally at the FCS level.

“Josiah continues to impress us,” Santos said. “He’s as dynamic a pass rusher as you’re going to find at this level. He’s a great kid, a humble kid.”

Kvietkus, Silver and the rest of the defense will work under the direction of Garrett Gillick, who has coached linebackers at UNH since 2014 and moves up to be associate head coach and replaces the retired John Lyons as defensive coordinator.

“I always tell people I came here to get my doctorate in coaching football, working under those two guys (Lyons and former head coach Sean McDonnell,” Gillick said. “My basic philosophy is, first of all, what’s the matchup advantage? Do we have a disadvantage in a certain area that we have to work up some coverage changes for, or do we have an advantage up front where we can really attack their offensive line? Things like that.”

Sophomores Nathan Kapongo, Neil Politano, Zach Garron and Dylan Ruiz and junior Chris Donnelly are all in the mix for playing time on the defensive line.

The coaches are also looking forward to seeing how a couple of transfers fit into the mix on the defensive line. Pierce DeVaughn is a defensive end who played at UConn and Kyle Finnick started at defensive tackle for three years at Dayton.

The linebacking crew, probably the deepest position on the team, and the defensive secondary are full of proven playmakers.

Grad student Pop Bush is back for a final go-round and will be counted to lead from his safety position and another safety, junior Max Oxendine, has been impressive in the spring after missing all of last season with an injury. Junior Derek Thompson, converted from corner, is at safety along with Joe Eichmann and sophomore Noah Palm.

Sophomore Noah Stansbury, after a productive season at safety, has been moved to cornerback where he joins junior Randall Harris, who came on strong as the spring progressed, and sophomores Jonathan Collins and Caleb Mead.

At linebacker, Gillick has a half a dozen guys who are ready to go.

“We’re still very young, but I have six guys that can play, six I feel comfortable with putting on the field,” Gillick said. “They’re starting to grow as leaders, too.”

They are juniors Oleh Manzyk and Bryce Shaw, sophomores Ryan Toscano, Zedane Williams and Max Tillett and redshirt freshman Brandon Perkins.

Manzyk started and played well as a true freshman in 2019, but missed much of last season with injuries.

Silver led the team in tackles last year with 80 and Toscano with 67 and Shaw with 65 were second and third.

Gillick, said Santos, has done a nice job this spring of mixing up defensive fronts to give the Wildcats some different looks for added versatility and flexibility.

“The philosophy is we’d like to pressure and be a team that can get after a quarterback,” Santos said. “We want to be relentless in our pursuit to make quarterbacks uncomfortable.”

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