CONWAY -- Before the season started, no faction of the University of Central Arkansas football team concerned its coaches more than the defensive line.
Coaches seemed content with the talent level but worried about its lack of experience. Gone from the year before were four regulars. Three were seniors for the 2016 season -- starters Jordan Toliver and Terrence Partee, and Dawson Hadnot, a reserve in name only. Cardell Best, a junior starter last season, was lost for 2017 to an injury in preseason drills.
"We really don't know what to expect," UCA Coach Steve Campbell said in late August. "I like what we've got, but we lost a lot of experience."
Through nine games, no one sounds worried anymore for the No. 3 Bears (8-1, 7-0 Southland). There barely has been a drop-off from a statistical standpoint. Last season, UCA gave up an average of 336.3 yards a game. This season, it's given up 349.3. UCA gave up an average of 21.7 points a game last season. This season, its opponents have averaged 19.9 points.
The only significant difference is rushing yards allowed. Opponents averaged 72.8 a game in 2016 and 124.7 this season, but that number is second best among the 11 Southland Conference teams.
"We're taking that a little personally," sophomore defensive end Chris Terrell said. "I know we're young, so there's going to be a little learning curve, but I think we're taking on the challenge well."
Defensive line coach Larry Hart said he has seen steady improvement throughout the season.
"Obviously we lost some very good interior people from last year," Hart said. "We lost some senior leadership, but I knew that we had a good group of talent moving in. They've done a tremendous job, coming to work every day. The way they've improved, it's really a testament to hard work and buying in."
Campbell agreed.
"The further we go, the longer we play, the more the guys get to play, we start to build some depth," he said. "We're young. We're still young, so we have some young depth, but there's still talent there, definitely."
Among this season's starters on the defensive line are Terrell, senior end Chris Chambers, senior tackle Eric Jackson and senior nose guard Javian Williams. Terrell and Jackson have stood out across the Southland.
Jackson's 10 sacks lead the conference. Terrell is tied for second with nine. He is also second with 16 tackles for loss. Jackson is third with 15.
"I'm not one bit surprised by the way those two have played," Campbell said. "Chris Terrell is a great player. Eric Jackson is a great player. That's why we recruited them. I'm very pleased with their progress, but I'm not one bit surprised. We thought they were going to be great players, and they both played well for us last year."
Both knew they would be asked for more this season.
"I worked very hard in the offseason," Jackson said. "We all did, but we knew we'd be all right. We knew coming in that we had the players. It was next man up. It's always next man up, so we were all ready for our number to be called."
Terrell said he never was worried about his unit.
"I knew we lost some great players for last year, but I saw the work that my teammates and I put in this offseason," Terrell said. "I understand what our coaches were thinking. We lost great players, and we knew we would have to step up. We knew we had to push ourselves and go harder, play harder. I think we all took on that challenge and just pushed each other each day."
Sports on 11/11/2017