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...With nine returning starters, the Appalachian defense looks to be even better in 2009...

...The Mountaineers have focused much of their attention this spring on improving their defensive line play, in both their run defense and pass rush.

“We’re meeting those goals handily. I’m pleased with what those guys up front are doing,” Wiley said.

Defensive tackles coach Jason Blaylock also believes Appalachian is showing improvement on the defensive line.

“We’re getting better at pass rush moves and our first steps and our hands,” Blaylock said. “One of the things we came into spring looking at was [getting] better about how we attack the guards; coming off the ball, being aggressive, and knocking the guards back into the backfield...

...Another point of emphasis for the Mountaineers has been shoring up the linebacker corps following the graduation of Pierre Banks.

In his senior season, Banks was third on the team with 98 tackles and was named first team all-SoCon.

Redshirt freshman Justin Lloyd will likely be taking Banks’ spot.

“Right now, [Lloyd] is running really well,” linebackers coach Dale Jones said. “The biggest thing is that we run so much man coverage and he played secondary in high school. So that helps us quite a bit.”

Both Wiley and Jones praised the performance of D.J. Smith, who was named second team all-SoCon in 2008.

“D.J. Smith is having a phenomenal, out-of-body experience this spring,” Wiley said. “I’ve never had somebody play like that. He’s [been] tremendous.”...

AshevilleApp wrote:I would love to see us able to hang our hat on our defense again.