Titans Confident About Defense, Hopeful on Offense

The Cal State Fullerton defense did its job during the preseason, but perhaps did it too well.

Two weeks before the first game of the season, the Titans gathered for an intrasquad scrimmage.

And the Titans shut out the Titans.

It was not the sort of thing that gives a great boost of confidence to a fledgling offense.

The defense is sorry, really. Well, sort of.

“Hey, they can score,” defensive end A.J. Jenkins said. “We’re going to put them in good field position.”

If you’ll forgive a rare moment of immodesty, Jenkins thinks the Titan offense had rather a good excuse for not scoring.

“I don’t think they’re as bad as people are expecting,” he said. “They’ve just been going against a great defense.”

That much has become the accepted notion for the Titans, who open the season Saturday against Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, La.

The Titans have a promising quarterback in Dan Speltz, who led El Camino College to an undefeated season last year. But an inexperienced and very shallow offensive line is a major concern.

Defensively, the only real dilemma has been whether to let on just how good the unit is, or to keep that quiet.

One minute the Titans are full of unshakeable confidence; the next, full of modesty.

“There are no all-stars,” said Jenkins, a 6-foot 2-inch, 235-pound lineman who was a first-team all-conference selection last season and who defensive coordinator Kirk Harmon said is “50% better” already this year.

How, then, can Jenkins say there are no all-stars?

“Everybody’s equal,” he said. So everybody’s an all-star.

This is a defense on which Bill Bryan, a three-year starter and two-time team captain who is closing in on the school record for tackles, has become just another good player.

Jenkins can look around and discover three good professional prospects without even including himself--linebacker Jerry Leggett, tackle Alex Stewart and nose guard John Bavaro.

One reason the Titans believe they’re going into the season with a secret weapon is that none of those three were on the team last year. Stewart (6-4, 265) sat out after transferring from USC, as is required by NCAA regulations, as did Leggett (6-5, 255), a transfer from Mississippi State. Bavaro, a cousin of Mark Bavaro of the New York Giants, was still at Glendale College.

The Titans have been picked consistently to finish third or fourth in the Big West, but Jenkins and others on the team think they may be better than that.

“People don’t know what we’ve got,” Jenkins said.

Bryan, a linebacker, called the line as good a front four as you’ll find. Make that a front seven, he said, adding the linebackers. And don’t forget the secondary.

There’s nothing left but the punter, and Jim Sirois has done that job dependably for three years.

Harold Jones (6-2, 245) and Chris Wright (5-10, 205) round out the linebacking corps.

And a secondary that was one of the strengths of last year’s team--James Howard, Kevin Henderson, Mike Schaffel and Sean Fernandes--returns.

Harmon, not usually given to exaggeration, said this defense can line up against anyone.

“I think they can play against anybody and give a good showing, whether it be USC, UCLA or anybody,” he said.

This is a defense that last season gave up 29.2 points a game last season. Allow that a great deal of the damage was done in a 56-12 loss to Louisiana State and a 65-0 loss to Florida. Still, it wasn’t until late in the season that it began to be very impressive.

“Toward the end of the season, you could see a difference in our defense. The scores got lower,” Bryan said.

Much of that was because of the improvement of Jenkins, who missed most of preseason practice because he was completing work for his community-college degree. He got better and better as the season progressed, “learning as he went along,” Harmon said.

Harmon calls Jenkins a “Lawrence Taylor-type” player, who probably will play inside linebacker in the pros.

“He’s the quickest guy for five yards I’ve ever seen,” Harmon said. “He’s impossible to block, or rather he refuses to stay blocked. He practices and plays at a tempo above what the average person plays at. He’s a great football player and a great competitor.”

As Bryan said, “I know A.J. You don’t have to worry about him not doing his job.”

For Bryan, the Titans’ good fortune may be a personal misfortune. His 265 tackles are 71 short of the Fullerton career record of 336, held by Terry Hubbard. Bryan had 61 tackles his freshman year, 119 as a sophomore, and 85 last year. With all this ability on the team, his share might be smaller this year. Jenkins may make the tackles before he gets a chance.

Bryan said that wouldn’t bother him.

“I really don’t put too much into that record,” he said. “If (Jenkins makes more tackles), that might be good. We’ll win more games. . . . There have been games where I got 10 or 15 tackles and we lost, and I didn’t feel good about them at all.”