Louisiana Tech football aiming for seventh straight bowl victory in 2020

A usually solid defense has to replace nine starters

Louisiana Tech has long had a solid defense that wreaks havoc and puts a lot of pressure on opposing offenses.

This year, Louisiana Tech is going to have to replace nine starters and their defensive coordinator Bob Diaco, who left to go to Purdue. The potential bright spot for the defense is on the edges, where Milton Williams and Willie Baker are the lone returning starters on the defense and who combined for 6.5 sacks last season. Those two will have to step up the production to carry on the strong defense.

The linebackers have some experience with Ezekiel Barrett back and he had a solid season a year ago with 59 tackles and four sacks. Alex Zayed played some last year, but will have to step up this year as the majority of the front seven is gone. Trey Baldwin is another name to keep an eye on as he will be stepping into a full time role as a starter for the defense and he showed his potential while gathering 40 tackles and picking off a pass as well.

This group will be fine in the long run, but the lack of depth and proven talent is something to keep an eye on.

The secondary might be the unit that is taking the biggest hit, as the Bulldogs are losing seven players in the back end of the defense.

What is even more stressful if you are a Louisiana Tech fan is that three of the newly-projected starters in the secondary are sophomores. Jemaurian Jones started his career at Southern Miss in 2018 but spent last season at a community college and he is one of the projected starters at corner. The other starting corner is another community college transfer in Dallas Taylor-Cortez.

Both are talented, but unproven players. This unit will need to grow up quickly if the Bulldogs hope to challenge for the conference title.