‘I love the big guys up front’: Play of defensive line will bolster QU football team’s aggressive nature

QUINCY — Jaylin Vaughn wasn’t sure how to answer Quincy University football coach Jason Killday’s query.

“At first, it caught me off guard,” the junior defensive tackle said.

Killday kept coming to Vaughn and asking him, “Do you know what’s really fun?” The second-year transfer from Ellsworth Community College hesitated to give an answer, although the answer proved to be quite simple.

“Winning’s fun,” Killday told him.

Vaughn admitted preparing to win has been enjoyable, too.

“You get out here, you get a good feel for practice and you see how everybody is really focused and turning up the energy and getting better and better each day,” Vaughn said. “You start getting the idea we have the chance to do something special and win here, and that makes things a little more fun.”

Defensively, the Hawks expect to have a lot of fun.

A year ago, Quincy was the No. 1-ranked run defense in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, allowing just 84.6 yards on the ground per game. The Hawks were No. 3 in the league in total defense (299 yards allowed per game) and scoring defense (24.5 points allowed per game).

The success started up front, just as it will again. Vaughn will be flanked by senior Brandon Granger, an honorable mention All-GLVC selection, to give the Hawks a solid base to build the defense around.

“I love the big guys up front,” senior safety Joseph Webb said. “They make my job easier. Everybody in the back seven, we should probably start taking them out to dinner the way they play football.

“The way we dominated last year makes me believe they will do that again. The reason we were as dominant on defense was because of the front four. Their level of play is extremely high.”

That stems from the energy injected into their play and the knowledge they soak up while working with defensive line coach Aaron Lawrence.

“He gets us right in the film room,” Vaughn said. “He makes sure we’re studying the right stuff. We look at all of the little details offenses are doing. We have really focused practices. I’m not going to lie, it can get a little repetitive and boring, but at the end of the day, when you master it, it’ll show in the game.

“We’re pretty disciplined and pretty determined to show how good this defense is.”

That mentality filters from the front to the back.

Junior linebacker Brock Inman, a second-team All-GLVC selection, led the Hawks with 71 tackles last season, while also grabbing five interceptions. Quincy Notre Dame graduate Brock Wiley will get the chance to start at outside linebacker and help a group that expects to be active sideline to sideline.

The front four want to be that active, too.

“That’s a big part of what we do out here,” Vaughn said. “We want to make sure we bring the energy. It gets you ready for anything on any given day. It simulates a game. On game day, you have to be energetic and hyped up. If you bring that same energy to practice, you’ll get yourself in the right mindset for a game.”

In the secondary, Webb is the leader with senior Trajen Thornton developing into a lockdown cornerback.

“We have to be extremely focused,” Webb said. “It doesn’t just start on game week. The focus we have had to have the whole time throughout fall camp leading up this game has been critical. We have to be locked in on everything we do.

“Sometimes you have to fight through the mundaneness of practice. But demanding excellence, not only from yourself but from each other, brings out the enjoyment in everything we do.”

Although the defense has shown the ability to be efficient, no one is settling for being good. This group wants to be the best defensive unit in the GLVC.

“Coach Killday still steps it up a notch and tells us, ‘I know how good you were, now be better,’” Webb said. “That gives us motivation. You want to talk about flying around last year, but we’re really going to be flying around this year.”

Killday won’t settle for anything less.

“Who we have leading us is ultimately why we’ll succeed,” Webb said. “What Killday expects from us is nothing short of being the best we can be, not only on the field, but in everything we do. He says how we do one thing is how we do everything.”

And he reminds them winning is fun.

“People want to be here,” Vaughn said. “This is exciting. We want to win.”