Cal Poly football’s opponent North Dakota features ball hawks in secondary

Cal Poly football coach Tim Walsh believes North Dakota has one of, if not the best defense in the Big Sky Conference this fall, and the numbers seem to back that up.

The Fighting Hawks returned 12 players from last year’s 7-4 team that started at least three games, among them all-conference performers Brian Labat at linebacker, Cole Reyes at safety, and defensive linemen Brandon Dranka and Noah Johnson.

This year, North Dakota (2-2, 1-0 Big Sky) leads the conference and ranks second nationally with eight interceptions. It ranks No. 2 in the Big Sky in scoring defense (24.8 points per game), rushing defense (113.8 yards) and sacks (10), and is No. 3 in total defense (354.2).

“They’re really good on defense and they’re really efficient on offense,” Walsh said. “They understand who they are.”

UND head coach Bubba Schweigert, now in his third season in Grand Forks, has developed a resilient group, considering all four of the Fighting Hawks’ games in September were decided by four points or less.

A preseason top-25 team that narrowly missed out on the FCS playoffs last fall, UND lost its first two games of the year to Stony Brook (13-9) and FBS-level opponent Bowling Green (27-26). It responded with consecutive wins against South Dakota in a 47-44 double-overtime shootout, and held on to beat a stingy Montana State team, 17-15, in the conference opener a week ago in Bozeman.

The Fighting Hawks swiped three interceptions against the Bobcats — one apiece from Labat, junior Zach Arnell and redshirt freshman Torrey Hunt — and also forced two fumbles, recovering both, in a game where possessions were at a premium.

Schweigert pointed to the experience and length of UND’s rangy secondary as the key factors in already surpassing last year’s interception total of six.

“We’re just more comfortable,” added Arnell, who played two seasons at Santa Barbara Community College before transferring to UND ahead of the 2015 season.

“We’ve made a few adjustments in our defense to make it easier to set DBs up for interceptions.”

Junior Deion Harris, a 6-foot-3, 190-pound cornerback, leads the Big Sky in passes defended (seven) and is tied for the conference lead with three interceptions, two of which he’s returned for touchdowns.

Veteran safeties Arnell and Reyes, both listed at 6-2, 215, and the 6-1, 185-pound Hunt comprise arguably the biggest secondary in the conference.

Though they likely won’t defend many passes against Cal Poly quarterback Dano Graves, they’ll be counted on to make tackles near the line of scrimmage and guard against the Mustangs’ home-run plays.

“We’ll be challenged differently this week with the option attack,” Schweigert said. “You’ve got to have great focus and I don’t know how many balls that Graves throws that are opportunities for interceptions. He’s very accurate and puts good touch on the ball.”

This story was originally published September 30, 2016 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Cal Poly football’s opponent North Dakota features ball hawks in secondary."