Iowa State’s defensive struggles last season have been well documented.

In 2008, the Cyclones finished 112th in Division I in total defense, 116th in passing defense, and 95th in rushing defense.

Enter new head coach Paul Rhoads and new defensive coordinator Wally Burnham — leaders of two top-30 defenses in 2008 — who have inherited experienced groups on the defensive side of the ball. In particular, the new coaching staff will lean on its linebackers and secondary, two of the defense’s deepest groups.

“We do, in a way — we do have some depth in numbers, but not in experience right now,” Burnham said, who also doubles as the linebackers’ coach.

Jesse Smith, Fred Garrin and Josh Raven all saw time as starting linebackers last season and will be depended on again this year to carry the load in the Cyclones’ base 4–3 defensive package.

Smith, Garrin, and Raven, all seniors, are going through their second coaching change, something that Burnham has acknowledged as a small hurdle so far this fall.

“I think they’ve done pretty well. They’ve had a lot to learn,” Burnham said. “It’s hard to learn three systems. We could run the same defense, but there’s going to be terminology, techniques and all of those things they’ve got to adjust to, and it’s hard.”

Behind the three starters, the position gets very young very fast. Of the three backups, only senior Derec Schmigdall has any playing experience at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.

Junior college transfers Matt Tau’fo’ou and Jacob Lattimer are listed on the depth chart behind Raven and Smith, and both are expected to see a great deal of playing time from the beginning of the season.

“Tau’fo’ou has really come on the last week or so, and it’s beginning to fall in place for him mentally,” Burnham said. “And Lattimer is not quite ready, but he’s going to play. We’ve got to get him ready.”

Looking further down the depth chart shows several freshmen listed behind the top two at each position. That depth could be encouraging to Burnham, but the veteran coordinator expressed concern with placing his freshmen in game situations too early in the year.

“We’re going to try and get some of those freshmen in there, but it’s not a rush deal,” Burnham said. “I wouldn’t be afraid to put [Lattimer] in the ballgame, I wouldn’t be afraid to put [Tau’fo’ou] in the ballgame, but I just can’t trust those freshmen now. I’d be shaking.”

When it comes to depth in the secondary, however, it’s a bit of a different story.

Behind safety James Smith — Iowa State’s top returning tackler — there are no starters returning to the unit. However, all but two of the starters and backups listed on the newest depth chart saw significant playing time last season.

“Well, I’ll tell you, we could use more depth,” said secondary coach Chris Ash. “We could always use a little bit more, but the guys we do have have been working hard and are picking up the schemes and are doing a good job.”

Sophomore Leonard Johnson will be starting at one cornerback position this season after being a standout performer last season, while senior Kennard Banks will be the other starting corner. Banks missed four games last season after breaking his arm, but still managed to rack up 18 tackles.

The other starting safety spot will go to junior college transfer David Sims, who originally committed to play at Oklahoma, then sat out the 2008 season after deciding to come to Ames.

Sophomore Ter’ran Benton, who started five games last season, will likely see time as the third cornerback or nickleback position. The remainder of the backups in the secondary have also seen a great deal of playing time, and will likely play big roles in the new defensive plans this season.

“From January until now, I can see a lot of improvement and understanding of what we’re trying to do,” Ash said about his starters. “The game is slowing down for them. That’s your goal as a coach, is to try to get the game to slow down. They see things a little bit better, they react a little bit faster.”

Ash has been working with his group on being in the right place at the right time in order to force more turnovers than last season, despite the Cyclones finishing with 26 takeaways last year, putting them at 36th in the nation. Only 11 of those takeaways were interceptions, however.

“We’re just trying to be in the right place at the right time,” Johnson said. “We’re just trying to come together as a secondary, and in order to do that everybody’s got to be on the same page, got to know their assignment.”

Beyond taking the ball away, the entire defense must also improve upon its 112th overall finish in total defense last season, and the secondary will play a big role in that against the spread offenses of the Big 12 as the last line of defense.

“We’re going to try and put them in position to make plays,” Ash said. “We’re going to play an active role in this system, and they’re going to be around the ball, but we’re going to be disciplined and accountable with everything that we do.”