BOONE, N.C. — The way Appalachian State rotates defensive players, especially along the line, individual statistics can be misleading. And the lopsided nature of the last three games has created opportunities for even more Mountaineers to play.
One stat helps quantify the depth of App State's defense.
Through one month of the 2018 season, Appalachian is tied for second place nationally with 22 players who have contributed in the tackles for loss category. Utah leads FBS programs with 23 players, and the Mountaineers currently share second place with UCF and Penn State, which has played five games instead of four.
App State uses a three-man front as part of its 3-4 scheme, and defensive line coach
Mark Ivey has made a habit of employing a rotation with as many as nine or 10 players. There also have been chances for underclassmen to contribute at linebacker, as three true freshmen and one redshirt freshman have played meaningful snaps at inside linebacker.
In all, 13 of the team's top 14 tacklers through four games have at least assisted on a stop behind the line of scrimmage. App State's leaders with 3.5 tackles for loss apiece are starting outside linebackers
Akeem Davis-Gaither and
Noel Cook, who missed the opener at Penn State but has had a hand in a sack in all three of his game appearances.
There have been breakout performances from young reserves such as redshirt freshman defensive end
Jermaine McDaniel, who had two sacks against Gardner-Webb, and true freshman linebacker
Jay Person made a tackle for a 5-yard loss shortly after making his App State debut in the fourth quarter of last weekend's 52-7 win against South Alabama.
The contributions of so many have helped Appalachian lead the Sun Belt in scoring defense (17.0 points per game to rank 18th nationally), total defense (No. 8 nationally at 276.3 yards per game), rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. In holding three straight opponents to single-digit points for the first time in 20 years, the Mountaineers are the only FBS team to accomplish that feat so far this season. The only other teams with three total games allowing single-digit points are Washington and Cincinnati.
