Junior safety Lucien Antoine delivers a big tackle at the Spring Game in April. Antoine and fellow newcomer Donald Booker have helped add hard hitting to a Cowboy defense that ranked 10th in the Big 12 in total defense.
The old adage of “defense wins championships” is not lost on the Cowboys.
The Cowboy defense is out to prove not only can they compete, but also they are sick of being pushed around.
Oklahoma State finished last year’s 7-6 campaign with the nation’s seventh ranked offense but was handicapped by a defense that ranked 101st in total defense and 112th against the pass out of 119 teams.
The defense is out to prove that those numbers are a thing of the past.
“We want to come out as a much more physical defense and fly around this year now that we are more comfortable in our system,” linebacker Andre Sexton said. “We want to make people pay. We were ranked so low last year, we just want to get out there and get going.
“There is a pride factor involved to go out there and prove that not only are we capable of being a good defense, we can punish people.”
Throughout the spring and summer sessions, the defense has done just that while keeping the scores low and pressure high on the team’s prolific offense.
The Cowboys have developed a penchant for big hits and the addition of newcomers Lucien Antoine and Donald Booker has helped to lead the charge.
Antoine, a transfer from Fort Scott (Kan.) Community College, earned a reputation when he stepped on campus in January as a ferocious hitter, and he has not disappointed.
Nicknamed “the Punisher,” Antoine has helped to instill a hitting mentality that has been lacking from Cowboy defenses of the past.
This edition of the defense is tenacious and aggressive and, with the addition of Booker late in the summer, the hits just keep coming.
Booker earned Junior College All-America honors last year at Navarro Junior College in Klein, Texas, where he led the nation in tackles with 161 and had three interceptions.
He has made his presence felt on the field since his arrival.
“Booker has had some great hits since he got here, similar to Lucien,” defensive coordinator Tim Beckman said.
“It’s contagious. It just comes down to kids running to the football and being around the ball and putting yourself in a position to make a big hit through great effort.”
The contagious nature of their style of play has caught on with returning players who are now also establishing themselves as lethal hitters.
The aggression has made some Cowboy receivers appear a little timid when crossing the middle of the field and has led to more turnovers and mistakes for the offense, which Beckman will tell you is a huge step in the right direction.
Sexton said there is no question the increased level of confidence is in part due to having completed a full year in Beckman’s system, but the addition of newcomers like Antoine and Booker has helped to change the team mentality.
“Now whenever guys are getting the chance to lay one on somebody you are going to here those pads
popping,” Sexton said. “When we hear the crowd reactions in our scrimmages to the hits it just really gets us going and makes everything a lot more fun.”
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