Michigan Tech linebacker Marc Sippel pursues Saginaw Valley State quarterback Mike O’Horo during a game Saturday, Nov. 11, 2023, at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

HOUGHTON — With both defensive Samuel Kinne and defensive back Michael Bates Jr. having finished their careers with the Michigan Tech Huskies football team this past season, coach Dan Mettlach and his staff are looking for the next set of leaders amongst their defensive core.

While it would be impossible to replace the pair with just a 1-for-1 swap, Mettlach feels that there are several players who are ready to step in and grow into leadership roles with the team through the summer and into the fall season.

“We’re going to do some different things to move some guys around and scheme things up, get back to where we were a couple years ago, where we’re pressuring and bringing guys from different spots and trying to help those guys out,” he said. “I think you get spoiled when you have a guy like Sam that does his job correct on every single play and eats up double teams and so on and so forth.”

Depth is going to be key moving forward for the Huskies, mainly due to the fact that the Huskies could count on Kinne playing nearly an entire game, if need be.

“We’ve got some talent in that room still with (Austin) Schlicht and Connor Hindenach and James Daanen’s back, but it’s going to have to be replacement by committee,” Mettlach said. “We’re going to have to find a way to be deeper. Sam Kinne plays 75 snaps a game at 290 pounds. It’s unheard of, so we’re going to have to go find some guys that can play, whether that’s 10 plays, 20 plays, five plays. We’re going to have to find some production from. From some other guys to replace what he would have done by himself, for sure.”

The other way that players like Kinne and Bates have to be replaced is in the locker room, where their voices carried weight as leaders. Mettlach is already seeing that happen.

“When you have a player-led locker room, with guys that respect the people that’s coming from, the idea is that it carries over when those guys are gone,” he said. “We do have guys now that are picking right up from where Sammy and Will Marano and Bates and those guys left off.

“It’s just coming from different voices now.”

One such new voice is actually an old voice at this point, linebacker Marc Sippel, who will be a senior this season. Another is defensive back Hunter Buechel, who will also be a senior this year.

“Marc Sippel, four-year starter, Buechel, four-year starter, Crib (Josh Cribben) and all these guys that maybe didn’t speak up as much last year, because those other guys were there, picked up right where it left off,” said Mettlach. “I’m very proud of the way that our guys go about their business in terms of we’ve only got one speed when we’re going through drills, one speed in the weight room.”

Sippel, who was an All-American Honorable Mention as a sophomore, is already showing in practice what he learned from playing alongside Kinne in how he approaches every drill in practice.

“The trickle down effect of if Marc Sippel, an All-American, leading the country in tackles, is busting his butt every single day in every single drill, it’s a lot easier for those younger guys to fall in place and do it as well,” said Mettlach. “Sam was great with all that stuff, but we’re pretty fortunate right now that we got guys picking up for that.”

Mettlach admits that one place where the Huskies need work after spring practices is the defensive line. What he and his staff are most concerned about is the overall depth.

“We’ve got a ways to go,” he said. “We’ve got some guys that have played a lot of football that we love where they’re at, but the same thing I’ve been harping on for a year and a half now is the depth part of things. Whether it’s a first-year kid that’s going to be a redshirt freshman next year, or a guy that’s been here for four years and just hasn’t been able to get on the field, that competitiveness and drive to want to help in whatever role that is. Again, whether it’s a 70-snap guy or a five-snap guy, the depth part in that room needs to take the next step for us to be in a spot next fall where we want to be.”

The good news is that even though the Huskies have lost Kinne and Bates, the other nine defensive starters will be back.

“We have nine guys coming back that started on the defensive side of the football, but the two that we’re losing are huge pieces that you have to fill those roles by committee, rather than just plugging in one piece and think you’re going to get the same production,” Mettlach said. “So, we’ll see. I do like where they’re at, but these next three months for a lot of those kids, they’re going to be playing on the (defensive) line are going to be big.”

In the secondary, Bates was not just a vocal leader, but he also relished the matchups he often found himself in. Mettlach feels that he has two players who might be able to take on those responsibilities this year.

“I think the biggest thing that I noticed in the spring is just the voice of Bates back there,” Mettlach said. “Junyoung (Chung) is going to step into that role and be very productive. He unfortunately got banged up in week three last year, so people didn’t get a chance to see him at the pole ton. But, he’s strong, physical, comes downhill in a hurry and wants to be part of contact, but he’s going to be a redshirt sophomore and not as vocal as what Bates was.

“Sammy Ahern, again, a guy that’s had a ton of production. He’s going to play on the other hash, but a quiet kid.”

Both Chung and Ahern are having to learn on the fly how to use their voices prior to the snap.

“We’ve got talent back there,” said Mettlach. “That part is not going to be the issue. It’s all the stuff that Batesy would have done before a snap with getting guys lined up.

“The communicating part is probably the biggest thing that we need to get filled in that part of things right now. (I am) confident that it will happen, but that is probably the biggest thing that he did.”

The growth that Chung showed in the spring has Mettlach very encouraged.

“The jump that Jun has made from Year One to right now is significant, but he knows it’s not just going and sawing somebody’s head off. You have to be able to understand where you’re supposed to be, when you’re supposed to be there, and be able to get everybody else lined up, be a little bit of the quarterback of the back end,” said Mettlach “He’s taken some pride in understanding that kind of stuff now, which is awesome to see.”

Chung is not the only player the coaching staff is taking notice of.

“The last four weeks, Junyoung and, I mean, countless others, from Practice One to Practice 15, you could see the light bulb go off,” Mettach said, “and the jump that a lot of our guys made has been great to see.”