Defensive coordinator Bryan “Bubba” Thomas has his work cut out for him in replacing the snaps that Kinne and Bates ate up during their time in Black and Gold, but he is excited to see how quickly the group comes together.

“I feel very good about our first string right now,” he said. “Obviously, they’ve played a lot of football for us. Nine returning starters, that helps. It’s easy for me to coach them. Now, we’re just trying to get, obviously, them to the next level, play-wise, but also trying to get our twos to start playing like ones, and trying to build that depth right now.”

The really good news for Thomas and the Huskies is that the leadership group is experienced.

“We have really good leadership with our top guys,” Thomas said. “(We’re) trying to get our top guys to play a lot better, but also trying to build depth behind them so they don’t have to play all 80 snaps of a game.

Multiple Michigan Tech defenders come together to bring down Hillsdale quarterback Garrit Aissen during a game on Saturday, Sept. 9, at Kearly Stadium in Houghton. (David Archambeau/For the Gazette)

“So, I’m hoping (Marc) Sippel doesn’t have to play all 80, Hunter (Buechel) doesn’t have to play all 80. But, if they have to, they’re going to be ready, because they’ve done it the last couple of years.”

Sippel, who is in his final year with the Huskies, was an All-American Honorable Mention as as sophomore, when he made 131 tackles in 11 games. Last season, he put up another impressive total, 93 in 10 games.

“He is the smartest player I’ve ever coached,” said Thomas. “He’s basically an extension of the coaching staff on the field. He knows exactly what we want. Even if we call something that we probably shouldn’t, he can get us out of it. He makes sure all 11 on the field get us on the same page. So, even if it’s not what we want as a coaching staff, he’ll have all 11 doing the exact same thing.

“So, if they’re on the same page, then guess what? We’re going to be pretty good with that.”

Thomas loves the way Sippel communicates, which makes such a huge difference out on the field.

“It’s a blessing to have Sippel,” he said. “He’s an elite communicator out there. I know he gets razzed down in the locker a little bit with how much he actually talks out there, but everybody knows what to do. They’re lined up in the right position, and yeah, it’s pretty cool to have that type of a leader on our team.”

Lining up on the inside next to Sippel is Owen Watson. Watson made 66 tackles last season in 10 games, and had one interception.

“He hasn’t obviously played as much football as Marc, but he’s just as smart,” said Thomas. “He can diagnose stuff. So that’s why, when you have him and Sippel inside, it’s pretty cool the way they talk, the way they communicate with everything.

“He can diagnose stuff, too. He’s not as fast as Sippel right now, but he puts himself in a good position, just because he’s so smart with everything.”

On the line, senior Austin Schlicht should have a big impact. He had 16 solo tackles and 30 total tackles last season, eight of which were made for a loss. What Thomas likes about him is how quickly he gets off the line.

“He’s pretty explosive right now, and he’s weighed as much as he has in the last, I’d say, four years since he’s been here, five years since he’s been here,” Thomas said. “He’s gotten more explosive. He’s faster off the ball, he’s quicker, but he’s also carrying a lot more weight, too, so he can hold up in the whole season, the double teams, all that.

“He just gives us a different aspect. I mean, he’s kind of been in the shadow a little bit with Sam Kinne the last couple of years. But, you also look at, he’s been all-conference the last three years, so it’s like he’s doing something right to garner the attention of the rest of the league. Obviously, we think the world of him.”

While his tackle numbers don’t jump off the page to scare opponents, what makes Schlitcht so valuable, in Thomas’ eyes, is how he approaches the game.

“I’m hoping he has a tremendous year, but I’ve talked to him,” said Thomas. “It’s not about his stats or anything. It’s about us winning. That’s what’s cool, he’s putting that before any of the stats or anything like that.”

Replacing Bates in the secondary is going to be a difficult task. Huskies coach Dan Mettlach is high on senior Sam Ahern, and with good reason. Six-foot-five defensive backs don’t grow on trees.

Ahern made 36 tackles last season, and added three interceptions as well.

“(He plays like) he’s 6-foot-9 out there,” Thomas said. “I joke, but he’s 6-foot-4, 6-foot-5. His wingspan is huge, and he can cover a lot of ground. Another guy that’s very smart, when we put some off the edge, he can get there in one step, just because of his sheer length. Also, he can cover the middle third, if he’s five yards off the (line of scrimmage) there. So, there’s stuff we can do, trying to get quarterbacks thinking more than one coverage to the other.

“He can cover a lot of ground. Another kid that understands the game of football, what we’re trying to do. So, he’s very smart back there, making sure he’s capping the whole defense and keeping everything in front.”

Joining Ahern in the secondary this season is Buechel, another senior. Buechel is shifting into a safety spot, but the Huskies have expectations that he can make almost any position in the defense work for him.

“He’s arguably our best player right now,” said Thomas. “Just what we can do with him is unbelievable. We can play him at the deep third. We can blitz him off the edge. We can blitz him up the middle. He can go cover the flat. He can go cover the hole. He can be a cuff player.

“We can do everything with him that makes us very multiple. We can give different looks to an offense, just because of the guy that we have as our nickel right now. He’s fun to coach, very smart, too.”

Thomas feels Buechel is motivated to have a big final season in Black and Gold.

“He’s got one more year left, just like those other guys that we were talking about,” Thomas said. “So, there’s a sense of urgency those guys have right now.”

One young player the Huskies are excited about is sophomore Junyoung Chung. Chung got hurt last season in his first game, but has returned to the team this season ready to step into a much larger role.

“Junyoung has stepped up,” said Thomas. “Credit to him is he’s very smart, too, back there. He came in Day One, didn’t know how to do one drill, and then he’s just taken the coaching from all of our coaches. Now he’s put himself in a great situation where he can be on the field for 50-plus, 60-plus, 70-plus snaps a game, not just on defense, but also on special teams. So, he’s done a good job back there.

“He’s very smart diagnosing the play.”

One of the things that really excites Thomas about Chung is his willingness to improve himself by asking questions and soaking in everything the coaching staff is willing to give him.

“If he’s got a question in practice, he’s not afraid to ask Coach (Michael) Donnelly out there. They get on the same page, because in the back end, you get exposed back there if the safeties aren’t doing the right job. So, that’s where he’s learning with that. He’s kind of got to be the cap of the defense out there.

“You don’t have to tell him twice to go down to the box and go hit somebody. So, the physicality that he brings is pretty cool for our defense.”

Thomas is excited to put his defense out to challenge Bemidji State on Thursday. He feels that his group is ready for the challenge.

“We’re going to have a plan, but like Mike Tyson said, once you get punched in the mouth, it’s a little bit different after that,” said Thomas. “So, we have to do what our defense does. We have to be sound against the run, make sure we’re good against the pass with it, but our eyes have to be in the right spot.

“We’re going to try to figure out who they want to be, hopefully after that first quarter. If we play fast, if we play physical, then I think we’re going to be OK. That’s the only thing that our kids can put their hat on. If they’re thinking too much, ‘Oh, what are they going to do?’ Then we’re going play slow. If we are the aggressors, then I think we have a good chance there.”