Heading into August camp (left to right) Desmund LIghten, Chris Loveless, Michael Ware and Pat Williams will be the starters. Desmund Lighten returns as leader

(This is the second in a series of articles on McNeese State football prospects for the 2011 season. Today: the defensive line)

Desmund Lighten has been long been considered to be one of the best defensive linemen in the Southland Conference.

Back to back first team all-league honors prove that.

This year, though, the McNeese State standout is lining up at a different position, moving from tackle to end, but nothing else is new.

He’s still expected to be one of the best in the conference and he’s even been judged to be one of the top 10 defensive linemen in the entire FCS going in.

“Desmund should be an all-American this year,” said Cowboy defensive line coach Manny Michel. “He’s probably more suited for defensive end with his size and speed. From him this year we’re looking for more sack production and heat on the quarterback.”

It wasn’t as if the Cowboys didn’t get a good run from the senior from Monroe a year ago. He was fourth on the team in tackles with 65 (tops for defensive linemen), second in tackles for a loss with 7.5 and second in sacks with four.

He will go into the season with career totals of 168 tackles, 16.5 tackles for a loss, eight sacks, 15 quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles, seven recovered fumbles and a blocked field goal.

That blocked field goal came in a victory over Sam Houston State last year, forcing the Bearkats to go for a touchdown instead of a field goal late in the contest.

Twice he produced tackles in double figures in 2010, 13 against Nicholls (Louisiana player of week honor for this effort) and 10 against Sam Houston.

Letterman Chris Loveless, a sophomore from Houston, will join Lighten in a starting role at end heading into August camp. Backups will be letterman Eric LeBlanc (junior from Erath) and redshirt freshmen Everett Ellefsen (Maidsonville), Orrin Fontenot (Baton Rouge) and Danyel Hunter (Dickinson, TX).

At the tackle positions, lettermen Pat Williams (junior from Plaquemine) and Michael Ware (soph from Houston) move into starting roles with backup provided by letterman Justin Breaux (senior from Sulphur) and redshirt freshmen Kevin Dorn (Pineville) and Sean Brown (Baton Rouge) along with incoming freshmen Nick Gorman (Broken Arrow, OK), Quentin Marsh (Dickinson, TX) and Krishon Seastrunk (Newton, TX).

Michel said that he was excited about his defensive line.

“We only have two seniors (Lighten and Breaux) but we have some young players who are going to develop into really good players,” he said. “We just need to get them game experience.”

Michel said that Loveless, Williams and Ware all have the potential to become a force in the line.

Williams had starts against Northwestern State and SFA last year while Ware had a season high five tackles against Missouri and four against Nicholls and Loveless produced three against Cal Poly.

Fontenot was one of the team leaders in the spring game with four tackles while Hunter and Dorn had three each and Breaux and Ellefsen two apiece.

Speed and size could be a big factor in this year’s line. All four players listed as starters heading into camp run the 40 under five seconds and average out to 272.5 pounds at tackle and 240 at end.

Three starters are gone from last year’s defensive line but Michel believes this year’s crew has the ability to move right in.

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