MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — In fall camp, covering the Middle Tennessee defense has been an exercise not so much in learning new names (though, as always, there are plenty), but in getting used to hearing names you already knew more often.
From special teams standouts that are stepping into set linebacker roles (like Drew Francis) to do-it-all defensive backs now settling into a more consistent spot (like Deidrick Stanley II), the players that have started to step up in defensive coordinator Scott Shafer's scheme are players Blue Raider fans might recognize from a season ago, even with the departure of five starters from last year's unit that led the country in takeaways.