HAMMOND, La. – The reigning Southland Conference champion Southeastern Louisiana University football team will enter the 2023 season with a new look in the secondary.
 
The Lions will be replacing four All-SLC starters among their defensive backs. Southeastern head coach Frank Scelfo is confident that the new-look back end of the SLU defense will be a plus this fall.
 
"We feel like we're deeper and more talented than we've been in the secondary," Scelfo commented. "We're two-deep at every position on the back end and we feel like our defensive backs have the chance to be the strength of our defense."
 
Defensive coordinator and assistant head coach Bill D'Ottavio has been pleased with the secondary's progress.
 
"Every year there's going to be change with guys graduating," D'Ottavio said. "We'll have some veterans step into bigger roles and we'll have some new guys in the mix, so we've had great competition back there. We're still a work in progress, but we're starting to see that group show up and do some things we want to see."
 
Markell Linzer, Ian Goodly, Kunta Hester, Coryell Pierce, Varon Douglas, Rob Buquoi and Tyrone Legette are all veterans returning in the secondary, while Blayne Delahoussaye and Justin Dumas are also back after missing all of 2022 with injuries.
 
Legette, a New Orleans native, was named to the preseason All-Southland Conference season last month. Cornerback coach Del Lee-Collins touted Legette's toughness.
 
"Tyrone is a feisty competitor and always gives his all," Lee-Collins stated. "We think he's going to make some tough plays this year. He's a proven leader, along with Blayne, in our room. Blayne has really worked hard coming back from injury and has improved tremendously."
 
Lee-Collins also noted that Tylon Cooper, Ralph Walker and Tyler Mansfield were newcomers to watch among the cornerbacks, as well as Jonathan Vaughn, who made the switch from running back this spring. A pair of transfer safeties Victor Tademy (Harvard) and Donald Clay (SMU) are expected to make an immediate impact, while safeties coach Antonio Baker has also been pleased with the development of freshmen Rodney Brown Jr. and Richard McKneely, as well as newcomer Khamron Ford.
 
Baker is bullish on the safeties' progress as the season progresses.
 
"As preseason progresses, we just want to continue to learn," Baker commented. "We just want to get everybody to play fast. Our guys support each other, learn from each other and we're concentrated on executing at a high level."
 
The week's practice schedule culminates Saturday with the Season Ticket Pickup Party, set for 10 a.m. in conjunction with SLU's final practice at 9 a.m. before entering game week.

Southeastern opens the 2023 season with three straight nonconference road contests, beginning with a Sept. 2 trip to Mississippi State. The game versus the Bulldogs kicks off at 3 p.m. in Starkville, Mississippi and will be televised on SEC Network and can be heard on the Southeastern Sports Radio Network (Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM, The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM).
 
Season and single-game tickets for the 2023 home football season, which includes visits from HCU (Sept. 23), Tarleton State (Sept. 30), Lamar (Oct. 14), McNeese (Nov. 4) and Nicholls (Nov. 18) are available online at https://vivenu.com/event/2023-football-2klkar.
 
Southeastern Football Preseason Practice Schedule
Aug. 26 – 9 a.m. (Season Ticket Pickup Party – 10 a.m.)
 
TICKETS
For ticket information, contact the Southeastern Athletics Ticket Office at (985) 549-5466 or visit www.LionSports.net. Southeastern will continue offering mobile ticketing as the primary source for securing tickets for the 2023-24 season. All tickets will be available via e-mail or text message in a PDF format for fans to download on their phone or print at home. Tickets can also be downloaded to Apple Wallet.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
For more information on Southeastern Football, follow @LionUpFootball and @Coach_Scelfo on X, like /SLUathletics on Facebook and follow lionupfootball on Instagram.
 
TOUCHDOWN CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the football program are encouraged to join the Touchdown Club. Lion football alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners.
 
All membership fees and donations to both the Touchdown Club and S Club (football) are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern football program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
INSIDE SOUTHEASTERN FOOTBALL WITH FRANK SCELFO
The 2023 season of Inside Southeastern Football with Frank Scelfo will debut Aug. 28 at 7 p.m. at its new home – Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux (305 CM Fagan Dr) in Hammond. Hosted by Scelfo and Allen Waddell, the hour-long radio show will air Mondays throughout the football season on Kajun 107.1 FM, The Highway 104.7 FM and The Boss 103.7 FM/WFPR 1400 AM.
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Southeastern Athletics instituted a clear bag policy for all ticketed events, effective with the start of the 2018 football season. For more information on the clear bag policy, visit www.LionSports.net/clear.