Bulldog ‘backers: Louisiana defense led by its linebacker group

Published 2:06 am Tuesday, August 4, 2026

LOUISIANA, Mo. — Defense is the side of the ball that Louisiana is most confident about as it enters the 2026 season.

The Bulldogs return several key starters from last year’s team that know their roles.

“Our defense is definitely our strong suit,” said Louisiana senior outside linebacker Troy McDaniel. “It’s way better than our offense. I think it’s just where we come together as a team.”

Linebacker is the strong point of Louisiana’s defense, which also returns senior middle linebacker Ben Settles.

Settles calls the defensive plays for Louisiana, rather it be blitzes or pass coverage.

“It’s my strong point,” said Settles. “It’s my favorite because I’m the Mike linebacker. So we just like to hit. Our defense likes to hit.”

McDaniel is also a key cog to the Louisiana linebacking corps.

“Troy McDaniel is a kid that is sometimes easy to overlook because he’s never not here,” said Gschwender. “He’s never not going full speed. Sometimes coaches take that for granted because that’s what you are supposed to do all the time. It seems like the squeaky wheel gets the grease and Troy never squeaks. You can always depend on him.”

The Bulldogs senior outside linebacker is aiming to have a strong season.

“I want to get 100 tackles on defense,” said McDaniel. “At least 10 tackles for a loss and at least two fumble recoveries.”

Louisiana also has junior Donnell Griffith as an outside linebacker and strong safety hybrid player.

Although he occasionally will play defensive back, Louisiana wants to limit A.J. Gschwender’s time on defense since he is the team’s starting quarterback.

“A.J. is good at defense, but he’s our only quarterback,” said Louisiana head coach Steve Gschwender. “Even though we sometimes put him out there in coverage situations because he’s a good man-to-man cover guy, but I tried to keep him off defense as much as possible. Wanted to prevent him from getting hurt.”

The Bulldogs are trying to figure out some spots on the defensive line and secondary.

“Defense is a little more work, just because camps are not mandatory and sometimes the linemen take that to heart,” said Coach Gschwender. “So, linebacker-wise, we’re pretty well set. We got to figure out where we’re going to be on the line as far as our ends and interior linemen go.”
One player who will be counted on to anchor the line is senior Troy Miller.

“I feel like we have a pretty solid defense overall,” said Miller. “I think defense is one of our stronger points, and I would like to see us continue to grow as a defensive team and maybe do some more on offense.”

Some underclassmen have had opportunities to compete for spots during summer practices, including sophomore defensive backs Braden Taylor and Hunter Taylor.

“We have a couple of freshmen who seem to be doing good,” said Settles. “I could see one of them starting but not sure. We got two sophomores who have a really bright road for this season. Two twins — Braden and Hunter Taylor.”