Last season, the strength of Folsom's defense was the secondary, led by seniors Greco Carrillo and Slade Wilson at safety, DJ Brown and Areon Smith at corner, not to mention Rico Flores Jr. who played some secondary in the bigger games.

Last season, the strength of Folsom's defense was the secondary, led by seniors Greco Carrillo and Slade Wilson at safety, DJ Brown and Areon Smith at corner, not to mention Rico Flores Jr. who played some secondary in the bigger games. This year, the strength of Folsom's defense has moved forward to the defensive line, where seniors Lucas Hardeman (6-0, 240), Elijah Gulewich (6-0, 225) and Diego Villarreal (6-1, 255) are joined by juniors Theo Greule (6-1, 230) and Taniela Tupou (6-3, 210). The defensive line plays a crucial role on defense and you can't have a great defense without a good defensive line and this group is certainly a good one for the Bulldogs. Defensive coordinator Sam Cole sure loves his defensive line. "They're mature and have played the most football compared to all other position groups," Cole said. "It all starts up front and I like the guys we've got. And we've got depth there with guys like Travis Knierim, Demetrione Brown, Max Paga, Ramsey Lofton and Matthew Mentjox. "The defensive line is loaded," Folsom coach Paul Doherty said. "It starts with four-year starter Lucas Hardeman, who started on the offensive line as a freshman because he was so incredibly athletic. He's now at his more natural position of interior defensive line. You've got a three-year varsity player in Elijha Gulewich. He's an anchor at defensive end. He's versatile, athletic, can run and he's physical. You've got Theo Greule, who's a three-year starter and probably the best prospect of the bunch. He's big and physical and he's also quick. "Nela Tupou is a Pac-12 kid, who we thought would be a D1 stand up rush guy, but probably will end up on the offensive said. "He's incredibly talented and he's long and physical. All four of three guys were starters at offensive line at one time or another during their careers because they were our best guys. "Diego is a big, physical and athletic kid who will play inside for us." Though graduation hit the secondary harder than it hit most positions, Folsom returns three key cornerbacks in RJ Whitten, Cade Dutton and Daniel Chavez. Whitten is a returning starter from last season, while Dutton was the No. 1 backup cornerback who will slide into the starting role. Chavez will see plenty of playing time as well. The team's starting safeties will be Aaron Rogalski and Jaron Hodson with Jesiah Banks in the mix. "Last year the secondary was a position full of seniors who had done it; Greco Carrillo, Slade Wilson, DJ Brown, Areon Smith, etc. That group has so much confidence playing in our system, and a lot of our success is generated by incredible coaching of Sam Cole. Sam's always able to put kids where they're able to be successful and so when kids can play to their strengths they can have a ton of success. "Greco and Slade weren't the biggest kids around, and we've got a bunch of kids 5-8, 165-pound who look a lot like they did. They're young, they're new, they're hungry and they've had great examples of how to play the position. We've got a ton of kids like they did who I think will fit in just fine." At linebacker, Landon Senico, Mason Kelly, Logan Hutton and Jacob Bambino figure to see the most action. "Our linebackers have a lot to prove, which I think is great," Doherty said. "We've got a lot of guys back and we've got a lot of new guys. We have guys who have had success in the system. They're not the biggest or fastest guys, but they're players who have relied on technique and coaching and I have a lot of confidence in those guys. Those guys are nails because they will do it the right way."