About a week after the Sun Belt conference football schedules were announced, two members of the Red Wolves defensive line made known their intentions to transfer – senior Tim Hardiman and sophomore Ian Jeffries. The latter might be the biggest blow. As a redshirt freshman, the 6’4″ 288-pound Jeffries was a rising star, collecting 3.5 sacks on a defensive line that was just beginning to show some effectiveness.

The defensive experience was concerning even before Hardiman and Jeffries’ departures. According to ESPN analyst Bill Connelly, the Red Wolves were returning only 26% of the defense’s production (again, before the portal departures). Stalwarts like Justin Parks, Charles Wilekes, Justin Hodges, Trevian Thomas, Nate Martay and Cam Jeffrey are gone. Several more have portaled out – Websley Etienne, Dontay Joyner, and Jayden Jones among them. It’s a drain in talent that has coach Butch Jones and his staff scouring the four corners of the Earth for solutions.

Of course, Jones looked to high school recruiting first, adding 13 defensive freshmen to the roster, including five defensive linemen and the class’ highest rated recruit, cornerback Demarcus Baker. But what Arkansas State needs immediately is experience. Coach Jones dipped into the portal and recruited linebacker Aaron Alexander from Michigan State and Wyatt Wright from North Carolina State. He signed former four star cornerback Avante Dickerson from Oregon/Utah State, former three star defensive back Trevon Howard from Iowa State, and well-seasoned safety AG McGee from Marshall. He added some beef with 310-pound DL Simeon Mitchell from McNeese.

Is this enough muscle? Perhaps. Despite the less than 26% returning production, the Red Wolves are not without experienced hands. Ethan Hassler, Bryan Whitehead, Marcus Bradley and Timothy Gulley return to the defensive line, and hopefully James Reed III is healthy and ready to lead at cornerback. Jordan Sample returns at LB and Brandon Greil is back at safety. Arkansas State has guys who are familiar with the playbook, even if that playbook now belongs to a new defensive coordinator, Griff McCarley.

Being a first year head of a squad bearing so little Arkansas State experience likely isn’t ideal for Coach McCarley, recently elevated from Linebackers Coach. But sometimes you get dealt an unfortunate hand. It will be interesting to see how Coach McCarley plays it.