Head coach Matt Wells addressed the crowd during the team's Matador Monday open practice session. The team ran through many scenarios from the starters to the third-teamers, kicked field goals, and even presented some trickery.

But you can’t have a practice, or game rather, without having the defense getting their reps in as well.

Defensive coordinator Keith Patterson talked on how the atmosphere with the bass-filled stadium and people in attendance impacted the Monday-night practice.

“It’s good to get in the stadium,” Patterson said. “The main thing is just trying to maintain a focus. Sometimes when you come into a stadium there’s people in here. It’s easy to get distracted, so we’re just trying to maintain the focus, try to keep the job at hand.”

With going into Saturday’s game against Montana State, Patterson said his guys are excited to go against someone other than their own teammates.

He will be keeping an eye out for discipline as well as many of the little things taught during spring and fall camp.

“Lining up sound, play physical, swarm the football,” Patterson said, “force turnovers and just play a clean game. It’s our first game of the season obviously, and you got an opponent coming in that’s very well respected. Their entire offense, basically, is returning. They got some really good players. It’s going to be a great tool to measure where we are as a defensive unit.”

One of the 11 players on that defensive unit is senior defensive back Douglas Coleman III, who made the transition from corner to safety this offseason and fall camp.

Coleman said defensive it feels good now that the defensive has solidified and molded with the new fixes and transitions to different positions.

“I feel like we’re more prepared,” Coleman said. “We’re just ready to attack. We’re ready to play anybody.”

Coleman was one player who had to make the change to safety over camp, and he said, simply, he feels great.”

“I just feel like me playing center-field in high school,” Coleman said. “Able to check to the ball on the back end, and me seeing everything all at once allows me to make plays.

Colemans also talked about true freshman Tyrique Matthews getting listed at the top of the depth chart starting at the “raider” position and the impact he has made on this defensive from the weeks past.

“I will tell you he’s ready to hit and not afraid of contact,” Coleman said on Matthews. “He’s going to stop, he’s going to plug holes for us this year, and he’s willing to learn.”

Another pair of “newcomers:” Zech McPhearson, and Evan Rambo, both grad-transfers, McPhearson from Penn State, and Rambo from the University of California. The two are also listed as starters on defense. From the get-go, Coleman noted how the pair got their “starters” pins.

“As soon as they got in,” Coleman said, “those two guys were in that playbook. They were watching film and they got ahead of everyone else. I guess that gave them a big stepping stool, which is why they’re starting now.”

From the situation at hand, coach Patterson talked about why those grad transfers have earned those starting spots, not just because of the lack of depth or experience.

“Those guys have a lot of things in common,” Patterson said. “Great character, three of them now have graduated already with two years to play of eligibility. When you look at all those things when you look at someone and football is important to them, and they have great character and they study, they’re dependable. They all kind of exhibit the same traits. They’ve earned it. They’ve earned the right to be a starter. I’m really looking forward to seeing these guys play.”