The old adage that defense wins championships explained why Sacramento State finished second-to-last in the Big Sky Conference last season.The Hornets ended the season toward the bottom of the conference in nearly every major statistical category, including last in points allowed (31.7) and total yards allowed (416) per game.

Now, under the tutelage of new head coach Steve Mooshagian and new defensive coordinator Dennis DiCamillo, the Hornets have implemented a defensive philosophy and attitude the team expects will pay immediate dividends.

Although most of last season’s defensive squad is returning, including eight of 11 starters, senior linebacker Ryan Kroeker believes that opposing offenses will see a much different defense than last season.

“We’re going to be a bunch of wild-crazy dogs,” the Hornets reigning defensive MVP said. “We’re not going to give up from the first play until quadruple overtime. We’re going to be running and playing as hard as we can. We will not stop.”

The defensive schemes will primarily consist of a 4-3 alignment, but when needed, they will switch to three-man and five-man fronts, along with five and six defensive back sets.

“We’re a situation-oriented defense,” DiCamillo said. “If they’ve got five wide receivers in the game, we’re not going to have a lot of linebackers out there. We’re going to match up.”

Ideally, when opposing coaches watch the Hornets defense on film, DiCamillo said he wants them to notice a few things about his players — they run to the football, they’re great tacklers, they make tackles for losses, they create turnovers and they understand their roles.

“The things we are doing are not unique to the game,” he said. “We’re trying to keep (the schemes) as simple as we can, but not make it so simple that people will be able to attack us easily.”

“We are going to mix it up,” Kroeker said, who led the team with 105 tackles last season. “Quarterbacks are going to get a different look every play and they’re not going to know what to do.”

One of the biggest concerns DiCamillo had when considering accepting Sac State’s defensive coordinator position was the lack of a pass rush. He said he was stunned to learn the team had only 22 sacks in 12 games last season. In order to help improve the pass rush, the team moved junior Kelly Micco (6-foot-3, 250 pounds) from linebacker to defensive end.

The transition has been going well for Micco, who was an honorable mention for the all-Big Sky team last year.

“It was pretty smooth,” Micco said. “Playing outside linebacker, I used to play on the line. The main difference now is that I am rushing the passer every play and playing against a tackle instead of a tight end.”

DiCamillo said the team didn’t implement any blitzing schemes until the second week of practice, hoping to develop the four-man pass rush. The team is also using two defensive line coaches this season, Jon Osterhout and Lou Baiz, to enable each defensive lineman to get more reps in practice.

Another area DiCamillo addressed was getting more leadership from the seniors.He specifically mentioned three who have shown good leadership qualities: linebacker Park McAllister, strong safety Camron Mbewa and Kroeker.

“I’ve tried taking on a leadership role. I feel it’s my responsibility being the middle linebacker,” Kroeker said. “You have to stay on the guys and make sure everyone is focused, prepared and on task. Sometimes you need to take them to the side and tell them they need to get it going.”Mbewa, a second-team all-Big Sky selection last season, prefers to lead by example.

“I play hard and let my actions speak louder than my words,” he said.

“Mainly, I’m just running around, playing hard and hopefully everybody will follow.”

Mooshagian stressed that players will not earn playing time solely based on their past accomplishments, even if they have previously received conference honors. An emphasis has also been placed on developing young players and building team depth.