By Steve Behr
sports@wataugademocrat.com
Two years ago, Appalachian State's secondary featured three seniors who were four-year starters. Last year, obviously, the Mountaineers had plenty of holes to fill in the deep third of their defense.
It didn't take long to solve the problem, even though ASU's all-time leader in interceptions, Corey Lynch, was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals, and four-year starting cornerbacks Justin Woazeah and Jerome Touchstone used up their eligibility.
A young, confident group of underclassmen stepped in and, now with a full year of experience underneath their collective belt, gives the Mountaineers one of the top secondaries in the nation.
It starts with Mark LeGree, a free safety asked to replace Lynch, who made arguably the biggest defensive play in Appalachian State history by blocking a field goal that preserved a 34-32 ASU win over Michigan.
Then it goes to cornerbacks Cortez Gilbert and Ed Gainey. Gilbert, a senior, is the oldest of the Mountaineers' secondary and waited patiently for his turn. He got his first big taste of what it was like to play in a big game when he started for the suspended Woazeah in the 2007 national championship game, a 49-21 win over Delaware.
"We used to have all seniors back there," Gilbert said. "We only have one senior, so it's a challenge, but it's nothing that we can't handle."
Gainey originally was a backup to then-fellow freshman Dominique McDuffie until the starter was injured and lost for the season. Now a sophomore, Gainey is a preseason All-Southern Conference player.
McDuffie has moved to the strong safety position, known as the nickel position, and is in a battle with Jared Reine, who is also a junior for the starting position.
"At the start of last year, everybody questioned us because we were pretty young," McDuffie said. "But we fooled them all because we came out and worked hard and and came out with the intensity that we had to have to prove everybody wrong."
Though Gilbert is the only senior, it's a group that has no rookies in the starting lineup. All five of the primary returning members of the secondary have started at least one game, and all have played at least one season at Appalachian State.
"Everybody thinks that we're young, but we've got some experience," Gilbert said. "A lot of that comes from just us playing together."
They face a 2009 that has plenty of teams willing to test them on the field. It starts Sept. 5 when they play at East Carolina, but it doesn't end there.
The Southern Conference is loaded with teams, such as Elon, The Citadel, Furman and Georgia Southern, who all like to fill the air with footballs.
That's just fine with McDuffie.
"I like the transition to the pass because the running game is boring," McDuffie said. "It gives us a lot of opportunities to show our skills."
The member of the secondary who has received the most recognition is LeGree, who led the nation with 10 interceptions last year. LeGree attended 1-A private Pacelli Catholic and was recruited only by Appalachian State.
He paid his dues by backing up Lynch during his freshman year and by playing special teams. He had three tackles against Gardner-Webb and three against Delaware in the 2007 championship game.
LeGree exploded on to the national scene by intercepting three Wofford passes on ESPN2 during Appalachian State's 70-24 pasting of the Terriers. Gainey feels that teams will try to steer their passing attacks away from LeGree, which could open opportunities for others.
"He had a real good season last year," Gainey said. "Teams are going to be smart and pass away from him. Some people may try to gamble with their luck a little bit, but if they don't do that, then they'll try the other side and throw away from him."
LeGree is not the only player who needed to have patience while waiting for his turn to crack the starting lineup. Gilbert was also a first-year starter last season after spending his first two years as an apprentice to Touchstone and Woazeah. However, he took over for Woazeah, who was suspended, in the 2007 championship game.
Gilbert became a full-time starter last year and finished with 72 tackles, two interceptions and 17 pass break-ups. Both of his interceptions were made against Presbyterian.
His fellow cornerback, Gainey, wasn't in the starting lineup at the beginning of last season as McDuffie earned the position. McDuffie, a Chattanooga, Tenn. native, had four tackles, one of them saving a touchdown, in his debut against LSU.
But McDuffie injured his knee in practice following Appalachian State's loss to James Madison. He redshirted and is still a freshman with four years of eligibility, but said it was frustrating sitting on the bench watching his teammates on the field.
"It really was. I trying to stay  around and tried to come to all of the practices and all of the home games," McDuffie said. "I couldn't go to the away games because I couldn't travel, but it was real frustrating. It was harder being around the team because I knew I couldn't help out with the on-field stuff."
McDuffie's injury opened the door for Gainey, a Mount Tabor alum who took advantage of it. Gainey did not intercept any passes last season, but he finished with seven tackles in his first start against Presbyterian and had 51 tackles overall.
Both he and Gilbert played in the Shrine Bowl following their prep careers.
"Dominique played a couple of games, I played a couple of games and Jared started a game, so all of us got a lot of reps in," Gainey said. "All of that will help us experience-wise."
While Gainey solidified his spot at cornerback, McDuffie and Reine are solidifying the nickel back position, which is known as the strong safety position in other defenses.
Reine, a junior, battled ankle injury most of last year, but is healthy this season.
Both McDuffie and Reine are converted cornerbacks.
"The nickel is like corner because you have to guard the slot(back)," McDuffie said. "It's more like a free safety and like a linebacker, so it's a little bit of everything."
"I think it's an easy position," Reine said. "As a corner, you know how to cover people, so we can cover the slot receivers. Also, with me and Dominique being physical, it's easier for us to be in the run game, so I think it will be an easy transition."
Appalachian State's secondary knows the expectations are always high in Boone, and all of them are gunning first for a fifth-straight Southern Conference championship followed by a fourth national championship in five years. It's a challenge they embrace, however, and not one that they fear.
"Everybody came back ready to work," Gainey said. "Everybody still has last year on their minds. We came out working harder ready to prove that we're going to get what everybody wants this year."
Reine has two rings and wants more.
"I want to get two more before I leave," he said. "We've got to go back to doing things the way we used to. Last year we expected to win. We were successful, but we have to get that chip on our shoulder. We have to be ready to play."