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Everyone in the front seven on the SMU defense has a new role in the upcoming 2009 season. Never mind players like Youri Yenga and Patrick Fleming, who are switching positions entirely (from defensive end to linebacker). Even the players who will remain in the same location on the field have new roles.

Perhaps no players face a bigger switch in assignments than the interior linemen. In the old 4-3, the defensive tackles lined up in gaps between the opposing team’s center and guards, and tried to shoot through gaps to snuff out running backs and quarterbacks. In the Mustangs’ new 3-4, however, the lone interior lineman is the nose tackle, who lines up directly over the opposing center. From there, his role actually allows the opponent to dictate his next move, rather than the other way around.

“We’ll get a lot more double-teams in this defense,” senior-to-be Chris Parham said. “We line up straight over the center, and we’re taught to play on his back side. What that means is at the snap of the ball, we’re supposed to let him flow one way or the other and sneak in behind him. He might leave the nose alone, and it’s my job to get through, but when you don’t know which way the center is going to go, you don’t know which guard to watch out for, either, and then he’s on you.”

By altering what - and when - he eats, Chris Parham has shed 22 pounds in preparation for the 2009 season (photo by SMU athletics).

The key to success at the nose position, Parham said, is following a strict regimen of body maintenance.

“The biggest thing is how good a shape you can keep your body in,” he said. “When you play the nose, you have to sit in the cold tub more and take care of your body throughout the whole season.”

Part of Parham’s offseason workout has been an aggressive program designed to shed pounds while increasing strength.

“I came back from Christmas break at about 307 pounds,” he said. “Now I’m 285. I’m working hard on my conditioning level, so I’ll be ready when the season comes.”

The key to dropping more than 20 pounds has been changing what he eats … and when he eats.

“I’ve stopped eating after 7 p.m.,” Parham said. “I eat right during the day – I’ve eliminated most of the sweets – and if I get hungry after 7, I drink water. That’s it – just water. By doing that, I’ve been losing two or three pounds, and it’s good weight – not just water weight. I do that, and I’m working hard in the weight room, and the work is paying off. I might get as low as 275, but as long as I stay above that, I’ll be good to go.”

Parham will man the middle of the Mustangs’ defensive line this year with sophomore-to-be Evan Huahulu and junior-to-be Jesse Andrew, a trio that Parham said presents an array of challenges for opposing offensive linemen.

“I’m like the old man now,” he said, laughing. “But we’re a good mix. I’ve got more experience than they do, but they’re going to be good. Evan is a great bull-rusher – if we can get him in a one-on-one matchup with the center or one of the guards, that’s a battle we’re going to win. Jesse’s a little faster, and he’s really strong – he’s good pop.

“The three of us are a little different, but we complement each other well and we can rotate in there and keep fresh.”

Not surprisingly, Parham said the key to the Ponies’ new defense will be the performance of the defensive line. If the Mustangs can wreak havoc up front, he said, that will benefit the linebackers and secondary behind them.

“How well we play will depend a lot on our tenacity up front,” he said. “If we look at a game as 50-60 individual battles, we have to win more of them than we lose. Can we win 40? Can we win 45? The more we win up front, the more that lets the guys behind us make plays. A lot of playing on the line comes down to who wants it more.”

The Mustangs’ defensive line is in a state of transition, as the team adopts the 3-4 as its base defense and welcomes several new players to its rotation. But many of the techniques used are similar in various defenses, and Parham said he’s not concerned about his teammates’ ability to pick up the new scheme.

“I don’t worry about the switch from one defense to the other,” he said. “I worry about effort. That’s more important than anything. I worry about how we adjust to different things. It’s critical that we know what we have to do on every play, and just do it.”