Written by Nic Fraraccio \/\/ Photo provided by AJ Williams<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Along with the Bisons offense shattering the college football rushing record with 6,160 yards, the Harding defense stepped up in crucial moments during the title-winning season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The players on the defensive side of the ball knew they had a special group as they worked towards the 2023 season. Junior defensive lineman Dre Hall said players would stay after practice to watch film and \u201csharpen their tools\u201d in preparation for the historic season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe knew everything we had to face, and we knew our weaknesses,\u201d Hall said. \u201cWe knew that\u2019s what we needed to do heading into the new season.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The hard work and preparation boosted the Bisons to their first national championship in program history. After consistent performances by the defense, the Bisons received multiple top-three rankings in defensive stat categories by the end of their undefeated season. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most notably, Harding tied with the University of Charleston for the most defensive touchdowns in Division II football and finished the season ranked fifth in total defense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Bisons held each playoff opponent to their lowest single-game point total during the national championship run. Junior defensive lineman Wesley Coleman said the coaches would constantly remind the team that \u201cwhen it gets harder for the Bisons, the Bisons get tougher.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cComing in every single day and every single week knowing that we\u2019re going to have to face crazy opponents \u2014 we\u2019re going to have to put up our best performance,\u201d Coleman said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Throughout the regular season and Division II playoffs, the Harding coaches continued to boost the Bisons\u2019 confidence and support. Hall said the Harding coaching staff shows constant care for the players on and off the football field. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAt a lot of places, you would be just another number or just another face,\u201d Hall said. \u201cThese coaches actually love us, and we love them. I do not think you will get that anywhere else.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Harding defense entertained fans and members of the media throughout the entire season. Billy Morgan, the voice of the Bisons for the Harding Sports Network, said the Bisons did not have a weakness during their historic run. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s without a doubt the most fun defense that I\u2019ve ever had a chance to watch,\u201d Morgan said. \u201cI love to watch the flexbone on offense, and it was dominant all year, but when you see that defense going out there you know you have a chance to win.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Players and staff members have continued to show appreciation to fans and students after returning for the spring semester. Coleman said it has been a blessing to receive support and love from the Harding community. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI want to say thank you for your never- ending support during the season,\u201d Coleman said. \u201cIt is just amazing to know that we have such a great crowd of people behind us.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Written by Nic Fraraccio \/\/ Photo provided by AJ Williams Along with the Bisons offense shattering the college football rushing record with 6,160 yards, the Harding defense stepped up in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15068,"featured_media":19265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15068"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thelink.harding.edu\/the-bison\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}