As the dog days of summer roll on, GSEagles.com is sitting down with each of the 11 position coaches to discuss their room. Up next is defensive coordinator and safeties coach Brandon Bailey.

Q: Coach, what were your general takeaways from spring ball when it came to your safeties group?
BB: I was pleased overall. We had some new additions from the Portal and a few guys who had to step into bigger roles after we lost TJ Smith and Tyrell Davis, and with Mark Stampley II and Deontre Morris transferring. That meant a lot more reps for some guys, and they really embraced the challenge. They played fast and hard, and they showed up with the right mindset.

What I was most proud of, though, was how they attacked that bigger role. Whether it was getting in extra work with a position coach or just spending more time together as a group, they put in the effort. That kind of buy-in is what you need, and I think we're in a good spot heading into fall camp.

Q: Which veterans really stood out this spring?
BB: I loved the way Justin Meyers practiced — consistent, high effort, locked in every day. Prince Green III, going into his third year here, made big strides. Devin Collier also took some nice steps forward. But the biggest surprise was Chris Crouch. He had a huge spring — flying around, making plays, and really carved out a role for himself on defense that hadn't been there before. I'm excited to see what's next for him.

Q: What about the newcomers? Who caught your eye?
BB: Jayden Davis, the transfer from Georgia Tech, is a big-time addition. He's long, he can run, and he's shown he can tackle in space. He came into a scheme that's pretty similar to what he ran at Tech, so that helped his transition. He had a great spring, and we're really excited about his potential.

Q: Who are your leaders?
BB: I think the needle immediately turns to Justin Meyers, no doubt. He's earned his stripes — multi-year starter, battled through injuries, and just brings his hard hat and lunch pail every day. He's not a loud guy, not one to scream or yell. But when he talks, people listen. He leads by example, and that goes a long way in our room.

Q: Any position battles you're excited to watch unfold during preseason camp?
BB: Honestly, all of them. I think we've got five or six guys who can help us win football games, and that's a great problem to have. The big challenge — and the fun part — will be figuring out how to get the best 11 on the field. We usually play two safeties, a nickel, and two corners, but if you've got three or four safeties playing at a high level, you've got to find creative ways to get them involved. There's real depth in that room now, and the competition is going to be fierce. I'm excited to watch it play out.

Q: So from the safeties, what's the top thing that you'll be preaching that your group needs to do to help this team win
BB: Down the ball in open space. The number one quality of a great safety, I don't care where you play or what scheme you play in, if you're a third level defender then you have to be able to down the ball in open space. They call the position safety for a reason. You've got to do a lot of other things, but when everything goes wrong and maybe something spits out of there, if you're playing a single high safety defense that just got to get the ball on the ground so you live to fight another day. So tackling in open space consistently is always the challenge.

Q: Final thoughts — when you look at the defense overall, with some veteran returners and new faces, how are you feeling heading into camp?
BB: We're in a much better place than we've been before — year three in the system helps a lot. We did have some staff turnover with new coaches on the D-line and at linebacker, but we brought in guys who already knew the system. That made the transition smoother.

On the player side, we've got a good group of returners and some strong additions from both the Portal and high school recruiting. I think this might be the most athletic group we've had since I've been here, across the board — up front, at linebacker, and in the secondary.

What's been most encouraging is how quickly the new guys have embraced our culture. When your head coach sets the tone the right way, new players come in and want to be part of it. If your culture's broken, they'll make it worse. But if it's strong, and you recruit the right people, they'll make it better. And that's what we're seeing with this group.