Southern’s defense lacked speed last season. The Jaguars believe they’ve found more of it.

A struggling passing game for Southern last season overshadowed what turned out to be a strong defensive effort.

Eric Dooley is hoping to improve on that, and as a result, to be even better in 2023.

The Jaguars went for defensive size and speed in their recruiting efforts, and while the size is partly on hold, the speed appears to have arrived after the first week of spring practice.

“Defensively, I thought the first couple of days we came out fast, and I expected that because we have experience coming back,” Dooley said. “We did lose some key pieces but had enough coming back to let those guys know how to move around.

“It’s extremely important,” Dooley said, referring to team speed, “and we were able to get some linebackers that are very, very good. I’ve seen them flying around, and that’s what I look for — speed on the field. The assistant coaches did a good job of getting those guys. They’re going to help us not only on defense but special teams, too.”

The Jaguars improved their depth considerably last season, which is why Southern finished No. 2 in the SWAC in overall defense (301.3 yards per game), first in run defense (112.1 ypg) and third in pass defense (189.2 ypg). Adding stalwarts like tackle Jason Dumas, end Trey Laing and linebacker Jalan Campbell raised the level of play.

Dumas and running mate Camron Peterson are gone, leaving a hole in the middle that Dooley is hoping to fill by incoming tackles Deris Jackson (6-4, 320) and Jelani Davis (6-1, 295). They won’t arrive until June.

But Dooley also went for speedy linebackers and brought in three — Josh Tate, Willie Matthews and Mike Jones — to go with Campbell and Derrick Williams. Transfer safeties Leroy Bowers and Joshua Alexander bring speed to the secondary.

“We’ve got some fast linebackers,” defensive coordinator Henry Miller said. “All three that we signed can run, and that was something we were lacking. If we’re going (to) upgrade, it’s got to be with speed. We have good players, but we need more to rotate them in. I didn’t feel comfortable with my second-team guys, so I wanted the new ones to fit that Derrick Williams mold.”