There will be a lot of new faces on the McNeese State defensive line this fall.

Three lettermen return on a line that suffered its share of injuries last season.

“We are going to be a lot bigger and stronger than last year,” Cowboys head coach Gary Goff said. “We also have better numbers and will be able to rotate more people in. That should help to keep us fresh this season.”

Earnest Grayson leads the returning linemen back after a solid 2022 season. Grayson, a 6-foot-3, 250-pound redshirt junior, made 43 tackles in 10 games.

Grayson made four tackles for loss, including 21/2 sacks. He also had three quarterback hurries.

Other lettermen returning are Grayson Mays (6-2, 244) and Khaylon Chapple (6-3, 248).

Mays, a redshirt sophomore, appeared in nine games last season. He recorded four tackles in a limited role. Chapple played in one game due to injuries after playing in nine as a freshman in 2021.

After spring workouts Goff said the coaching staff realized they needed to get better on the defensive line.

“We stayed active looking to improve if we could,” Goff said.

McNeese, Goff said, was able to do that late by signing Dominick Bolden out of Navarro College in Texas. Bolden is a 6-1, 290-pound strongman who should get playing time right away, Goff said.

“To be so young and be really put together is impressive,” Goff said after Bolden signed. “He has good hands and feet and with his age is somebody who can really develop fast.

“He is very explosive and fills a big need for us.”

Bolden was signed in early May but Goff was not finished. Later that month he inked another junior college player with three years of eligibility remaining.

McNeese signed Isaiah Jackson (6-1, 280) out of the College of the Sequoias, a junior college in Visalia, California.

Goff called Jackson “as strong as a bear.”

He continued the Cowboys’ quest of filling needs by going with players who have played college football and had solid experience.

“Isaiah is exactly what we are looking for inside,” Goff said. “He is a workout guy who is very physical. He is strong and explosive.”

Last season, in six games, Jackson had 13 tackles and two sacks for 11 yards in loss. Eight of his tackles were solo. Jackson played his high school football at Tulare Union in Northern California.

Two other junior college transfers, junior John Brown (6-foot, 290) from Mississippi Gulf Coast College, and sophomore De’Core Ford (6-2, 290) from Blinn College in Texas, will give McNeese several depth pieces and options on the line.

One interesting addition to the line was Trey Winters. The 6-7, 344-pound sophomore moves over from the offensive line.

“He takes up space and has done a nice job,” Goff said. “He is a big guy who is strong and can take up two gaps.”

As for Winters, he kept it simple in the spring when asked about the change.

“It’s more fun to hit people than get hit,” Winters said.