The Blue Hens’ 3-3-5 defensive scheme has been a unique build since Defensive Coordinator Manny Rojas’s return in 2020, implementing three safeties in the back end. The program’s terms for these three positions are the field, jack, and rover safeties. The field safety plays on the largest field side, acting as another corner. The jack safety steps into boundary, matching up against tight ends while also being tasked to stop the run. The rover safety connects the three in the middle, requiring a lot of range and quick instincts in passing coverages.
Headlining the safety group and defense as a whole is junior KT Seay. KT had a stellar 2024, finishing first on the team in interceptions (4) and fifth in tackles (38). The 6’2″ ballhawk earned All-CAA Third-Team honors and was most recently named to the Conference USA 2025 Preseason Watch List. Heading into FBS football, Seay has been focusing on the minor details this offseason. “He’s really taken a step into learning the little things that can make him a better player,” claimed Rojas during a media availability session Thursday. Assistant Head Coach and Safeties Coach Art Link also had high praises for Seay’s third-year development in the system. “Before we had this guy with exceptionally long arms and limbs, fitting the profile of what you look for in a safety. (He) would show flashes of making plays, but didn’t necessarily have a great grasp of the scheme. Now you’re looking at a guy who understands the defense in his third year with it, and so he’s putting a lot of time and work in from a mental side.”
Heading into his third season as a starter, Seay has now also stepped into a leadership role in the program. When asked how it feels to have a stronger voice in the locker room, he replied, “It’s been a challenge, but it’s been great to be able to lead my team and give them advice that they need to exceed on the field.” Seay understands that having constant communication through the secondary will keep the defense grounded now facing stronger opponents. “Our communication has to be top level all across the ball. We have to communicate through one corner all the way to the other corner.”
Another voice that will help the back end of the defense in this transition is Jason Scott. Scott, also finishing 2024 with 38 tackles, is entering his sixth and final season of college football. Before transferring to Delaware last year, he spent four seasons at Boston College, primarily on special teams. Speaking on his impact in the group, Link stressed, “Jason is the cerebral guy in our room. He’s the guy that gives the pointers and tips. He spent a lot of time with some good coaches with defensive back experience at Boston College.” Scott understands his length of experience is one of a kind for a student athlete. “Everyone is getting more athletic, so you have to predict as much as you can instead of react. The offense gives a lot of clues, so when you’re able to pick apart different formations it allows you to play at a much faster rate.”
Like Seay, Hasson Manning played important snaps immediately as a freshman in 2023. In two seasons as a Blue Hen, Manning has accumulated 51 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss, and 5 pass deflections, making 10 starts in total. Also returning is senior Mysonne Pollard, who appeared in all 11 games in 2024 after signing from Monroe College. Pollard not only made big plays on defense, including an interception and 1.5 tackles for loss, but also blocked two kicks on special teams. Sophomore Alex Nash-Lally, whose commitment flipped from Central Michigan to Delaware in high school, will be competing for playing time after a redshirt season.
Through this FBS transition, the program added another defensive back with Power Five experience, signing junior Kahlil Ali from Boston College. Kahlil, a versatile safety/cornerback from Pennsauken, New Jersey, appeared in 10 games across his two seasons for the ACC side. “Ali is a student of the game. He has some great instincts and provides position flexibility, so I think he’ll be able to help us,” Link articulated. Asking Kahlil on the type of player he is, he responded, “I’m not really a guy that says too much. I like to let my game talk and the pads click… I could say that I’m big, fast, and can cover, but the passion and love I have towards the game really separates me.”
Crossing paths with Scott for one season at Boston College, Ali views this reunion as a blessing. “Coming here on my official visit, seeing him again and reconnecting after not being with him last year was honestly cool. I remember seeing him when I was 17. Now I’m almost 21… and I just can’t thank anybody but the man above.” Kahlil said that his transfer to Delaware was meant to be, as he’s always felt a connection to the state. His older sister, Halima, ran track at the school. Now heading into his first preseason camp in Newark, he is embracing the team’s new challenges ahead in Conference USA. “We want to put Delaware on the map. In the first year of FBS, we just want to be a part of that history and just have fun doing it the right way. The Delaware way.”
The program also signed a trio of highly skilled freshmen: AJ Graham, Noah Jefferson, and Nasir Eatmon. Graham, a 6’1″ safety from Mooresville, North Carolina, will be learning under Scott in the boundary. Jefferson, a long, rangy defensive back from Phoebus High School in Virginia Beach, will be developing in the middle of the field at rover. Eatmon, who according to Link is one of the team’s fastest defensive backs clocked on their GPS, will study from Manning and Pollard on the field side. Additionally in the safety room are junior Nate Spak, sophomore Kingsley Royal, and another incoming freshman Dillon Griffith.
Link believes that having these young pieces underneath experienced upperclassmen is the best formula for lasting success. “When you have a nice layer of experienced guys, some guys pushing them, and then a group of talented freshmen, it helps because you know you’re not relying on that freshman to play right away like I had to rely on KT and Hassan to play early. So we can bring them along.”
One of the most underrated additions for the safety room is not a player, but an assistant coach in the hire of Defensive Analyst Noah Plack. Plack, a 2022 graduate from the school, was a three-time All-CAA selectee, recording 269 tackles, 3 interceptions, and 4 forced fumbles in his five-year Blue Hen career. “To have somebody in the room that’s played in your system, knows exactly what he’s looking for, and helps communicate to the actual player has been huge for us,” Rojas on Plack providing real life application to the defensive backs. After one year at UConn, Noah received a rookie minicamp invite with the San Francisco 49ers in 2024. Now, he comes home to where it all started. “Those guys really latch on to him. They ask questions all the time about fits, reads and keys. So it’s been really good for us to have Noah with us to help guide those younger guys along.”
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