HOUSTON -- Texas Southern tabbed Scott Vestal as its new defensive coordinator back in January, Dave Campbell’s Texas Football learned on Tuesday.

Much like his hiring, which flew under the radar, Vestal is confident Texas Southern will surprise the Southwestern Athletic Conference in the fall.

“This is a special team with special things ahead of us,” Vestal said. “And I know it.”

Vestal is a longtime defensive coach with extensive ties to the Lone Star State. The Texas native and Texas A&M graduate most recently coached at Texas State. But he has also served as the linebackers coach and recruiting coordinator at Rice, the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator at Texas A&M Commerce, a defensive quality coach at Texas, and a graduate assistant at North Texas and SMU.

With all that experience, Vestal has worked with his fair share of elite coaches. He says Texas Southern head coach Cris Dishman has made as good a first impression as any. Dishman, a longtime Pro Bowl cornerback for the Houston Oilers, led the Tigers to their first winning season since 2000 with a 6-5 record last year. 

“I feel like Coach Dishman is a natural leader of men,” Vestal said. “You could tell that the very first day I stepped on campus. It’s been a whirlwind, coming in and installing a new defense since January.”

Vestal’s defense plans to make life a whirlwind for opposing offenses by “erring on the side of aggression.” The Tigers will base out of a 4-2-5 structure, emphasizing stopping the run to get offenses behind the chains. 

Vestal purposefully did not watch film of last year’s team, which ranked fifth in the SWAC in scoring and total defense, so that he could scout with his eyes instead of his ears. He’s seen firsthand the culture Dishman has established heading into Year 3. 

“It’s obvious they’ve recruited high-character student-athletes here,” Vestal said. “That’s why people really win or lose. You don’t miss on a roster because of talent. You miss on character. And I feel like we have that in spades.” 

The 2026 Texas Southern defense must replace All-SWAC performers Michael Akins (8.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks) and Isaiah Bogerty (team leader with 82 tackles). But the Tigers do return an intriguing pair of inside linebackers in Aaron Kizzee and Donovan Jones. 

“There’s plenty of talent to not just be a good defense, but the potential to be a great one.”