As the Drake football team closes out spring drills this week, coach Rob Ash is confident the Bulldogs will have an improved defense next season. Despite setting numerous records on offense, Drake finished a disappointing 5-6 — a defense which yielded 39-points and 482-yards per game was much of the reason. Ash says the performance on defense had been slipping for a few years and points to coaching turnover as one of the causes. Ash says with a year under his belt, defensive co-ordinator Jamie Marshall has settled into the job. Ash says the biggest focus of spring has been on individual evaluation. Ash says there’s an element of experimentation as he looks at “new wrinkles” and the players who’ll move into spots vacated by graduating seniors.