Sophomore Robert Haynes paces the Panther defense. He is Eastern’s leading tackler and ranks as one of the best linebackers in the Ohio Valley Conference despite this being the first year he has seen consistent playing time.

The Punta Gorda, Fl., native has excelled under first-year head coach Dino Babers and his coaching staff.

Haynes has been a major factor in transforming a defense that ranked near the bottom in the OVC in total defense in 2011 to a defense that ranks in the top-three in 2012.

Haynes credited his development from his freshman season to his sophomore season to the new coaching staff, specifically linebacker coach Tom Kaufman.“Coach Kaufman has been the biggest influence this year,” Haynes said. “He is a great coach and he always stresses the little things. That’s what I like about him, he makes me a great player.”

Haynes’ emergence this season has also helped the Panthers in the running game, as they ranked second to last in the conference defending the run in 2011, allowing 240 rushing yards per game.

This season the Panthers have shown vast improvement in the running game, holding the opposition to just 149.7 rushing yards per game, good for second best in the OVC.

Although the Panthers have shown improvement on the defensive side of the ball, Haynes stressed the learning curve the team was experiencing in the early part of the season.

“We were getting all worked up because we were giving up a lot of points,” he said. “We were where we needed to be, but we weren’t making the plays we needed to make. We just went back to the basics because teams were scoring to many points.”

Haynes also said that the up-tempo offense that Eastern runs puts the defense in a situation where they are on the field for the majority of the game, thus inflating their stats and giving the opposition more opportunities to score.

Despite this, Haynes said that the defense has adjusted to the amount of time they are on the field and feel like their best defensive effort is ahead of them.

“We are not satisfied, we want to come out each game and get better,” Haynes said. “Each practice we strive to have a better one the next day.” Along with being a main factor in transforming Eastern’s defense, Haynes ranks among the best defensive players in the conference. His 95 tackles rank 37th nationally and fourth in the OVC, and his two forced fumbles are tied for fifth in the OVC.

“I didn’t expect to have a season like this,” he said. “I couldn’t dream of having a season like this. The hard work the coaches put me through all paid off.”

Along with crediting the coaching staff for his development as a player, Haynes said that the arrival of coach Babers has changed the atmosphere and mentality of the team.

“I can’t speak highly enough of (Babers),” he said. “He has came in here and turned everything around. It’s a family atmosphere and it’s a working atmosphere. He just brings a winning attitude to Eastern Illinois University.”

This winning atmosphere had the Panthers opening the New Era with a conference championship, something that seemed improbable when the preseason rankings had the Panthers finishing second the last.

“It was everything I dreamed of,” Haynes said. “Eastern has a winning tradition, and after last year, I didn’t know what to expect, but I knew we had the players to have a great team. We just needed leadership, and Dino Babers brought that in.”

Haynes and the Panthers will return to action when they travel to Conway, Ark., to take on No. 10 Central Arkansas for a non-conference game in the regular-season finale.

Jordan Pottorff can be reached at 581-2812 or jbpottorff@eiu.edu.