What stood out to you? What were the highlights of what you saw on the defensive side of the ball?
D'Anton Lynn: Really just the effort from the beginning of the game all the way until the end, and regardless of who was in the game, we told those guys at the end, the Trojan standard is the standard. I don't care if you're a senior or a true freshman, a starter or a third string player if you're in the game, the standard's the same. So I was just impressed that the guys played at the same level regardless of who was in the game.
What are some of the key markers for you when your defense is playing well, what numbers are you hitting each week?
DL: It's a little bit different, so we have our keys to win and each opponent it's a little bit different, so it's always trying to find a way to limit big plays to affect the quarterback and to stop the run. But each week we try to do that a little bit differently.
Is it like a yardage number?
DL: For me, anything double digit. Double digit to me is big. If they hit 10 yard run, to me that's an explosive play. Too much. That's too much.
What have you seen from defensive line group and their progression early on this season?
DL: Really just consistency. When you strike blocks, when you're able to in gap in a half and when you're doing that consistently inside, that affects the way our linebackers play. That affects the way our DBs play and that allows those guys just to play fast. So the more consistent we can be in there, which they have so far through the first two games, the better off we're going to be.
How important was it for the twos and threes to play to a higher level to keep the shutout intact?
DL: Exactly. The seniors on the sideline, they were just as excited as the guys who were out there on the field, but it was just cool for the guys who were out there on the field. They had a great camp, they just haven't got a chance to play yet, and some of those guys were doing scout team stuff all week. So now I'm going to the call sheet and I'm like, okay, my call sheet just got cut in half because they don't know what half this stuff is.
What do you think has been the biggest step in Anthony Lucas's game and how has he made that climb to the next level?
DL: Man, he has a high ceiling. For him, it was just doing it every single play. He showed flashes and that's something that we challenged him with like, listen, you need to do it, but he had an even better camp and we're super excited about him. He's playing very physical against the run. He's rushing the quarterback better. We're going to start moving him across the line some. I think he's a guy who gives us a big advantage no matter who we're up against
What makes Kamari Ramsey such a great player and leader in a fit in your scheme?
DL: He has great instincts and I think there's a difference between smart people and smart football players. He's a guy who just understands the game. There's certain things that he just does that you don't have to coach and having him be his second year in the scheme, I feel like he helped accelerate the backend in the spring and by the time we were in camp in August, we were able to install some stuff that I wasn't able to install this past year just because he helped speed up that process.
How have you tried to either tailor your system to Eric Gentry or fit him within your system so that he can use his gifts but not be at a place?
DL: The good thing about this scheme is versatility is something that we require. So I haven't really had a guy with versatility like him. He can play a lot of different spots, so it does make it tough on us because we want to make sure that we're putting him in the best position and do what he does best, but we also want to keep offenses on their heels to where they can't just know what he's doing every single play because he can create issues in the past game. He can create issues against the run and he can rush the quarterback as well.
How's that in game communications with your staff?
DL: Man, it's been awesome. I have a veteran staff. You have a former head coach, you have former coordinators, you have guys who have been in the NFL, so everyone's been professional. It's been calm on the sideline. Our biggest thing is let's make the corrections and when the guys go back out there on the field, let's make sure they're feeling as confident as possible.
What can you contribute without giving too much away to your success in third and fouth downs?
DL: I'm going to say the players being really locked in on situational ball. There's certain weeks where, hey, if it's third and sixth or if it's third and eight seems small, but that makes a big difference as far as what type of protections we're expecting, as far as what type of concepts. And the guys have been very, very locked into all that stuff and I feel like small things like that over the course of time make a big difference.
What's the biggest effect on the defensive side? In terms of helmet communication.
DL: The biggest effect I think it helps with in tempo. When offensives are trying to go fast, we obviously, we still signal from the side, but sometimes the DBs can be so far away from the play, so we actually put it on the safety so now we can tell him to call and now he can direct everyone on the back end and the mike linebacker can get the signal and he can control the front. I think it helps with situational ball like we were just talking about third down, sometimes third and sixth and third and eight can be a big difference and it's the player's responsibility, but sometimes we can help them, so I might give them a call and just say hey, it's third and sixth here, it's third and eight, and just making sure that everyone on the field is aware of that.
What are some of the guys that popped for you up the screen after that game?
DL: Some of the guys up front like Jide (Abasiri) and Kam Fountain, those are guys, their bodies have changed. The growth that they've made from Spring to now at their age has been unbelievable. Some of the dbs, you had Conley out there, you had Marcellus, Marquis. Again, it's guys who have had good camps and all those guys have bright futures, but we're just excited to see them actually get out there and do it in the game. And then Desman Stevens, he's the backup Mike, he doesn't look like freshman. But it's guys that we're excited about and we just need to get as much playing time as possible.
How do you keep that momentum going into this week off?
DL: Well, the thing about the big 10 is you have to do it every single week, so we're still focused on us, so there's a lot of good stuff that we put on tape. There's also a lot of stuff that we need to correct, so it's looking at us, okay, what can we do from a self scout standpoint as far as how our team's going to look at this tape and attack us, and then how can we expand on our playbook getting prepared for the Big 10 because our next string of opponents are going to be very different than LSU and Utah State.
Do you like to sort of rotate through four guys typically in a game no matter what the personnel is, how do you usually approach the cornerbacks?
DL: Yeah, we try to rotate guys. We want to keep guys fresh and there's just more plays in college. Our first couple games haven't been too bad, but there's going to be games where it's 80, 90 plays, so you want to keep guys fresh and you also want to keep developing guys. So we're probably always going to play three to four corners. We'll play three safeties. We'll always try to make sure we have a good rotation up front and keep guys fresh.
Anything change defensively when you go into a tough road environment?
DL: No, I think we have to have that mentality every single week. Our backs against the wall. It doesn't matter if it's a home game or road. We have to have that same mentality every week.
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