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00:00 - Talking to Coach Brown about third down,
00:02 you guys are holding teams under 30% conversion rate.
00:07 What is it about that group,
00:09 you get some new bodies in there, first of all,
00:11 what is it about that group defensively
00:13 that is kind of jelled this year?
00:15 And how important is it to have a few fresh bodies
00:20 in there on those third downs?
00:22 - I think the biggest thing is,
00:24 you know, Coach Brown and Coach English
00:25 approach the third down.
00:27 Third down starts with winning first down
00:29 and second down, those are the tough downs.
00:31 That's when you got your cleats in the ground,
00:34 you gotta get your nose dirty.
00:36 Third downs are down where, hey,
00:37 you can pay your ears back and have a little fun,
00:40 but you gotta win second and third down.
00:42 As you know in the game of football,
00:44 it's all about reds on third down.
00:46 So the more you limit opponents' opportunities,
00:48 and the way you do that is you gotta feel on third down.
00:51 I think our guys take great pride in that.
00:54 We talk about consistency or just being focused,
00:56 and those guys just doing their job,
00:58 and hopefully we'll keep having success.
01:00 - So where have you seen the most growth in this defense
01:09 from the time that you guys got here till now?
01:11 'Cause obviously Coach talked about
01:12 just making adjustments every week,
01:14 and how do you feel like the guys
01:15 have just kind of responded to that?
01:17 - I think the main factor is that
01:21 college ball is different from pro ball.
01:24 Pro ball have preseason games,
01:25 and they have three or four.
01:27 In college ball, once you're through fall camp,
01:30 the foot hits the ball.
01:31 And I think for those guys,
01:32 just getting a good understanding
01:34 of what we're trying to do defensively,
01:36 and also as coaches,
01:37 getting a chance to get a feel for our players.
01:40 I think the guys have bought in,
01:42 they're developing that brotherhood,
01:43 and I think once you get into a game,
01:45 they feel some success.
01:47 It's just human nature that those guys
01:48 wanna gain more and more success.
01:50 And we just wanna keep pushing the envelope,
01:52 and hopefully keep continuing to do well on defense.
01:57 - Coach, how have you gotten some of the guys
02:01 to kind of stay in their lane, so to speak?
02:03 Like not do too much,
02:04 just kind of do what they can do,
02:06 not over pursue,
02:07 but also try to be aggressive?
02:10 - It's basically like fixing a puzzle.
02:15 Everybody has a piece of the puzzle,
02:17 and when one pieces out a puzzle,
02:19 the puzzle doesn't look right.
02:21 And so we consistency,
02:22 and we harp on those guys,
02:24 just hey man, this defense is a fun defense to play at.
02:27 Everybody can make some plays in this defense,
02:29 but the most important thing is to make the plays
02:32 you're supposed to make,
02:33 and just do your job.
02:35 Coach English and Coach Hagan do an unbelievable job
02:38 of showing the guys,
02:39 making sure they have a clear understanding
02:41 of what we're trying to do schematically,
02:44 and what the offense is trying to do to attack us.
02:47 I think that's what Coach Brown and Coach Zanjian were.
02:51 We teach the guys defense,
02:52 but he's teaching us offense.
02:54 And I think how that balance,
02:56 hopefully we continue to have success.
02:58 - When Griffin went down early in camp,
03:02 how, I mean, he was a huge part
03:04 of what they were able to do last year.
03:05 When they got better,
03:06 it was really when he started playing.
03:07 So how big of a blow did you all think that was,
03:09 and how have you been able to overcome it?
03:12 - First of all, MJ is an outstanding young man.
03:15 And before I get to MJ,
03:17 part of your question,
03:18 just after the injury,
03:20 man, he'd been one of the greatest leaders.
03:22 I had a chance,
03:23 on Saturday night in our game,
03:25 we got a chance to earn the fourth quarter,
03:27 and they played him joker and thief.
03:28 And I look up,
03:29 no, MJ is right there pumping the guys up.
03:32 When you come off of a timeout,
03:33 or a sudden change,
03:34 anything of that nature,
03:35 MJ is right there coaching the guy.
03:37 We really call him Coach MJ.
03:39 But to answer your question,
03:41 once he's injured,
03:43 you hate seeing a guy injured.
03:44 Especially a young man that put as much time and effort
03:47 into his preparation as MJ does.
03:49 But also, it allows guys to see the way MJ worked.
03:53 And that's just with playing DB.
03:55 It's not about being all Hollywood.
03:57 It's about coming to work every day,
03:59 and the guys get a chance to see a visual
04:01 of the time and the effort
04:03 and the dedication you put in.
04:04 And I really think when Cam, Mink, even Devin,
04:08 got a chance to see how hard MJ worked,
04:11 they just bought in what he was doing.
04:13 And I think it's a true brotherhood,
04:15 and a true leadership of that group.
04:18 - Coach, Virginia Tech's been playing a lot better
04:19 because of their quarterback and his ability to run.
04:22 Jeff was talking about the challenge
04:24 of opposing, of facing their quarterback.
04:27 When you have a quarterback that does present
04:29 that type of a challenge,
04:31 a physical guy that can go up against a defender,
04:33 what kind of a challenge is that for your group
04:36 when you have a guy that might pull defenders
04:38 from other spots?
04:39 - You know, he's really the quarterback.
04:40 I think he won three of the last four games.
04:43 He's a big, strong guy.
04:44 He's a dual-threat quarterback.
04:46 They can throw it, they can run it.
04:47 They can make some ad-lib plays when things break down.
04:50 He can convert on third down.
04:51 So for us, it's about being far from being on the side,
04:54 staying out of gaps.
04:56 When you got a chance to make a play,
04:57 you have to make a play.
04:59 But it's gonna come down to us chasing football.
05:01 That's what it's gonna come down to.
05:03 If one guy misses, because he's such a good player,
05:05 we're gonna have other hats there to get it down.
05:08 'Cause one guy's gonna have a hard time getting him down.
05:11 Like you said, he's a big, strong guy.
05:13 He'll pull a lot of tackles.
05:15 He'll miss a lot of tackles.
05:16 So we gotta do a good job of chasing the football,
05:19 pursuing the football, and getting hats there.
05:21 So if one guy missed, we gotta tackle our leverage
05:24 and get him on the ground.
05:26 - Coach, it seems like Quincy was playing so well
05:30 that teams have kind of been like,
05:31 you know what, we're not even gonna try.
05:33 How do you kind of make sure he,
05:35 'cause they haven't tested him a ton recently,
05:38 how do you make sure he stays into it?
05:40 And how good has he played this season for you?
05:43 - I think Quincy is doing well for us.
05:45 There's some things we definitely need to improve on,
05:48 but he just stayed at it.
05:49 He'd come to work every day.
05:51 He'd practice with a relentless effort.
05:54 The biggest thing with him is just, hey, stay in it,
05:56 and then come find some other defense.
05:58 If you don't get a lot of action,
06:00 a lot of guys may wanna drift.
06:02 His main focus, stay on course,
06:04 to continue to do a good job,
06:05 and we got a chance to make a play, make a play.
06:08 But again, like I said,
06:09 it's a friendly defense for those guys.
06:11 You'll get your opportunity to make plays,
06:13 but just stay in the confines of his defense.
06:16 And when the opportunity presents itself,
06:17 just make the play.
06:18 - Steve, Jeff's talked a lot about
06:21 how the secondaries' coverage
06:23 and ability to hold for that extra second or two
06:25 has helped the defensive line be able to generate pressure.
06:28 I'm curious how much more confidence
06:30 your guys have on the back end,
06:31 knowing that your front gets that kind of penetration
06:34 consistently.
06:35 Does it help them a lot?
06:37 - I think it does.
06:38 Especially when those guys got Ashton,
06:40 they got Steven, they got Tael,
06:43 they got those guys chasing the quarterback.
06:45 They just know, hey, if I cover my guy for a half a second,
06:48 those guys are gonna be there.
06:49 I think it's a tribute to Coach Hagan,
06:51 what he's doing up front.
06:52 It's a tribute to Coach English,
06:53 with some different things he's designing
06:55 so those guys can get home.
06:57 Our job to make sure, whatever call being called,
07:00 be in the best position possible
07:02 to help those guys create positive plays for us on defense.
07:06 - Just one of the two part questions.
07:09 When Coach Promm contacted you about coming here,
07:12 how quickly did you make that decision?
07:14 And then once you got here, did you look at this group
07:17 and think this was gonna be a pretty good defense,
07:20 this good a defense?
07:21 - You know, when you get a chance to look at Louisville
07:24 from afar, it is a place that, man,
07:26 if I ever got a chance to coach there,
07:27 I'd love to coach there.
07:29 So when I finally got a chance to speak with him,
07:31 and I got a chance to be offered a job,
07:33 I said, "I'm there yesterday."
07:36 And it's just a place I always wanted to be at,
07:38 if I ever had the opportunity to.
07:39 It was a great town, great fan base,
07:41 great players.
07:42 Look at the tradition of Louisville,
07:45 you think of the offensive guys.
07:46 But when you think back to the Louisville tradition
07:48 of defense, you think about Ray Buchanan.
07:51 You think about a Holloman that won the Jim Thorpe Award.
07:56 You think about Jahir Alexander.
07:58 That's a big time corner in National Football League.
08:00 So even just past your, Trey Clark,
08:04 he was a good draft by the Arizona Cardinals.
08:05 So you got a chance to look at that,
08:07 and you say, "Hey man, guys have done really well
08:09 "up here on defense, especially in the second period."
08:12 So it's always a chance for you to try
08:13 to uphold that standard,
08:15 and also that competitive nature in you,
08:17 that you want to play in the ACC,
08:18 one of the top conferences in the country.
08:20 - Steve Storm has been forced into,
08:23 he played some early, but with Jarvis in and out,
08:26 he's been out there quite a bit.
08:27 How do you feel like he has performed
08:30 since he's been out there?
08:31 - You know, Storm is a veteran.
08:33 Played a lot of ball in the ACC conference.
08:35 So for him to just roll the guys in,
08:38 his number was called the last couple weeks,
08:40 he'll stepped up.
08:41 He did an unbelievable job,
08:42 and I'm expecting him to keep having some success,
08:45 even play better and better, the more reps he get.
08:48 He come to practice, he work, he studies, he prepares.
08:51 He's been consistent, he's been a great leader
08:53 for that room.
08:54 Just an older guy with a business man approach,
08:57 and definitely excited to have him on this team.
09:01 - When you have the success you guys have had,
09:03 three games, there's gonna be talk nationally
09:07 about your program, you're gonna be in different polls
09:09 and different things.
09:11 How much does that help?
09:12 As a guy who goes out recruiting,
09:14 you were on the road a couple weeks ago,
09:15 how much does it help?
09:16 The positive news in recruiting, how much can you use this?
09:21 - I think it's tremendous,
09:23 especially with the media access that we have
09:26 in the state of Louisville.
09:27 You go out to high school recruiting,
09:29 everybody see us on TV.
09:31 Just the brand itself.
09:32 Even Lamar Jackson doing things,
09:34 he's doing National Football League.
09:36 When you walk in the school, man,
09:37 that cardinal, it represents something.
09:39 Guys know exactly who you are.
09:41 Doesn't matter what state you in,
09:43 they know that cardinal.
09:44 But for us from a national stage,
09:46 if us getting guys ready,
09:47 Coach Brown been preaching since I got here,
09:49 just one game, man.
09:50 This is a one game season.
09:52 And I think our players have definitely
09:55 bought into that.
09:56 My high school coach used to say,
09:58 when you guys play, play for the man
10:00 sitting at the top of that stadium,
10:02 that just have enough money to buy that ticket.
10:04 And when he leave the game, make him say,
10:06 man, that's a unit that plays for Brotherhood,
10:09 they play for Fire, they play for Elford,
10:11 that's a group I wanna come watch play.
10:14 And I think that was Coach Brown,
10:15 biggest thing he's selling is,
10:16 hey man, it's a one game season.
10:18 Make sure the fans of Louisville,
10:20 when they come and purchase a ticket,
10:21 they can leave the game saying,
10:23 I wanna come back and watch that group play again.
10:25 And that's something we tried to do every Saturday.
10:27 - Last one.
10:28 - I guess I was asking Jeff about this too,
10:30 but to only give up seven points in the first quarter,
10:32 three eight games, is it an energy thing?
10:34 Is it just a discipline thing?
10:36 I guess, what do you see from the guys pregame
10:38 that has allowed them to be able
10:39 to have that success early on?
10:40 - Again, I go back to Coach Brown,
10:43 just his attitude, it just is a one game season.
10:46 There's no ups, there's no downs,
10:50 just try to stay steady at it,
10:52 and in preparation those guys put into the game.
10:54 I think our guys do an unbelievable job,
10:56 especially during the week of preparing,
10:59 just the way we practice and structure,
11:00 give those guys just a beat on what's going on.
11:03 And hopefully we continue to do that
11:05 throughout this season.
11:07 - All right, Coach.