On stopping the run, forcing takeaways, learning German
There’s some strength on strength here.
At least as the numbers tell us. Rutgers is ranked 28th nationally in yards per rush at 5.83. Nebraska is ninth in yards allowed per tote at just 2.75.
Sure, Nebraska’s defensive line would love to have more Saturdays like this last one in which there were five sacks had against Purdue. But you have to earn the right to have those shots.
“I think selfishly a lot of guys want to get sacks. But you can’t get sacks unless you stop the run, right?” Husker defensive line coach Terrance Knighton said on ‘Sports Nightly’ on Wednesday. “So our guys, first and foremost, with me being an ex-player playing for Coach Rhule as my position coach, it always started with stopping the run. That’s our DNA as a defense. That’s our DNA as a program. Run the ball, stop the run and we’ve got to handle that first.”
Rutgers has allowed just four sacks in four games, going run heavy behind the talents of Kyle Monangai, who had 589 rushing yards on the season.
A worthy challenge. Knighton remarked he’s been carrying the bat this week in practice to let them know the kind of mood he’s in.
The Scarlet Knights are also eighth in time of possession, holding it for more than 33 minutes, 38 seconds per game. No doubt they’d love to keep their 51 percent third-down conversion rate on track and keep Dylan Raiola and company by the Gatorade bucket.
Knighton senses opponents want to try to run it on Nebraska and keep the ball away from Raiola. The coach said the Huskers just have to keep that chip on their shoulder that they had last season and bite down on opponent’s run game so they can go after the QB.
And get the ball back for their quarterback.
“I shared with the guys my experience of playing with a guy like Peyton Manning, who you know they’re going to score a lot of points so the defense is going to be on the field a lot more and teams are going to try the best they can to keep a high-powered offense off the field,” Knighton said.
“So teams are going to run the ball and try to get us in third-and-short so our pass rushers can’t go out there and pass rush – and dominate the time of possession. When you know what teams are going to try to do to you, it helps you a little bit during the week with preparation and knowing what you’re going to get. So our guys are ready for it and they know teams are going to try to come out and run the ball and have a steady clock.”
>>> Knighton said it’s the deepest room he’s coached.
“It’s hard to get all those guys reps in the game. I tell those guys all the time, ‘Hey, the hot hand is going to play.’ For us it’s a good problem to have.”
It was tough making travel roster decisions. “The beauty of it is on home games everybody can play.”
>>> James Williams “wasn’t the Sack Man until this week,” Knighton said. But he’s happy for him after his two sacks against Purdue.
“He’s a guy that we had to take out on rushing situations but now he’s a guy that can go in there and be gritty. He’s a tough guy. He plays with his hands. He’s physical in the run game and he’s a guy that we can now depend on every down.”
The beauty of coaching is seeing guys develop from kids to young men. He said nutrition director Kristin Coggin and head strength coach Corey Campbell made it easy on him by helping Williams get bigger.
“He fussed a little bit about it at the beginning having to eat so much. But now his metabolism is going, he’s getting stronger, he’s getting bigger. He was always a tough kid … I knew he could do it.”
>>> Kai Wallin has provided some good early-season snaps. Knighton said he’s at 260 this season. That’s noteworthy because “he got here, he was a little skinny, frail guy from California at 210 pounds.”
Stronger and tougher now. “He’ll never lose the ability to pass rush. That’s his God-given gift and now he’s just trying to be an all-around player.”
>>> Knighton said if you go out there and get your butt kicked as a young guy, you won’t play. But he’s not afraid to put young guys out there who show they can hang.
An example right now of the latter is Keona Davis.
“We call him Tarzan. He’s just a physical guy – 100 mph all the time, man. Guys like that will always find a way to get on the field. That’s just the type of guys we recruit, the type of guys we want. Tough, physical guys who just motor nonstop.”
>>> The coach said defensive coordinator Tony White does a great job during the week showing guys why things are successful.
“When Ty (Robinson) got his sack at Purdue, it’s because Willis (McGahee) acted like he was rushing and then dropped in coverage, allowing Ty to get through. Or Ceyair (Wright) jamming the guy and the quarterback can’t make his read.”
>>> When it comes to the pursuit of forcing fumbles, Knighton said, “Honestly I feel like we got to be more physical on ballcarriers. We call it having dominant contact. We want to put our helmet on balls and we want to make sure we’re being physical on every single ballcarrier.”
Knighton said he wants to see his group up front take the ball off the quarterback when they get there.
“I challenged those guys to get past the, ‘Hey, I’m happy I got a sack.’ To now, ‘Hey, let’s get the ball off the quarterback and change the game.’ The reason why our turnover margin is (+5) is because our offense is doing a great job protecting the ball.”
Knighton said the Huskers should be way higher in turnover margin “because our offense is doing a great job right now.”
>>> Knighton said newcomer David Höffken teaches the D-linemen a German word every week.
He’s doing a great job adapting, but the main thing is getting the game to slow down. He has the tools and is getting a lot of reps in practice.
“He’s just got to keep working … He’s just getting used to everything: handling academics, learning his playbook, all those type of things. So he’s getting acclimated to that but he’s doing a great job and the arrow is pointing up on him for sure.”
Knighton joked to interviewer Jessica Coody to please not ask him to remember one of the German words because he’d mess it up. He thought Robinson probably learns it the best. Both are about the same age.
“Because Ty sits next to him and meetings, and sits with him at all the meals. Those two have a great relationship.”
>>> Knighton said he’d “absolutely” say Robinson and Nash Hutmacher are one of the best 1-2 combinations in college football.
“And if anybody would like to argue that, my line is free. I’d match them up against anybody. I got a gorilla and a bear, so pick your poison.”
>>> When any NFL personnel ask Knighton about Jimari Butler, he always tells them that he’s the heart and soul of the group.
Knighton said a lot of guys wouldn’t have played against Purdue like Butler did because he was banged up. He said he knows the guys need him and wants to play.
“Gritty, tough. He’s the vocal leader. He’s wearing No. 1. He got a lot of votes to be a captain on this defense and all the guys respect him. Whether that’s Vincent Shavers, who’s a linebacker, to Willis, who’s an outside linebacker. All the young guys gravitate towards him because he’s honest with those guys and they go out there and see how hard he works. … You can tell the difference when he’s out there and when he’s not out there.”
>>> Knighton said Riley Van Poppel handles everything like a pro.
“He gets a 100 on every test, he can answer every question I ask him in meetings. He can every question Coach Rhule asks him. He’s a program guy.”
As for the redshirt decision for this year, the coaching staff didn’t want to cheat him on his development after he played last year as a true freshman.
“We just decided that, hey, let’s get him more reps in practice. Get him going against our O-line every day. Getting 50 reps, getting better,” Knighton said. “So that next year when Robinson’s gone we don’t lose a step and he’s ready to go in there and be a dominant play that we know he can be.”
>>> Sometimes it’s telling how much losing hurts a squad. Losing that game to Illinois definitely hurt this one.
“We’re 4-1 right now and the one loss we felt like the season was over. And it hasn’t been that way around here. Our guys expect to win games now. So I think that’s the big difference.”
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