I liked reading this. Ego's are such a problem in Big Time college and NFL football!
Braun feels good about his defense going into the season, despite the fact that the unit finished 110th in the nation against the run last year.
"What we built in the spring was very much built off of North Dakota State's influence. Then we kept some of the things that [previous defensive coordinator Mike] Hankwitz had done that our guys were very comfortable with that in terms of winning in the Big Ten, and then some things that I've mentioned that were really working for [last year's defensive coordinator] Jim O'Neil's defense...that our guys are comfortable with and had recently installed," Braun said.
Braun takes a team approach to building a defense, and doesn't look at the unit has "his" defense, but "our" defense.
"Let's check our egos at the door," he said. "I mean, what's going to help us win football games? The evolution will be identifying how the team has grown over the summer and what we need to tweak before the season."
Braun also voiced significant confidence in the team, saying their goals are what they always are: win the West, return to Indianapolis for the Big Ten championship game, and win a bowl game.
Bravo!
