Today I interviewed Jeff Kopack, a North Dakota State beat writer since 1995, to get his insights on soon-to-be Northwestern defensive coordinator David Braun. I'll write a story in the next couple days, but here are some notes:
- He said that defense has been the foundation of North Dakota State's run of nine titles in 12 years. They like to run a Tampa-2 and are always near the top of FCS in run defense. "The linebackers gotta be smart," he said. "All three positions are tough to learn. You need smart linebackers to run his system." They like to run a two-high safety look and they put their corners in press man quite a bit. We'll see if Braun changes that a little bit, but his system is a lot more like Hank's than JON's.
- I asked if the message board comments from fans who weren't too sad to see Braun go had any validity. "Zero," he said. "Nine titles in 12 years have created some unrealistic expectations." He said that NDSU was young up the middle this year, with redshirt freshman and sophomore defensive tackles. He added that the Bison got better throughout the year, until the title game, where they were beaten by a a better team. "I'm sure that Pat Fitzgerald saw that as a sign. This year he had to coach a little more, and they got better," he said.
- He also isn't too concerned about the big leap Braun is taking from the FCS to the Power Five. "Chris Kleiman and the three or four coaches he took with him to Kansas State have done okay," he said. He said one or two assistants leave every two or three years and generally have success. He added that NDSU is 9-4 vs. FBS foes during their run. He said NDSU's defense wins because of it's physicality. "There's a level of physicality that North Dakota State plays with, and I'm sure David Braun will try to bring that to Northwestern."
- Personality-wise, Jeff calls Braun a very even-keeled guy. He was only in Fargo for four years, so he doesn't know him too well. But he said that "those that know him well speak very highly of him. He seems like a good guy." He couldn't really speak to Braun's ability as a recruiter. He just doesn't know.
- He said that defense has been the foundation of North Dakota State's run of nine titles in 12 years. They like to run a Tampa-2 and are always near the top of FCS in run defense. "The linebackers gotta be smart," he said. "All three positions are tough to learn. You need smart linebackers to run his system." They like to run a two-high safety look and they put their corners in press man quite a bit. We'll see if Braun changes that a little bit, but his system is a lot more like Hank's than JON's.
- I asked if the message board comments from fans who weren't too sad to see Braun go had any validity. "Zero," he said. "Nine titles in 12 years have created some unrealistic expectations." He said that NDSU was young up the middle this year, with redshirt freshman and sophomore defensive tackles. He added that the Bison got better throughout the year, until the title game, where they were beaten by a a better team. "I'm sure that Pat Fitzgerald saw that as a sign. This year he had to coach a little more, and they got better," he said.
- He also isn't too concerned about the big leap Braun is taking from the FCS to the Power Five. "Chris Kleiman and the three or four coaches he took with him to Kansas State have done okay," he said. He said one or two assistants leave every two or three years and generally have success. He added that NDSU is 9-4 vs. FBS foes during their run. He said NDSU's defense wins because of it's physicality. "There's a level of physicality that North Dakota State plays with, and I'm sure David Braun will try to bring that to Northwestern."
- Personality-wise, Jeff calls Braun a very even-keeled guy. He was only in Fargo for four years, so he doesn't know him too well. But he said that "those that know him well speak very highly of him. He seems like a good guy." He couldn't really speak to Braun's ability as a recruiter. He just doesn't know.
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