Here's a transcription or today's interview with David Braun. I'm going to use some of this in the story I'm going to write, but here's the whole thing for The Rock to sink its teeth into.
Impressions of the staff?
Incredible staff. A bunch of great coaches, a bunch of great teachers. It's been a lot of fun to, to collaborate with this group. We have, we have a hungry group in the locker room. You know, guys coming off the season where there was a level of frustration and guys are wide open to new ideas, new concepts. They're working really hard. We're going through some growing pains and that's gonna be natural when you're installing a new defense. But we got the right guys in the locker room. You know, it's a fun group to work with. And I'm excited about where we're at. Got a long spring ball ahead of us, but, you know, really excited about where we can be by then day.
What can fans expect from David Braun defense?
You know, to be honest with you, you're gonna see a, a defense that fits the personnel. And I think that's part of the process we're going through right now is evaluating what our guys do well and maybe what some of the limitations are, and making sure that we put 'em in calls and in coverages and in leverages that they can be successful in.
And the thing that we talk about all the time as a group, the things that are non-negotiables for us. When you turn on the film, what are you gonna see? You better see a group that plays really hard, is full tilt for full 60 minutes. That plays a very physical brand of football that wins in the Big 10. And a group that plays for one another. The age of college football that we're in right now, the way that it's evolved, you know, we firmly believe around here that it's a competitive advantage to have a locker room that cares about one another, that plays for one another, and that that plays team football first.
And that's what we expect. Those are the non-negotiables for us. We're gonna play, play really hard. We're gonna play a physical brand of football and we're gonna populate that locker room and this coaching staff with a bunch of people that are gonna be selfless and humble and work for one another.
What’s the adjustment from FCS to Big Ten?
Obviously the talent level and the depth is different. There's gonna be some, some skill on the perimeter that, you know, especially against some of the teams in this league, that it can be very dynamic and we're gonna have to understand the coverages that we're in at times that we may have to cloud a corner to side and find ways to double.
But at the end of the day, we're gonna have to do a great job as a staff is really evaluating of how the league is evolving. You know, Wisconsin: new offensive coordinator, new head coach, who are those guys gonna be? You know, it could be a totally different offensive operation. New staff at Nebraska. Purdue's now turned over. You know, there's a lot of question marks out there. The Big Ten West of old, where it was stop the run, stop the run, stop the run. We're gonna have to stop the run but we're gonna have to make sure that we're not giving up huge shots in the RPO game, or the play action pass game to do that. So we're gonna have to find good balance in that.
But to answer your question directly, I think some of the skill on the perimeter and some of the depth that the running back position is something that certainly stands out as you evaluating the teams in the league.
One thing you are excited about, one thing needs to be improved in NU defense?
There's certainly some depth in our safety room right now, and we're gonna find ways to maximize that depth with playing some of those guys at the nickel position. You know, I'm excited about the youth in the corner room. It's unproven, you know, with a lot of those guys, but youthful and talented. I think you got a group in the linebacker room with some vet leadership, guys that have played a lot of football for us. Between Bryce Gallagher and Xander Mueller, [they have] played a lot of Big Ten snaps. We're gonna have to lean on those guys for their experience.
At the D-line position, we lack depth, we lack experience. But there's no shortage of talent in that room right now. There is some youth that is just starting to understand what it looks like to practice like a Big Ten defensive lineman. We're gonna have to find some ways to add some immediate depth there, just purely by our numbers.
We're gonna be very calculated as a staff of making sure that, as we go into recruiting, we're not concerned about how many stars a young man has next to his name. We're gonna be concerned about what type of toughness, character and growth potential does that young man have. We're a developmental program. We gotta bring the right guys in here moving forward so we never encounter an issue like this ever again at the D line.
Vision of your defense?
I mentioned North Dakota State simply because it's what I've experienced the last four years, but we played great defense at North Dakota State for a lot of reasons, but a huge reason was the way that our offense played football.
They protected the ball, they controlled the ball, they controlled the clock, we played complementary football. You mentioned complementary football: offense protecting the ball. We gotta find ways to create takeaways to put them in advantageous situations. That's the fun part of the formula right now, is looking at this team and how we are going to play off one another, complementary football that leads to, at the end of the day, victories.
Defensively, we're gonna look to limit explosives. We're gonna play with great leverage. We're gonna look to take advantage of takeaways. And at the end of the day, if an offense finds a way to move the ball on us a little bit, you know, field goals shouldn't get you beat. If we can really buck up in the red zone and force people to kick field goals, our offense is gonna find a way to put drives together, score points, and put us in a situation to win games in the fourth quarter.
How different than Jim O’Neil’s system?
That's a good question. Jim O’Neil is a really smart football coach, really good football coach. This staff is populated with great coaches. When I stepped in the building, it wasn't like we walked in and said, ‘You know, everything that's been done here in the past wasn't good, and here's what we did in North Dakota State, and this is, this is the perfect way to do things.’ It wasn't, it hasn't been that at all. What it's been is, here's some things that I'm really convicting that we did in the past. Let's talk about it. Hey guys, what are some things you guys have done in the past if you're really convicted of? Well, hey, here's how we ran Cover 3 with Coach Hank. Let's talk about that as we start to build it. What meshes together, what complements one another? What compliments the guys that we have in the locker room? There's gonna be a lot of things that are different from last year, but the things that we’re really good at, that our guys are really comfortable in, we've kept those things consistent.
So I'd say it's probably a combination of 50% of some of the things we were doing at North Dakota State, another 30% of some of the things that Coach McG and Coach McPherson were really familiar with, with Coach Hank. And then [20%] of some things that they were doing with Coach O'Neill last year that was really productive and our guys liked and they played fast.
And, you know, this isn't about my idea or Coach McPherson's idea. It’s what concepts are gonna put our guys in situations to play really fast with a lot of confidence and fit their skill sets? And that's been the fun part of this process. It's been a very collaborative effort between the defensive staff, Coach Fitz and conversations with people that we really trust. And we’re still in that process. This spring ball is an opportunity to really learn what we're good at, what we're not good at, and start to fine tune over the summer and by fall camp have a very clear identity of who we're gonna be in the fall.
What are some facets of the last two years on defense that Northwestern needs to get better at overall?
We need to take the ball away more. There's no doubt about that. And that's one of those things that it's easy to say that, what are you doing to, to create. I feel like some of the coverages that we've installed, there's certainly some elements of vision defense. When you're looking at the ball, you're gonna have more opportunities to make plays on the ball.
So we hope that just simply by the concept that we're teaching, we create some more opportunities for ourselves. I think at times last year we tackled well, at other times we didn't tackle as well. We needed to, if we're to play winning football, we're gonna have to play with great leverage. We're gonna have to play with great fundamentals, we're gonna have to tackle well, and we're gonna have to create takeaways. And those are things that we're harping on every single day. We're creating circuit work, pre-practice to work on the mechanics of taking the ball away. And we're hoping that's something that those banked reps start to pay off for us, not only in spring practice, but been in our games in the fall.
Impressions of the staff?
Incredible staff. A bunch of great coaches, a bunch of great teachers. It's been a lot of fun to, to collaborate with this group. We have, we have a hungry group in the locker room. You know, guys coming off the season where there was a level of frustration and guys are wide open to new ideas, new concepts. They're working really hard. We're going through some growing pains and that's gonna be natural when you're installing a new defense. But we got the right guys in the locker room. You know, it's a fun group to work with. And I'm excited about where we're at. Got a long spring ball ahead of us, but, you know, really excited about where we can be by then day.
What can fans expect from David Braun defense?
You know, to be honest with you, you're gonna see a, a defense that fits the personnel. And I think that's part of the process we're going through right now is evaluating what our guys do well and maybe what some of the limitations are, and making sure that we put 'em in calls and in coverages and in leverages that they can be successful in.
And the thing that we talk about all the time as a group, the things that are non-negotiables for us. When you turn on the film, what are you gonna see? You better see a group that plays really hard, is full tilt for full 60 minutes. That plays a very physical brand of football that wins in the Big 10. And a group that plays for one another. The age of college football that we're in right now, the way that it's evolved, you know, we firmly believe around here that it's a competitive advantage to have a locker room that cares about one another, that plays for one another, and that that plays team football first.
And that's what we expect. Those are the non-negotiables for us. We're gonna play, play really hard. We're gonna play a physical brand of football and we're gonna populate that locker room and this coaching staff with a bunch of people that are gonna be selfless and humble and work for one another.
What’s the adjustment from FCS to Big Ten?
Obviously the talent level and the depth is different. There's gonna be some, some skill on the perimeter that, you know, especially against some of the teams in this league, that it can be very dynamic and we're gonna have to understand the coverages that we're in at times that we may have to cloud a corner to side and find ways to double.
But at the end of the day, we're gonna have to do a great job as a staff is really evaluating of how the league is evolving. You know, Wisconsin: new offensive coordinator, new head coach, who are those guys gonna be? You know, it could be a totally different offensive operation. New staff at Nebraska. Purdue's now turned over. You know, there's a lot of question marks out there. The Big Ten West of old, where it was stop the run, stop the run, stop the run. We're gonna have to stop the run but we're gonna have to make sure that we're not giving up huge shots in the RPO game, or the play action pass game to do that. So we're gonna have to find good balance in that.
But to answer your question directly, I think some of the skill on the perimeter and some of the depth that the running back position is something that certainly stands out as you evaluating the teams in the league.
One thing you are excited about, one thing needs to be improved in NU defense?
There's certainly some depth in our safety room right now, and we're gonna find ways to maximize that depth with playing some of those guys at the nickel position. You know, I'm excited about the youth in the corner room. It's unproven, you know, with a lot of those guys, but youthful and talented. I think you got a group in the linebacker room with some vet leadership, guys that have played a lot of football for us. Between Bryce Gallagher and Xander Mueller, [they have] played a lot of Big Ten snaps. We're gonna have to lean on those guys for their experience.
At the D-line position, we lack depth, we lack experience. But there's no shortage of talent in that room right now. There is some youth that is just starting to understand what it looks like to practice like a Big Ten defensive lineman. We're gonna have to find some ways to add some immediate depth there, just purely by our numbers.
We're gonna be very calculated as a staff of making sure that, as we go into recruiting, we're not concerned about how many stars a young man has next to his name. We're gonna be concerned about what type of toughness, character and growth potential does that young man have. We're a developmental program. We gotta bring the right guys in here moving forward so we never encounter an issue like this ever again at the D line.
Vision of your defense?
I mentioned North Dakota State simply because it's what I've experienced the last four years, but we played great defense at North Dakota State for a lot of reasons, but a huge reason was the way that our offense played football.
They protected the ball, they controlled the ball, they controlled the clock, we played complementary football. You mentioned complementary football: offense protecting the ball. We gotta find ways to create takeaways to put them in advantageous situations. That's the fun part of the formula right now, is looking at this team and how we are going to play off one another, complementary football that leads to, at the end of the day, victories.
Defensively, we're gonna look to limit explosives. We're gonna play with great leverage. We're gonna look to take advantage of takeaways. And at the end of the day, if an offense finds a way to move the ball on us a little bit, you know, field goals shouldn't get you beat. If we can really buck up in the red zone and force people to kick field goals, our offense is gonna find a way to put drives together, score points, and put us in a situation to win games in the fourth quarter.
How different than Jim O’Neil’s system?
That's a good question. Jim O’Neil is a really smart football coach, really good football coach. This staff is populated with great coaches. When I stepped in the building, it wasn't like we walked in and said, ‘You know, everything that's been done here in the past wasn't good, and here's what we did in North Dakota State, and this is, this is the perfect way to do things.’ It wasn't, it hasn't been that at all. What it's been is, here's some things that I'm really convicting that we did in the past. Let's talk about it. Hey guys, what are some things you guys have done in the past if you're really convicted of? Well, hey, here's how we ran Cover 3 with Coach Hank. Let's talk about that as we start to build it. What meshes together, what complements one another? What compliments the guys that we have in the locker room? There's gonna be a lot of things that are different from last year, but the things that we’re really good at, that our guys are really comfortable in, we've kept those things consistent.
So I'd say it's probably a combination of 50% of some of the things we were doing at North Dakota State, another 30% of some of the things that Coach McG and Coach McPherson were really familiar with, with Coach Hank. And then [20%] of some things that they were doing with Coach O'Neill last year that was really productive and our guys liked and they played fast.
And, you know, this isn't about my idea or Coach McPherson's idea. It’s what concepts are gonna put our guys in situations to play really fast with a lot of confidence and fit their skill sets? And that's been the fun part of this process. It's been a very collaborative effort between the defensive staff, Coach Fitz and conversations with people that we really trust. And we’re still in that process. This spring ball is an opportunity to really learn what we're good at, what we're not good at, and start to fine tune over the summer and by fall camp have a very clear identity of who we're gonna be in the fall.
What are some facets of the last two years on defense that Northwestern needs to get better at overall?
We need to take the ball away more. There's no doubt about that. And that's one of those things that it's easy to say that, what are you doing to, to create. I feel like some of the coverages that we've installed, there's certainly some elements of vision defense. When you're looking at the ball, you're gonna have more opportunities to make plays on the ball.
So we hope that just simply by the concept that we're teaching, we create some more opportunities for ourselves. I think at times last year we tackled well, at other times we didn't tackle as well. We needed to, if we're to play winning football, we're gonna have to play with great leverage. We're gonna have to play with great fundamentals, we're gonna have to tackle well, and we're gonna have to create takeaways. And those are things that we're harping on every single day. We're creating circuit work, pre-practice to work on the mechanics of taking the ball away. And we're hoping that's something that those banked reps start to pay off for us, not only in spring practice, but been in our games in the fall.
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