Post by CrimsonPhantom on Aug 21, 2012 7:37:15 GMT -7
Defense left a nasty taste in the mouths of New Mexico State University football fans last season.
A quick glance at the Western Athletic Conference stats illustrates why.
The 2011 Aggies ranked last in scoring defense (36.8 points per game), yardage allowed (462.2 per game), rushing yards allowed (218.8 per game) and opponent’s third-down converted (45.7 percent).
Talk about a mouthful of cardboard.
NMSU coach DeWayne Walker chose a different flavor description for 2011, but agreed his defense needs spicing up.
“We were too vanilla last year,” Walker said. “I want to be more multiple, mix things up a little.”
Considering that his secondary is an inexperienced bunch, Walker’s plan seems well-founded. He may have enough new ingredients to pull it off, too.
Most notable is the addition of defensive coordinator David Elson, who replaced since-retired Dale Lindsey. Elson, a former head coach at Western Kentucky, is not attempting to reinvent NMSU’s scheme, just build upon what was already in place.
“Coach Elson added some new things, but he hasn’t brought anything out of the blue,” junior linebacker Bryan Bonilla said. “There’s just a lot of repetition, working within the system and getting comfortable with it. It’s not like starting over at all.”
Walker said he wants NMSU’s defense to more closely resemble the ones he oversaw at UCLA. Walker was the Bruins’ defensive coordinator from 2007-08, when UCLA ranked among the national leaders in several categories.
Continue reading here- www.abqjournal.com/sports/2012/08/21/aggies-want-to-mix-it-up-on-defense.html
A quick glance at the Western Athletic Conference stats illustrates why.
The 2011 Aggies ranked last in scoring defense (36.8 points per game), yardage allowed (462.2 per game), rushing yards allowed (218.8 per game) and opponent’s third-down converted (45.7 percent).
Talk about a mouthful of cardboard.
NMSU coach DeWayne Walker chose a different flavor description for 2011, but agreed his defense needs spicing up.
“We were too vanilla last year,” Walker said. “I want to be more multiple, mix things up a little.”
Considering that his secondary is an inexperienced bunch, Walker’s plan seems well-founded. He may have enough new ingredients to pull it off, too.
Most notable is the addition of defensive coordinator David Elson, who replaced since-retired Dale Lindsey. Elson, a former head coach at Western Kentucky, is not attempting to reinvent NMSU’s scheme, just build upon what was already in place.
“Coach Elson added some new things, but he hasn’t brought anything out of the blue,” junior linebacker Bryan Bonilla said. “There’s just a lot of repetition, working within the system and getting comfortable with it. It’s not like starting over at all.”
Walker said he wants NMSU’s defense to more closely resemble the ones he oversaw at UCLA. Walker was the Bruins’ defensive coordinator from 2007-08, when UCLA ranked among the national leaders in several categories.
Continue reading here- www.abqjournal.com/sports/2012/08/21/aggies-want-to-mix-it-up-on-defense.html