.png&width=42&height=42&type=webp)
University of Minnesota Athletics
Kill: Right Players in Right Places Key to Defense
8/1/2011 12:00:00 AM | Football
July 29, 2011
One of the hot topics for Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill during the opening day of the 2011 Big Ten Kickoff surrounded the Golden Gopher defense and the prospects for seeing improvement on that side of the ball.
Kill and long time defensive coordinator Tracy Claeys have shown a knack for getting defenses turned around in short order at their previous coaching stops. And the duo will be out to do the same with the Golden Gophers.
Minnesota's defense struggled to get things right on a consistent basis during 2010, yielding 33 points and nearly 400 total yards per game. With eight players possessing starting experience back in the fold for 2011, Kill believes there are good prospect for improvement. The first order, however, will be getting the right players on the field and then making the proper adjustments from there.
"I think the number one thing as far as we're concerned on defense in the spring is we got to make sure we get people in the right places," Kill said. "We base out of a 4-3 defense and we'll do different things out of that particular defense.
"I think the big key for us is to make sure our people understand the defensive scheme we have in front of them. Are we going to be able to be exactly like we'd like to be right off the bat? Probably not. We don't want to ask kids to do something they can't do. The critical thing in coaching is to take the kids you have and make sure you give them the chance to be successful. I think that's what we have to do defensively."
With Claeys at the controls, Kill's last two defenses at Northern Illinois both ranked among the Mid American Conference's best as the Huskies led the league in scoring defense in 2010 (19.08 ppg) and total defense in 2009. In 2008, his first season at NIU, Kill's defensive staff engineered one of the biggest turnarounds in the country, as the Huskies led the MAC in pass defense, total defense and scoring defense with Claeys being tapped as the MAC's Defensive Coordinator of the Year for 2008.
"I think that everywhere we've gone, and I've had the same coordinator (Claeys) for many years, we've been able to get better on defense fairly quickly," said Kill. "Most of it is because we've been able to get people in the right place. Usually when you look at defensive football, when big plays happen, you get somebody that's not doing what they're supposed to do and you miss tackles.
"Hopefully through hard work during two-a-day camp, combined with what we accomplished in the spring, we can play better defense. I will tell you this, you cannot win unless you play good defense, doesn't matter what level. You got to be able to play great defense and you got to be able to run the ball. I believe that with all my heart."
