Bond: Aggies’ defense “way faster than last year”
Speed. One of the few things that can’t be taught, and is thus a topic of envy in all sports. Last year, Utah State football had reason to lament its lack of speed, particularly on defense where the Aggies ranked No. 103 (of 130 teams) in yards allowed per game. And, based off the moves head coach Gary Andersen and his defensive staff made in the depth chart, speed has clearly been an emphasis this offseason. Andersen outright said adding speed on defense has been a “real push.”
“A year ago when we had that giant recruiting class where we brought in 50-plus kids, the goal was to get longer and to get faster,” Andersen said.
The speed from Andersen’s previous recruiting classes should begin to take hold next year, and maybe this year as the freshmen of last year advance up the depth chart and take off their redshirts. But most of the guys from the last couple of recruiting classes haven’t yet made the two-deep depth chart, especially in the front seven. To compensate for the lack of immediate improvement in speed, Andersen moved safety Cash Gilliam to inside linebacker where he’ll start next to Kevin Meitzenheimer. The senior spent last year and his two junior college seasons playing safety. As a linebacker, he’s a rather short 5-foot-11 and lighter 215 pounds, but the trade-off is speed and versatility to cover tight ends and running backs.
Another defensive decision that will keep speed on the field is keeping the base defense as a nickel package. Whereas many defenses traditionally employ seven players in the box, using either a three defensive lineman/four linebacker (known as a 3-4) or a four defensive lineman/three linebacker (4-3) configuration, Andersen’s starters have just six men in the box (three defensive lineman, three linebackers). The exclusion of a bulkier lineman or linebacker and inclusion of a defensive back makes the entire unit that much faster and able to cover ground better.
The result of these moves is a much faster team, something senior safety Shaq Bond reiterated several times earlier this week.
“We’ve got a lot of speed in the back end this year,” Bond said. “Sideline to sideline, a lot of people aren’t going to be able to beat us this year. Defense is way faster than last year, all across the board.”
Both of the immediate moves Andersen made — moving a safety to linebacker and employing a nickel package — will make Utah State faster. And these kinds of moves are things coaches often do mid-game as an adjustment or simply to best defend against certain offensive player personnel packages, namely wide receiver-heavy sets in passing down scenarios. But while going to this set-up as a semi-permanent base defense does give the obvious advantage of having speed on the field at all times and being much harder to pass the ball against, there’s a reason not all teams go this route.
When teams go into their nickel package, they become more vulnerable to the rushing attack. It’s usually not a problem because defenses only use nickel when more wide receivers are on the field which a) means the offense is more likely to pass and b) there are fewer blockers on the field for the offense, offsetting the loss of a lineman/linebacker from the equation, but good teams can exploit an over-usage of DB-heavy defensive packages. The 2018 Los Angeles Rams built their dominant offense (second in the NFL in yards that year) partly off the ability to attack nickel defenses by running the ball with Todd Gurley. For a Utah State team that was No. 110 in run defense last year, allowing just over 200 yards per game, any moves that can decrease its run defense capabilities are a little concerning.
Both Andersen and Bond addressed the concerns over run defense in their Monday press conference, saying the team has placed a major emphasis on tackling and stopping the run; and both had positive things to say.
“They’re running to the ball well,” Andersen said of the defense. “(Co-defensive coordinators Frank Maile and Stacy Collins) have done a great job along with the rest of the defensive staff to be able to get these kids to understand how hard they need to play on the defensive side of the ball consistently.”
“All practice, all week we’ve been working on just tackling, tackling, tackling, making sure we stop the run first,” Bond said.
For now, these are just words. Last year the Aggies gave up 297 yards to their 2020 Week 1 opponent, Boise State. It was the first of three straight weeks to end the season USU would give up 250-plus rushing yards to an opponent. If there’s any time to prove doubters wrong and show improvements, it’s this week against the defending Mountain West champion Broncos.