Today was the third of fifteen practice sessions allowed during the Spring and defensive coordinator Jay Niemann spoke with the media for the first time. While there has been a lot of speculation and excitement regarding the new spread offense that coordinator Drew Mehringer is installing, the development of the defense is paramount to any progress this team makes next season.
Last season, the defensive line had trouble putting pressure on opposing offenses, the linebacking core struggled in pass coverage, and the inexperienced secondary suffered through a steep learning curve. The defense ranked #112th out of 128 Division I football teams last season.