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OGDEN — Several things hampered Weber State’s defense during the 2013 season.
Whether it was a lack of continuity; whether it was a lack of talent; whether it was a lack of preparation, the Wildcats continually struggled to get teams off the field, giving up more than 40 points a game, including giving up 70 points to both FBS opponents Utah and Utah State.
With a new coaching staff focused on fixing Weber’s numerous issues, Wildcats defensive coördinator Justin Ena said the team is trying to change its attitude.
“Fundamentally, they didn’t play as a team last year,” said Ena, who coached at Southern Utah for six seasons. “Everybody felt like they were all by themselves on an island. It goes all the way just to tackling fundamentals, of leveraging. It takes a lot of trust, and even though it sounds like it’s a simple process, if you know how to attack correctly and play as a team, you can be very successful.”
Ena is a coach who focuses on maximizing the concept of controlled chaos, where players are able to emotionally stay under control despite the distractions around them. After last year’s frequent issues with personal fouls, it appeared the Wildcats were undisciplined. Ena said, however, he was surprised by the attitude of the Weber players.
“I was pleasantly surprised meeting with these guys, how good of kids they really are,” he said. “(Weber coach Jay Hill) has done a great job of bringing everybody together and treating everybody like family. I think these guys have bought in and love is kind of a strange word in football, but it goes hand-in-hand with great teams and great chemistry.”
He noted the entire staff makes an effort to be even-keeled around the student-athletes to convey that sense of calmness.
“We want to be good examples to the kids too, of showing them that you’re going to make mistakes every once in a while, but you’ve got to keep your cool,” Ena said. “Again, we’ve got good kids here. We can be successful quick. There’s no doubt in my mind.”
Besides self-control, Ena’s defense mandates players pride themselves on assignment football. And, Weber’s new schematic approach to defense reflects that philosophy.
“(We’re) keeping it simple with a 4-3 defense,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what you have schematically, as long as you have good players that will buy in to the defensive scheme. You can run anything, and we’re a base 4-3 front team.”
Adam Padilla, a junior cornerback, said the new defensive scheme allows athletes to have more fun out on the field while better reflecting a team-first approach.
“People are really enthusiastic about the work outs in the mornings, and getting this ship turned around,” said Padilla, who is currently out with a knee injury. “Everything is real simple and everything is clicking with our players. We started great, but we’ve got to finish.”
Padilla said he should be back soon to further shore up a defensive backfield that has earned universal praise.
“I'm hoping to come back in the next week-and-a-half,” he said. “I just want to get out there with my guys and finish strong. It doesn’t matter how you start, but you’ve got to finish strong.”
Big Sky offenses are notorious for being among the country's highest scorers, with defending league champion Eastern Washington scoring 39.5 points a game last season. With that in mind, Ena noted there are a number of ways to contain the up-tempo, high-scoring offenses.
“You’ve got to stop the spread (offense),” he said. “Saying that, you can do it with a five-man box, or a six-man box. But, at the same time, you’ve got to make sure that the perimeter passes are taken care of by the outside backers, and it’s got to be three-on-two with the receivers out there, so we can rally to the ball."
