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LOGAN, Utah - Even with seven starters, the Utah State defense has a long road ahead of them for the 2009 football season. Along with the offense, the defense is drastically changing the way they play under new head coach Gary Andersen, by implementing a pressure defense featuring man-to-man coverage.
Using a pressure defense is a new experience for the returning players of the Aggie football team. In the past, the team played a more conservative defensive style but now they need to learn to be more aggressive and gain speed, something that Coach Andersen implemented immediately upon his arrival on the USU campus, taking over the reins of the Aggie program in December.
Andersen knows a thing or two about defense, as he was defensive coordinator at Utah for five years, shining in last season's Sugar Bowl, holding then No. 4 ranked Alabama to 31 yards rushing in the game, 165 yards below its average, as well as sacking the Crimson Tide eight times. Utah finished the season ranked No. 2 in the AP Polls, as well as 11th in the NCAA in total defense.
The Utah State defense, whose seven returning starters are part of 24 returning defensive lettermen, will try to put more pressure on the opposing offense and the quarterback to make perfect plays. But doing this leaves fewer players on the field to cover the receivers, and this is where speed comes in.
"Speed is our number one priority," said first-year USU defensive coordinator Bill Busch. "We want speed, competitive spirit and toughness."
As the defense pressures the other team's offense, they need to have the speed to cover the receivers and make the plays.
"Essentially, that is how you win the game, if you miss your chance or mess up, it could cost the team points," said senior safety James Brindley.
Brindley enters his senior season ranked No. 2 on USU's career interception return list with 186 yards on six interceptions. Last season Brindley had three interceptions, which led USU and was tied for eighth in the Western Athletic Conference along with tied for 96th in NCAA. He also made 75 tackles (44 solo, 31 assists), which was third for USU and tops for an Aggie defensive back, ranking 14th in the WAC statistics.
With returning players like Brindley and senior cornerback Kejon Murphy, speed should not be a problem. They may be small in stature but they are tough and capable of getting the job done.
"There are a lot of benefits to doing a pressure defense," said Murphy. "You can create more turnovers and interceptions because the offense doesn't know what the defense is going to do."
In 2008, Murphy ranked 10th overall on the team and fourth among defensive backs with 30 tackles (19 solo, 11 assists), including 1.5 tackles for loss (4 yards), and he also had two interceptions and two pass break-ups.
Along with speed, the defense also needs to be tough and experience never hurts. Senior linebacker Paul Igboeli brings this toughness and experience back to the team, anchoring the Aggies' defense.
Igboeli has 242 career tackles under his belt and earned second-team All-WAC honors in 2008. He enters his senior season in hot pursuit of both USU's and the WAC's career tackles list needing 63 more tackles to make to the conference's top ten list and 85 more to reach Utah State's career top 10 tackles list.
Last year, Igboeli was second on the team and 12th in the WAC with 78 tackles (42 solo, 36 assists). He also had six tackles for loss, four pass break-ups, two fumble recoveries, one interception, and a blocked field goal.
Andersen said that pressure defense is not the only defense the team is implementing, but it will be the main focus.
"We are going to move our guys around because our team is not real big and if you're not big you cannot let the offense know where you are. The team is going to use some disguise defense and zone defense to keep the players moving around and the offense on its toes," Andersen said.
"I have great confidence in our schematics for this season and I have confidence in our kids," said Busch.
Since the coaching staff is all new the team is starting new. The coaches do not want to focus on the past and any of the starters from last year are going to have to fight for their position on the field. No one is receiving special treatment.
Along with the Murphy, Brindley and Igboeli, the USU defense also is returning senior defensive linemen Alan Bishop, Casey Davis and Darby Golden, along with junior defensive lineman Nathan Royster and sophomore linebacker Bobby Wagner. All of whom will push the team and help create wins in the fall.
Wagner is third among returners in tackles, behind Igboeli and Brindley, as he had 51 (20 solo, 31 assists) in his freshman season, while Bishop is the top returning defensive lineman with 37 stops (13 solo, 24 assists), including 4.5 tackles for loss and one sack a year ago. Golden added 26 tackles (10 solo, 16 assists) with four tackles for loss and two sacks, while Davis had 17 stops (7 solo, 10 assists) with 1.5 TFL and one sack before a knee injury halted his season after only six games.
Andersen will officially unveil his Aggie defense against a familiar foe, as Utah State opens the 2009 season against his former team, Utah on Thursday, Sept. 3 at Salt Lake City.
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