Texas defensive coordinator Chris Ash addressed the media during a Zoom call on Wednesday. Here are the highlights from his session.
--- Ash was asked what kind of defense he wants to install. He said he doesn't want to give away too many secrets. He said it's not about Xs and Os, but fundamentals. He wants a unit that can use its hands, execute at a high level and create takeaways on defense.
“I'm not giving away any secrets about what we're doing defensively, and I don't want to talk in detail about too many individuals, but I can talk just in generalities about what we want the defense to look like, what our vision is. The specific units need to play well for us to play well on defense. It's not about the Xs and Os, it's about the fundamentals. We want a defensive unit that plays really hard. We want a defensive unit that plays with outstanding fundamentals. We can use our hands. We can pursue the ball, and we can tackle well. We want a defensive unit that can execute consistently at a high level, and we don't beat ourselves with mental errors. We want a defensive unit that's fanatical about getting the ball. We need to create takeaways to win at a high level. We need to create takeaways on defense, and that's what we want to try to do defensively. I'm hoping that we can see a team out there that plays fast, is well-coached with the fundamentals, using our hands getting off blocks, pursuing the ball carrier, tackling, and working consistently going after the football with the ball carrier or the ball in the air and create takeaways. That's what we want to be able to do. In terms of our style of play, all positions have to play well. But I truly believe if you want to win, you have to do it up front with the defensive line. Our defensive line has to make plays for us. They have to be disruptive in the run game. They've got to be able to affect the quarterback … our corners are going to be up in the face and challenging receivers a lot.”
--- Ash said the defense is further along than he thought it would be and credited the players. He credits them for working on their own while away from campus:
"I can tell you right now, where we're at today, I'm very pleased and pleasantly surprised that we are further along than what I thought we would have been, and that's a credit to the players. They have bought into what we're doing. They've spent an insane amount of time on their own learning what we're asking them to do. They did a lot of work on their own in the summer leading up to the time that we could get our hands on them with the NCAA rules the way they are. So, there's a lot [credit] that goes to the players for me to say that we're further along than I thought we would be."
--- Ash on Joseph Ossai:
“Joseph is in a different position than what he played last year. I think the bowl game against Utah probably showed some signs of what his future could look like. We're very excited about Joseph. We’re excited about the whole defensive line. Right now, Joseph is one of the more experienced guys in that unit. We're going to expect him to make a lot of plays, and a guy we’re going to lean on both in the run game and in the pass game. I think he's got big-play potential. There's a lot of work that he still needs to get done before the foot hits the ball against UTEP, but I like where he's at, and he really likes what we’re doing with him.”
--- Ash said he is extremely pleased with all the freshmen class. He believes there are several guys who will contribute on defense or special teams. He said Alfred Collins and Vernon Broughton have been getting quality reps. He described them as big guys with good athleticism who can use their hands and rush the passer. He's not sure how much they will play this season, but he likes what he has seen from them.
--- Ash said they have experienced guys that can play in the secondary. He said the production they've had in the secondary is good. He said there is a lot of competition in that group, and believes there are a lot of guys they can trust.
--- Ash was asked about how to help players deal with the pressure they are facing right now. He said mental health issues are a real thing, and the goal is to get them help, not judge. Ash said they try to get players to know they aren't the only people on the team dealing with those challenges. In addition, it's okay if they need to take a step away from football if necessary.
--- Ash said he's learned a lot about technology and how to teach differently. They spoke about how to install concepts. Coaches did not throw a lot at the players initially to make sure they could evaluate fairly. He said coaches had to be strategic about it.
However, he said they are executing more at this moment than he thought they would, which he credits to the players.
--- Ash’s response when asked if he had to rethink tackling drills with the lack of contact practice:
“We didn't really rethink how we teach tackling. We had to rethink about how we could get the reps that we needed to improve our tackling. That was probably the biggest conversation piece that we had. It wasn't going to change our style or anything like that. It was just how are we going to get the reps? There's a fine balance that we had to attack at training camp. One, we needed to tackle. We needed to get some of the live reps, but we need to keep our team healthy. We could not go out there and do 11-on-11 live tackling every day. One, the rules don't permit it. Two, our players wouldn't hold up doing that. So, we had to create more one-on-one tackling situations, whether they were live to the ground, what we call thud, where we're getting in position to make the tackle. We worked a ton of it. We’ll continue to work a ton of it as we go up into our first game. I think we made up a lot of ground. I think the biggest thing was the players understanding what we were asking them to do in the different type of tackling situations that we're going to see. They understand it. They can watch film. If they miss a tackle, they don't need me to tell them why they missed it. They understand the fundamentals of it now. So, we spent a lot of time remotely trying to educate them on how we would tackle. Then we had to spend a lot of time thinking creatively about how we were going to get enough reps with the fundamentals, so they could master it.”
Ash said they have not mastered it, but during the past two scrimmages, their tackling has shown up on film.
--- Ash said they are trying to get as many players ready to play this year as possible because of Covid-19. He said the challenge was to make sure players got as many reps in practice as possible to get a three-deep for this season.
Ash said the Spur position is a tough one. He said they have to be tough enough and physical enough to play the run, but athletic and quick enough to play the slot. However, he is happy with what he has seen from the guys at that position.
--- Ash said he is lucky and blessed to be a football coach every day and coaching at Texas after losing his job at Rutgers.
--- Ash said you learn from every situation. He said people may not say he did a good job at Rutgers, but believes he left the program in a better situation than when he took it over
--- Ash said he plans to coach on the field. He was in the box for his entire career until Rutgers, describing that initial experience as different and weird. However, he wants to put people in the right places with the right eyes on game days and believes coaching from the sidelines is the best solution at Texas.
“My plan is to coach from the field. Until I became a head coach, I'd never been on the field. I'd been in the press box my whole career. Actually, when I moved on to the field the first game day that I was a head coach on the sideline, it was different. It was weird. Now having been on the sideline, and looking at our staff, that's the biggest thing, the strength of the staff. Putting people in the right place with the right eyes on game days so you get the right information. I think right now for me and our staff, it would be best served for me to be on the sideline here at the University of Texas.”
--- Ash said they have constant conversations with players about wearing a mask and social distancing when away from the field. However, he said there is nothing they can do to fully control what players do while away from the facility.
--- Ash said what stands out about the Big 12 is points per game and points per season in recent years. He said Big 12 teams get the ball out on the perimeter, and tempo might be bigger in this conference than other leagues.
--- Ash believes it's possible to have a good defense in the Big 12. He wanted to put together a scheme that allowed his unit to excel in this conference.
“Those things are challenges. When we got here and we started to put together the package, we had all of those things in mind. It wasn't like 'Hey, we're just going to come here and do what Chris Ash, or some other coach here, has done in the past.' We wanted to make sure, one, it fit our players. It fit the vision of what the head coach wanted. It fit with the players that we had on the roster. We weren't coming here and saying we needed to go recruit players to run a system. We wanted to build a system to fit the players we had here. Then the other part of it was we wanted to put together a system that we felt like could defend the teams in our league. And we want to make sure we had all those things from the start. Again, you know, only time will tell if we're able to accomplish that, but part of coming here, yeah, I wanted that challenge. I wanted to take that on. I wanted to prove to myself that we had the players. We could put together the scheme. We could build the culture defensively here. That we could go and play really good defense in this league. It doesn't have to be an all offensive league. Even though there are good coaches, good players, good systems, we play good defense here, too. I truly believe you've got to score points to win games, but you have to play really good defense to win championships. That combination is what we want to try to get here.”
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