The senior captain knows the statistics. His team has seen the rankings.
IU has been the last Big Ten team in defense each of the past three years, allowing 38.8 points and 527.9 yards per game last season. Among 125 major college teams, the Hoosiers ranked 123rd in total defense.
In games where IU held opponents under 41 points last season, the Hoosiers were a perfect 5-0. The problem was that the defense gave up 41 points or more seven times, each leading to a loss.
The reasons varied.
Lack of communication. Being unable to stop the run. Failing to create turnovers. These shortcomings all contributed to IU having one of the nation’s worst defensive units.
After IU’s final game against Purdue last season, senior linebacker David Cooper said his defense vowed to make a change. He said the defense was tired of taking the blame for IU not qualifying for a bowl game since 2007.
“We’ve talked about it,” Cooper said. “We’ve been talking about it since the end of the Purdue game ... this needs to be a different year for us.”
In the wake of last season’s defensive failures, former defensive coordinator Doug Mallory was fired. Brian Knorr was hired Jan. 20, bringing with him a new 3-4 defensive scheme and the goal of making IU’s defense respectable again.
Knorr spent the last six seasons coaching at Wake Forest, serving for the last three years as the defensive coordinator.
Under his guidance, the Wake Forest defense ranked No. 32, with 366.2 total yards allowed per game. In comparison, IU’s defense gave up an average of 528 yards a game.
IU Coach Kevin Wilson doesn’t expect the defense to be great. The Hoosier offense is one of the best in the country and can put up points.
If the defense — which returns 10 starters — can improve from being third worst in the country to being mediocre, it isn’t unlikely that the Hoosiers would find themselves playing in a bowl game for the first time since 2007, considering how close the team has been the last two years with a struggling defense.
“We’re not expecting it to be lights out, but you just want to see some consistent, constant improvement,” Wilson said.
Same players, new look
The excitement began the day Knorr started instillation of the 3-4 defense in the IU film room.
When Knorr began breaking down the scheme, Cooper said everyone on the defense instantly felt comfortable and got excited. The change rejuvenated a defense that had gotten used to being kicked around.
“It was kind of like, ‘Man, where has this been?,’” Cooper said. “It was new and we were ready to learn.”
Bud Wilkinson created the defensive alignment at Oklahoma in the late 1940s. Although Knorr’s variation of the 3-4 is a hybrid, the base defense consists primarily of three down linemen and four linebackers as opposed to the four lineman and three linebackers in IU’s defense last year.
The 3-4 is becoming increasingly popular in the Big Ten. In 2012, all 12 Big Ten teams used base defenses featuring four down linemen. Two years later, three Big Ten teams — ?Wisconsin, Maryland and IU — will operate mainly with three linemen and four linebackers.
The transition into the 3-4 didn’t come without its challenges. Many of IU’s personnel haven’t ever played in the defensive alignment and weren’t recruited for it, forcing some players to learn new positions.
Senior cornerback Michael Hunter said the closest he had gotten to playing with the 3-4 before Knorr came was on the virtual level. He likes to use it in the video game, NFL Madden, with his favorite team, the Philadelphia Eagles.
“To be honest, I’ve always played with the Eagles and they use the 3-4,” he said. “It’s definitely a lot more fun. If we’re all playing on the same page, all eleven guys are flying around.”
Anchoring the defensive line of the 3-4 scheme in the middle of the action is 6-foot-5, 325-pound nose guard Ralph Green III. Although he had never previously played in the 3-4, Green said the alignment allows for him to play to his full potential.
Green said the Hoosiers will use a deep rotation of players who are all comfortable playing multiple positions. He said the defensive line is deep enough with talent that starters and bench players can rotate to stay fresh without sacrificing on the field.
“Across the whole board, it’s a full rotation,” Green said. “We’re very comfortable with it. We all bought into the strategy.”
Because there’s one less player lined up at the line of scrimmage, offenses will sometimes game plan a rushing attack on the nose guard.
IU’s defense was often exposed last season by rushing attacks, surrendering 237.8 rushing yards per game.
“We’ve preached, ‘Stop the run,’” Knorr said. “Our focus is going to be on stopping the run so I would hope that our kids understand that and you realize that’s going to be the key.”
When the defensive line does get beat initially, it will be up to IU’s newly-structured core of linebackers to stop the ball.
The 3-4 adds an extra body at linebacker, allowing for IU to play with two typical middlelinebackers and two outside linebackers.
The Hoosiers are bigger in the middle with Simmons and Cooper working alongside each other on the inside.
On the outside, Simmons said junior Nick Mangieri is expected to rush the quarterback and swarm the ball. Senior Forisse Hardin will be more of a coverage player.
“ We’ve got a lot of young guys ready to make plays,” Simmons said. “Our linebackers are just real ?versatile.”
Behind them in the depth chart is a group of young linebackers like sophomore Clyde Newton and freshman Greg Gooch as just part of a rotation that Knorr said he feels comfortable mixing up.
He has been particularly pleased with the competition level he’s seen in practice at some positions.
But he wants more.
“I think that helps us get better,” Knorr said of the competition. “We need more. I think from the front position, some guys need to step up. Right now there’s not a huge difference between a lot of the guys.”
Creating chaos
Senior Tim Bennett’s face lights up when he talks about playing in the 3-4 and the possibilities it creates.
“The 3-4 scheme is all about getting the offense off their timing and kind of confusing them,” he said. “At the end of the day, they stress turnovers and getting the ball out.”
Even though there are only three defensive linemen, the Hoosiers will still typically rush four men at the quarterback. That means somebody else — a linebacker, a safety or a cornerback — will be blitzing.
Linebackers like Cooper will engage in constant mind-games with the opposing quarterback. Different players will show and disguise blitz to confuse the offense and force mistakes.
“It’s a real good defense that can cause a lot of chaos for an offense,” Cooper said. “He’s trying to find out what side of the blitz is coming, who’s dropping, who’s disguising and that right there can cause a quarterback to panic.”
Simmons said the Hoosiers want to play downhill more on defense. He wants to see the linebackers being proactive and getting into the backfield.
The Hoosiers only forced 20 turnovers last season. Simmons said there were flashes of great defense but that it needed to be more consistent.
Knorr has been emphasizing creating turnovers since January by showing players film of NFL defenses that wreak havoc on opposing offenses.
“Every day we emphasize, if somebody makes a takeaway, they’re recognized in front of the defense,” Knorr said. “Guys take pride when they get called out in front of the defense and showed on film.”
For Simmons, the formula is simple: more turnovers will equate to more wins.
“We’re trying to eliminate big plays and create big plays for us so we can give it to our offense because they do good things when they’ve got the ball,” Simmons said. “The more turnovers we can create, the more it increases the chances of us winning.”
Communication improving
When Simmons describes the Hoosiers’ improved defensive communication, it’s a bit like the description of a sixth sense.
When the team lines up, there are times where words don’t even need to be ?exchanged.
They communicate without talking.
“It just becomes second nature,” Simmons said. “A lot of the times, we just look at each other and we’re on the same page. We’ve just got a connection.”
He and Cooper both have said the players are closer than they’ve ever been. They’ve been spending so much time together, Cooper said it’s rare to see anybody alone.
The stronger relationships off the field have helped communication on plays.
Seniors like Cooper, Bennett and Bobby Richardson have been actively trying to keep the lines of communication open and holding people responsible, Knorr said.
Wilson said the defense has been the loudest it has been since he arrived in Bloomington.
The older players are playing with an increased sense of urgency and have been getting louder and holding teammates more accountable.
“I’ve been impressed by some of the seniors out there,” Knorr said. “They’re kind of pushing guys, getting upset on a third down period if we don’t convert or get off the field. It’s exciting some of the seniors we have showing leadership.”
New era for IU defense
IU’s defensive players have tried to make it clear — they think this season will begin a new era of defense at IU.
Cooper said he can feel it on the practice field. He senses it in the locker room.
His teammates have bought in.
“Attitude, confidence, intensity, swagger,” he listed off.
All have been ramped up.
“We’re going to go places where Indiana hasn’t ever been,” Green said. “I’m not just talking just to put it out there. I’m just talking beca use the stuff we do, the work we put in and the way Coach Wilson is treating us. He’s setting us up for success.”
The expectations have been outlined. Simmons said IU wants to create at least three turnovers per game, hold its opponent to under three yards per carry and allow less than 17 points per game.
The Hoosiers want improvement, and they aren’t afraid to set the bar high.
“We haven’t been playing as good as we needed to and to be honest, it’s kind of been on the defense,” Bennett said. “The offense has been holding up their end of the bargain, so definitely just trying to make some plays and go int o every game with a chip on our shoulder.”
During fall camp, the offense and defense compete for the right to wear the crimson-colored jersey, signifying which team was better the day before.
The defense started 3-0.
“I’m very optimistic about our defense,” junior quarterback Nate Sudfeld said.
Sudfeld has been lining up opposite of the defense in practice and said there is definite improvement.
“We have some good, young defensive players who will step up,” he said. “I will be surprised if our defense doesn’t ball out this year.”
It’s impossible to tell just how much improvement — if any — the Hoosier defense will have this year until games start. The first test will come at noon next Saturday against Indiana State.
It’s a new-look team and a clean slate for a defense that has been hearing about how bad it is for the last three years.
The only place the Hoosiers can stop those questions is on the playing field.
“Ya’ll gonna have to see it,” Cooper said. “I can’t wait until August 30th.”
