if they do…its not because of weather.Every coach that has ever come to UConn, including the current OC, has said "first we have to establish the ground game".
To be fair what we saw from Charlton after one half is what we've seen after 25 games....
A defense that fits a recruiting paradigm is actually a really smart and interesting way to move forward as a program.Good overall read from Aman Kidwai @ Husky Football Forum:
Matt Brock is taking the UConn defense in a new direction
The Huskies are looking at a scheme change as Jim Mora filled one of the glaring holes on this team.open.substack.com
-> Strategically, it’s a defense that makes sense for UConn in a few ways. The 3-3-5 has been known to be an answer to spread passing offenses, a concept that almost all teams use in some form.
From a recruiting standpoint, if traditional beefy tackles and taller edge rushers are being sought out by major (wealthier) programs, then some great DE/DT and DE/LB tweeners might be available for programs like UConn to recruit and offer a place to shine. A DB/LB tweener who’s either a step slow or not big enough to get a look from the top of the P4 could find a good-fit opportunity in this style of defense.
The defense has also been successful. Arnett, who brought the 3-3-5 to Mississippi State, has said that keeping offenses on their toes by mixing up the numbers on the line of scrimmage and unpredictable stunts and shifts contributed to his teams’ defensive success.
The Bulldogs’ “bend but don’t break” approach with six players in the box made them susceptible to the run but overall their defenses performed well.
Though the team finished 5-7 and 72nd in the country in overall efficiency last year, the Bulldogs were stronger defensively, ranked 49th in the country in FEI compared to an offense ranked 104th. The previous season, they finished 9-4 with the 14th-ranked defense and 14th overall ranking in FEI.<-
I seem to remember that Crocker’s 3-3-5 was totally fixed. I think a 3-3-5 that sends 4 in, and that 4th could be any of 8, could work.
It is probably true that the players weren’t proficient at running the new defense but they were okay in Diaco’s defense. Just feel it is not fair to blame the players as RE used it as an excuse for mismanagement.
The players were recruited for a different system. Diaco' s recruiting was not good and as PP's guys left, they were replaced by bigger slower players. Crocker told me that none of the 3 levels had the required speed for that D and they tried to move guys a level closer to the LOS to get more speed in. It obviously did not work.
That lack of speed was probably why they looked fixed to me. /s
Stay on topic. It’s the DC here. There are dozens of other topics u can share your OC brilliance in.
Air Raid is designed to get in a shootout and puts a lot of pressure on a D. Watch a B12 game - first one to 50 wins.
That makes sense to me. Those guys were recruited for a different system. Maybe a move to the 3-3-5
That is true but it matters where the emphasis is in recruiting. If you play 5 dbacks you probably want to recruit more dbacks than down linemen. And the type of back matters too. I suspect you need some size for example.
Totally agree. Barring going for a tackle, at just try to strip the blasted ball away.
While I agree speed is important for every [position on the field. The problem against NC State wasn't speed. It was offensive players breaking tackles, UConn players not wrapping up, just throwing shoulders and hoping it would bring guys down. And yes, they wanted it more.
UConn Football Hires Jason Thoren as Senior Defensive Analyst - University of Connecticut Athletics
STORRS, Conn. - UConn head football coach Jim Mora announced the addition of Jason Thoren as the program's new senior defensive analyst.uconnhuskies.com
-> Thoren joins the Huskies after spending the 2023 season as a defensive senior analyst at Mississippi State. His focus was as an assistant linebacker coach, working with the top two tacklers in the SEC in Nathanial Watson (137 tkls) and Jett Johnson (130 tkls).<-
