John Peterson/Icon Sportswire
(Josh Stevenson and John Swedlund both contributed to this report)
Continuing a head coaching career that spans different decades, systems and personnel, third-year Nebraska football head coach Mike Riley has turned away from the 4-3 scheme that Husker fans know so well and brought in Bob Diaco to implement a new 3-4 defense.
As a kid, Riley grew up playing in the 3-4 and then recognized its potential later on as he used it in the CFL and won the league’s prized Grey Cup twice. With his experience, Riley clearly understands the power and versatility of this defense and what it can bring to a football team.
Riley spoke about the transition before Nebraska kicked off spring ball earlier this year. He knows that the 3-4 isn’t a band-aid that will magically turn the Blackshirts into a powerhouse unit but rather something that he believes will help the team improve and turn around its defensive culture.
“When you change defense, I didn’t do that to start over in development. It’s going to take some extra work. There is a transition in learning. But we’re doing this for the picture to be better in 2017.”
The 3-4 offers distinct advantages in being able to throw different concepts at opposing offenses without giving away what’s coming prior to the snap. Notably, the 3-4 look allows a defense to mask its concepts compared to other schemes by showing nearly the same front on every single play. Diaco discussed this during implementation in April.
“One of the beauties of the way we do our business is the offensive players have to make a post-snap decision where the fourth, fifth and/or sixth pass rusher might come from.”
Suffice to say that while the 3-4 defense will be new to many fans, it is something the coaching staff is extremely comfortable with and checks all the boxes for building a successful scheme for the Blackshirts.
Position Overviews
Secondary
Strong Safety (SS) – tends to be the more versatile of the two safety positions and is counted on to lay a big hit on a receiver crossing the middle, providing quality support against the run and maintaining zone coverage when defending the pass. The ideal strong safety build is someone who is fast, a hard hitter and physically could be considered undersized linebacker.
The strong safety position also appears to be in good hands with returning starter Aaron Williams leading the pack. In a breakout sophomore season, Williams was responsible for three interceptions and six tackles for loss setting him up to be a critical piece in the secondary this fall. Should Williams build upon his sophomore campaign, the Husker secondary would be poised to take another step forward in 2017.
The late Bob Elliott had plenty of praise for him following a practice this past spring.
“Aaron Williams is as smart a player as I’ve ever been around. He’s grasping things that I never dreamed that a safety could grasp this quickly.”
Strong Safety
- Jr. Aaron Williams
- Jr. Antonio Reed
- RS Fr. Tony Butler
Free Safety (FS) – lines up further from the line of scrimmage on the short side of the field and typically lends themselves to helping to provide coverage against wide receivers. They’re also notable ballhawks and adept at reading the quarterback to anticipate a pass.
From a coverage standpoint, they’re primarily responsible for covering the deep half of the field and are the last line of defense. This is why you saw a player coming from out of frame to step in front of a wide receiver and knock away or intercept the ball many times last season.
After a strong spring from senior Josh Kalu, the starting job appears is to be his to lose at this point. Recognized this spring by Elliott, he has progressed quickly at his new position leading Diaco to heap high praise and raise expectations to match.
“He would be a very, very good corner, maybe even a great corner, but in my mind there’s no doubt: He is and/or will be one of the best safeties in the country, if not the very best safety in the country.”
Free Safety
- Sr. Joshua Kalu
- Sr. Kieron Williams
Cornerbacks
In Diaco’s revamped 3-4, the Huskers will rely on two different cornerback positions that fit slightly different skill sets: boundary and field cornerbacks.
Field Cornerback – has more space to run in due to defending the wide side of the field and as such tends to be stronger in his coverage skills. As the field corner typically lines up in front of the strong safety — who will more frequently support against the run — they see more one-on-one matchups as they have less help over the top when the strong safety plays shallower or blitzes.
With the summer injury to senior Chris Jones, Lamar Jackson looks to be the Huskers No. 1 field corner through the first week of fall camp after gaining valuable experience and playing time last season as a true freshman.
Field Cornerback
- So. Lamar Jackson
- So. Eric Lee/RS Fr DiCaprio Bootle
Boundary Cornerback – is also well versed in coverage as the free safety on his side of the ball is responsible for playing the back half of the field and will not always be there to lend a hand. .
Playing on the short side of the field, the boundary cornerback tends to be a bigger, physical corner as both running and passing plays will frequently come to their side of the field leading inevitably to more contact. They need to have the ability to cover as well as shed blocks and make tackles.
Nebraska is testing young scholarship cornerbacks Eric Lee and DiCaprio Bootle at the boundary position this fall. While the position is up for grabs, we’ve seen good things from Lee during the first week of camp indicating a possible inside track. That said, don’t count out either Bootle or walk-on Jeremiah Stovall as both players have made big plays during camp ensuring picking a starter will be a very difficult decision for the coaches.
Boundary Cornerback
- So. Eric Lee
- RS Fr. DiCaprio Bootle or Soph Jeremiah Stovall
Linebackers
The linebacking corps is where the most visible changes in terms of player names and positions will occur. There’s already been a lot of position shuffling through the summer and into the first week of fall camp as coaches figure out where each player has the best opportunity to excel. Fans should expect the musical chairs to continue as the staff figures out what combinations of players work best.
Taking a cue from the cornerback positions, there are four linebacker positions fans will see in Diaco’s base defense: boundary outside linebacker (CAT), weakside inside linebacker (WILL), strongside inside linebacker (MIKE) and field-side outside linebacker (DOG).
MIKE linebacker – lines up on the strong side of the field and has an important, almost thankless role to play on defense. They’re responsible for plugging holes, taking on blockers and blitzing the line of scrimmage.
The MIKE position can feature multiple players throughout a game as the down and distance will dictate what assignments they take on. In obvious passing down situations, you may replace someone built for taking on blocks with someone else who has a higher level of blitzing skills or a greater coverage skill set.
Reports from fall camp indicate that Chris Weber leads the competition at MIKE. Heralded true freshman Avery Roberts seems to have picked up where he left off this past spring and will certainly push the former walk-on throughout the fall.
Riley had the following to say in reference to Weber at the MIKE spot: “He’s a really good fit into what we’re doing now. He’s physically a good fit, mentally a good fit. In making a tough transition, we’ll need smart guys like Chris to be in there kind of leading the way.”
MIKE Inside Linebacker
- Sr. Chris Weber
- Fr. Avery Roberts
- RS Fr. Collin Miller
WILL linebacker – reaps the benefits of all the dirty work that the MIKE will embrace. Traditionally, they are someone who is smart and can quickly diagnose the best action to take on a play. While the WILL won’t go untouched, they are adept at shedding blocks and crashing down into a ball carrier from multiple angles.
Counted on to contribute immediately as a true freshman, junior Dedrick Young enters his third year in the Husker defense after setting records for tackles as a true freshman. His game experience and ability has positioned himself to be the starter this fall. However, sophomore Mohamed Barry looks to grow from a reserve role in 2016 and has reshaped his body to compete with Young for the starting spot.
WILL Inside Linebackers
- Jr. Dedrick Young
- So. Mohamed Barry
- So. Tyrin Ferguson
DOG linebacker (field linebacker) – is normally the stronger and most athletic outside linebacker as they will routinely be facing off with tight end looking to move them out of the way against the run. While strength is important, athleticism is equally as important as the DOG needs to be able to provide valuable pass coverage when working against the pass.
Expect to see senior Marcus Newby starting at DOG but battling Luke Gifford for the role during at least the early stages of camp. Newby has shown flashes of talent throughout his career registering playing time in every season since he’s been on campus. He has the proven ability to both drop into coverage and rush the passer.
DOG Linebacker
- Sr. Marcus Newby
- Jr. Luke Gifford -OR- RS Fr. Quayshon Alexander
CAT linebacker (boundary linebacker) – is opposite of the DOG and plays a multitude of roles. He specializes more in rushing the passer as he is less likely to see a tight end blocking their path to the quarterback. Similar to other positions, if no one player separates themselves from the pack, you will likely see an “every down” CAT linebacker along with specialized packages featuring the best pass rusher/run defender based on down and distance factors.
CAT may be one of the foggiest positions on the depth chart right now. Previously a defensive end in the Huskers’ 4-3 defense, sophomore Alex Davis has packed on 30 pounds of muscle and worked primarily in pass rush situations. After the first week of fall camp, he appears to be shoulder-to-shoulder with junior Sedrick King as both have received nods of approval from the staff.
An interesting name in the mix is true freshman Guy Thomas. While inexperienced, Thomas reported in exceptional shape this summer and is a very talented pass rusher. Linebackers coach Trent Bray was excited to toss Thomas to the wolves and see what he could do during camp thanks to the recruit’s preparation. If there isn’t much room separating players on the position’s depth chart, Thomas could be in line to play immediately.
“We’re giving him reps and force-feeding him the stuff and seeing how he can adapt to it, what he can do for us, if he can help us this year,” Bray had to say of Thomas following Nebraska’s second practice of fall camp. “He’s around 230 right now, so he’s physically capable of doing a lot of the jobs we’d ask.”
CAT (boundary) linebacker
- So. Alex Davis
- Jr. Sedrick King
- RS Fr. Pernell Jefferson -OR- Fr. Guy Thomas
Defensive Line
With all the talk of cats, dogs, boundary and fields, the defensive line positions features minimal changes in vocabulary. The notable change is the elimination of the defensive tackle position and its replacement, the nose tackle.
Nose Tackle – is a large, two gap-clogging war daddy who will see few one-on-one matchups compared to a defensive tackle. While defensive tackles work in tandem to control the interior of the offense, the nose tackle is responsible for eating up two interior lineman on every down. In obvious passing down, this can free up a linebacker to drop into coverage or allow the defense to bring multiple blitzers improving the odds of success.
As of this writing, Mick Stoltenberg appears to command the starting role with Peyton Newell backing him up. Not a position to be unaffected by the 3-4 change, Khalil Davis has moved from defensive tackle over to defensive end but could provide valuable snaps if needed.
Nose Tackle (NT)
- Jr. Mick Stoltenberg
- Jr Peyton Newell
- Fr. Damion Daniels
Defensive End – will generally feature larger players than Husker fans are used to. They are much more responsible for setting an edge and will feature larger and longer linemen who have the ability to occupy a lot of space. These players will push the gaps between the guards and tackles creating more matchups for the linebackers to use their quickness to beat an opposing tackle or dart through an interior hole to disrupt a play.
There are several different techniques and concepts the defensive ends can play, however, without going into great detail the simplest explanation is that their stunts and moves will work in tandem with the linebackers behind them. You should expect to see a lot of situational substitution at the position this season similar to what Alabama does with their linemen during obvious down and distance situations.
Through one week of fall practice, it appears Freedom Akinmoladun and Carlos Davis will start at the defensive end spots but both Khalil Davis and Daishon Neal have shown flashes this fall likely earning them playing time depending on game situations. No lack of talent or depth along the defensive line. What a good problem to have.
Defensive Ends
- Jr. Freedom Akinmoladun & Soph. Carlos Davis
- Soph. Khalil Davis & Daishon Neal
- RS Fr. Ben Stille and Fr. Deontre Thomas
Nebraska football fans have a lot to digest until the season kicks off on September 2 and the expectations for Diaco’s defense have already begun falling into place. There’s no grace period for Riley’s newest coordinator to implement his new scheme.
For the first time in years, the Huskers feature an offense that should be able to move the ball efficiently and effectively. To reach the next level of competition, they will need an assist from the new defense to help them pull away from opposing teams through one of the most difficult schedules in the entire Big Ten.
A week one tuneup against Arkansas State is the first and only test the staff will be allowed before facing off against a revamped Oregon Ducks squad that will be a firm measuring stick. Both the Big Red and its fans had better be ready to be tested early and often this fall.
The subject of the 3-4 is long and quite in-depth. If you crave more information on the 3-4 and Bob Diaco’s history with it, check out some of these great reads we used as a reference:
NFL 101: The Basics of the 3-4 Defense
Examining LB Job responsibilities in the 3-4
UConn coach Bob Diaco sticks with bend, don’t break philosophy on defense
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