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Princeton University Athletics
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Football Coach Views Defense, Overall Program Direction In Part Two Of Spring Chat
May 03, 2006 | Football
May 3, 2006
The following is part two of the annual spring chat with Princeton head football coach Roger Hughes. To read part one, click here.
In part two of Roger Hughes' annual chat with GoPrincetonTigers.com, the Princeton football coach looks at the 2006 defense and special teams, both of which have big shoes to to fill. He also shares his opinions on recruiting, play-calling and the overall view of his football team on campus.
Let's talk about the defense, and we'll start with the overall scheme. You moved to the 3-4 two years ago because of the quality linebackers you had. With the great class of 2006 guys finished, will you stay 3-4 or more to the 4-3?
Our plan is to stay 3-4 because of the pressure it puts on the offense. There is the pressure to send four players from either side. It gives us the flexibility to try to get our best pass rusher on an opposing team's worst lineman. There's also the ability to look very complex but actually be in a pretty simple defense. The linebackers can move around and try to force single-teaming by the offensive linemen as much as possible. They can also try to manipulate their protections so we can try and get on the man side of the protection. We would like to stay 3-4 for those reasons. Of course, there will be times when the 4-3 makes sense for us in terms of the personnel we want on the field. It will be difficult to replace the high quality of the linebackers from last year. Abi Fadeyi was a very special player, and we're still looking for his replacement. I think Luke Steckel and Pat McGrath have worked hard, and they'll be great technicians who will know exactly where to go, but I'm not sure they'll have the ability to run people down from the backside like Abi did. Justin Stull was a great leader. He called defenses and was always in the right place. We're looking for that guy right now. Doori Song did a good job in the spring game and has taken major steps towards being that guy. Rob Holuba did a nice job last year, and we're trying to figure out who takes that spot. A kid who has really come on at the nickel position has been Brig Walker, who had a great spring. He's really started to play at the level we had expected from him. He's been hampered with some back problems throughout his career, but I give him credit for working his tail off.
Walker is a guy that Coach Dobes has specifically talked about as being the potential "impact" player from the linebacker spot next year. Is there something specific about the way he plays that could make him a top linebacker in the league next season?
Speed is one. He's very fast off the edge. Number two, he's getting much better instincts about what is developing in front of him. Brig was a little mechanical when he got here. He's such a bright kid that he wants to process all the data, and he would analyze it all before he would react. Now it's becoming more instinctual than analytical, and he can make his reaction right away. He needs to be an impact player for us next year.
Even with just three guys, your line has the potential to be the strongest unit on the defense. It's a pretty young group who was hampered with some injuries this spring, but what are your thoughts on the line and what it could develop into next fall?
You start with Jake Marshall, who I thought just had the best spring of his career. He's back to the point that we thought he could be prior to his knee injury at the end of his high school career. Mike Meehan's done a nice job at defensive end. He's a bright kid who does a good job reading the option and knowing all of his responsibilities at the position. Pete Buchignani did not practice this spring because of a hamstring pull, but based on last year, he brings a physicality and a quickness to the nose guard position. Tom Methvin came on late last year and was having a great spring before he got nicked up a little at the end. He's one of the fastest guys on our team, running a 4.6 at defensive end. He should be a great pass rusher. He's very strong and his work ethic is remarkable. Take those four guys and a couple others, you hope to get a solid rotation going to stay fresh, because we want to constantly put pressure on the quarterback without blitzing two other guys behind them.
You've always talked about recruiting character guys, and you take a kid like Methvin, who is young but still went down to New Orleans during Christmas break to help build houses.
And during spring break, I believe he went to Mexico to build down there. He's a remarkable story. If you watched him at the end of spring, when he couldn't have contact, he was running stadium steps. So everybody else who couldn't have contact was running stadium steps with him. He's a great leader, and it sounds clich?, but he's everything you want in a player. He's always on time, he works hard, he cares about other people and he gives back to other people outside of football. If you're writing a prescription of what your football team should be about, Tom Methvin would be that prescription.
In the defensive backfield, it seems you'll have to change your philosophy somewhat. Nobody is going to be Jay McCareins next season, so opposing teams won't tilt the field just to stay away from him. Do you just go back to the days before him, or can you still keep something of the same philosophy at the position this year?
It depends on how our freshman defensive backs play. Barry Newell had a great spring. I thought Tom Hurley, before he bruised his knee, had a great spring. Their ability to play man-to-man and their ability to cover down the field will be crucial to us in trying to stay as aggressive on the defensive side as we had in the past. To this point, they've shown the ability to do that. Tim Strickland will be a four-year starter next season and will have started every game in his career entering next season. He gives you flexibility because he can play every position in the secondary. He can play free safety, strong safety or corner, and so he can be our utility man back there. He played mostly corner in the spring and did very well. The wild card is J.J. Artis, who can play corner or Tiger back, and I think is physical enough to play safety. He had surgery in the offseason and for the first time in a while, he feels healthy and is moving without pain. I think he can give us, if he reaches the potential I believe he has, that physical eraser that Jay McCareins gave us last year. If he can erase one receiver on the field, that gives us more flexability on the field for our 10 to defend their 10.
Because of the way McCareins' played, it seemed that Tim Strickland got overlooked last season. The final few games of the season might have been the best of his career. You talked about his versatility, but is there a spot you think he is strongest and hopes he ends up at this fall?
I hope our corners hold up enough that he can play either a strong safety or a free safety. That would make us the best because I think he is one of the best at recognizing formations and getting us into the right coverages. I'd like to play him at free, where he really had a great final three or four games last year. Frankly, they went after him last year because they wouldn't go after Jay, and that hurt us at first, but he regrouped and made major impact plays to win games at the end of the season, like the overtime interception against Cornell.
Is there a specific defensive stat - like run defense, pass defense, third down efficiency - that you really focus on to determine the success of your defense?
Scoring defense. Scoring defense is the No. 1 correlating factor for winning teams. I think we had the No. 1 scoring defense in the league last year. The other three things we focus on are red-zone efficiency, both offense and defense, and turnovers. We had the No. 1 offensive and defensive red-zone efficiency last year. With turnovers, we made a +7 turnaround from '04 to '05 and we ended up in the positive figures at the end of the season. That's a huge difference, and we'll continue to emphasize that.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Moving to special teams, losing the Ivy League career leader in field goals is a major hole, but Conner Louden looked good in the spring? Do you feel that spot will be fine in the fall?
I think so. Conner has a major leg. He might not have Javarone's accuracy, but he really did well in the spring. We recruited a good kicker as well, so there will be a competition, but if Conner continues to improve his accuracy, with his leg strength we could actually be better at that spot next year, and that's saying a lot after the season Derek had.
You have used two major returners over the last two years in Greg Fields and Jay McCareins. With those two gone, where do you turn?
We're looking for a couple of impact players there, but we have options. Strickland can return kicks. Artis can return kicks. R.C. Lagomarsino, Pete Ploszek and Brian Brigham can all fill that role. We don't worry to much about that in the spring, we really focus on offense and defense, so that's a part of the equation we'll have to focus on in the fall. Jay and Greg were two special return men for us, so it's going to be tough to match their efforts, but we aren't limited in candidates.
I guess punting isn't an issue for next year, but do you think Colin McDonough is as good at his position as any returning player is in the league at their own position?
He's certainly right up there. The best compliment I can give him, and coaches will know what I mean, is that he isn't a kicker, he's a football player. He's a terrific athlete and he has been very important in our placekicking as well as the holder. He has a calming effect there and will help whoever kicks next year. One other factor in punting was long-snapper Ryan Pritchard, who did a great job for us in the fall. He was hurt this spring, but he should be fine in the fall, and I obviously feel very good about our punt game.
OTHER ASPECTS OF THE PROGRAM
A couple more general questions. Ivy League rules don't allow us to announce names yet, but what was your overall sense on recruiting?
I think, early in the process, I was frustrated because for whatever reason, things were happening a little slower. There's no one reason it happened slower, it's just how it went. Looking back on it now, we got our No. 1 guy at a number of positions and our No. 2 guy at a number of other positions, so we feel good about that. I am pleased with the linebackers we got, especially after the graduation of last year's guys. I'm pleased with the wideouts we got. We're pleased with the quarterback we got, the defensive backs and time will tell with other positions, like our linemen. Overall, I feel like it's a strong group, and we need it to be to continue building a winning culture.
You went back to calling plays last year. How was that transition, and did you enjoy returning to that role?
Any person who called plays enjoys doing it. I felt like [offensive coordinator] Dave Rackovan and I had a great system going, similar to the one we had at Dartmouth, where I would call plays on the field and Rack would be in the booth overseeing it all. To be honest, because of what he was seeing in the booth, he probably called just as many plays as I did. He moved to special teams coordinator as well last year, but he was still an integral part of the offense and deserves a lot of credit for the offensive calls last year.
Finally, despite the result, the atmosphere at the Yale game last year was different than it's been in a long time. Obviously, the hopes for a bonfire were part of it, but do you think that can be recaptured next year?
I do. Obviously our success was part of it, going for an Ivy title, and the bonfire was part of it too. But I also believe the way kids conduct themselves on campus was a very important part of it too. We didn't have off-the-field incidents. These are kids who are terrific ambassadors for football on campus with their peers, professors and the University administration. I know President Tilghman has been a tremendous supporter of what we're doing here, and that has a trickle-down effect on the rest of the faculty and administration. As long as our kids keep making good decisions, and I believe in them, I think the bond will continue to grow on campus. We weren't just on the back page of the student newspaper this year, we were on the front of it. It might seem like a little thing, but to me it says something. Maybe it's cool again to go to a football game or be a fan of the team. These kids deserve that because of what they do and give to Princeton both on and off the field.