DC Keith Patterson talked with @C. Level and @A. Dickens on Tech Talk earlier today as the Tech coaches get prepared for National Signing Day. Here is the Q&A transcribed.
Audio Link
You all sign about a dozen kids in December, how much activity do you expect tomorrow?
“I think it’ll probably be not as many but I think the key is making sure that we get the right ones and I think we’re sitting pretty good with most of the guys that we’ve targeted but the dynamic of the Early Signing Period and now the traditional signing period, has really changed the game.”
For coaches that are in your position, taking over a program in early to mid-December, is the early period a good thing or a bad thing because you do lock up a lot of your (players) but at the same time the pool available kids is smaller in February.
“The thing when you come in right at the end of it, right at the end of the Early Signing Period, I think the biggest thing for us, because we build our recruiting base on building relationships with the individual, because you want to make sure that you’re detailed, and do a nice of evaluating who you’re getting. So, that was our main priority coming in there toward the end of the first signing period. I kind of have mixed emotions on whether or not I like it or I do not like it. I’m a traditionalist. I like the way it was done before. To me, if they were going to have an Early Signing Period, I would prefer it to be earlier in the summer, coming out of the summer camps. You’d have the chance to go out and do your spring evaluations, you bring them into your camps and then it doesn’t get into where you’re affecting the high school season. You take, for example, some of the young men we were recruiting playing in some of the state championship games, well, you’re sitting there and you’re trying to do visits, and trying to get them on trips, and they’re trying to prepare to win a state championship, so I can see both sides of it. The good and the bad.”
You guys have hit the ground running from a recruiting standpoint, how much time have you been able to spend with guys like Broderick Washington and Eli Howard and Jordyn Brooks and some of your core guys that’ll be on the team next year.
“Most of it, obviously, has been over the phone. Just trying to reach out to those guys and so that’s been a major emphasis – because that’s a priority, I mean, we’ve addressed them as a unit, before we hit the road December, then obviously they’re gone for break over Christmas and then you get back and you’re out on the road again, so that’s been a major priority, an emphasis, with our defensive staff for sure over the course of the last two days just spending time with our guys, getting them into our offices and getting to know each one of those guys better and find out what makes them tick.”
You’ve alluded to this whenever you guys, in the initial press conferences, the scheme-wise, a lot of people think, ‘These guys are trying to coach defense in the Big 12 it’s just a nightmare’ and all that but you actually kind of turned the tables a little bit and said ‘We’re going to be really aggressive, this is what we do, a lot of blitzes’ and things like that and make it fun for the kids and try to create your own luck, if you will. Take listeners through what your scheme is.
“We’re an aggressive, attacking-style defense. I just believe in today’s football, the way there’s a fault, your defense has to be built to compliment your offense. When you play a hurry up, no-huddle offense, they have to get into rhythm and to do that you just can’t sit there and allow people to drive the ball, drive the ball, drive the ball and be a bend don’t break defense. I think you’ve got to get people behind the chains in early downs and then you’ve got to mix up and be able to disguise, moving in and out of coverages and blitzes, and things that keep people from trying to draw a beat on you. So, we’re very multiple with our scheme but there’s a simplicity with it, the complexity of our system as well. So, we’ve built it obviously of trying to create negative yardage plays which we think are going to lead to three and outs, lead to takeaways. We love the challenge of it. I mean, over the course of the last four jobs that I’ve had, I’ve had the opportunity to work with Gus Miles, David Holgorsen, David Yost, Mike Norvell, Chad Morris, those were our five offensive coordinators, so I’ve just tried to build a system that’s designed to not necessarily stop but for sure try and impact and slow those guys down, so we definitely look forward to the challenge.”
A lot of folks griping about the Super Bowl, on Sunday, I would guess as a defensive guy, you loved that, 13-3, result.
“It was awesome. I mean, I don’t know what the problem was. At the end of the day, I love the nature of now the college influence with Kliff going to the Cardinals, and the influence that McVay and those guys are going to have. These guys, I’ve said it, I’ve said it the David Yosts, the Gus Miles, the Mike Leaches, the guys are modern day innovators of the game. I think defensively, we’re all trying to sit here, we were on the ropes for about four or five years, trying to figure out how in the world do you slow this stuff down? As soon as you thought you’re closing the gap, here comes the RPOs. It’s like offenses are playing with 12 people and used to, when you went into shotgun, you didn’t have to worry about defending the quarterback you knew it was going to be pass, now all of a sudden, these guys are innovators of the game, they’ve changed the game, and I love it. It’s challenging it’s stretched all of us defensively to become better coaches.”
Coach Beard is big on position less guys, you can switch off defensively on that. I’ve heard you talk about kind of hybrid-type guys that’s the football version of that where you can put your hand on the ground, let you go after the quarterback, let you drop you in coverage, how big are some of those hybrid-types in today’s defenses in trying to play in the Big 12?
“You have to have them. You can’t just be, ‘oh I’m a linebacker, oh I’m this’, because you have to play so much situational defense now. We have multiple sub packages. I can name it off the top of my head we probably have six different substitutional packages that we play, so therefore what you play on base down may not be what you play on say third and medium and what you play on third and medium may not be the position that you play on third down and long. We’re the same. I tell you what, we get our guys playing on defense like our basketball team does we’ll be in great shape.”
Audio Link
You all sign about a dozen kids in December, how much activity do you expect tomorrow?
“I think it’ll probably be not as many but I think the key is making sure that we get the right ones and I think we’re sitting pretty good with most of the guys that we’ve targeted but the dynamic of the Early Signing Period and now the traditional signing period, has really changed the game.”
For coaches that are in your position, taking over a program in early to mid-December, is the early period a good thing or a bad thing because you do lock up a lot of your (players) but at the same time the pool available kids is smaller in February.
“The thing when you come in right at the end of it, right at the end of the Early Signing Period, I think the biggest thing for us, because we build our recruiting base on building relationships with the individual, because you want to make sure that you’re detailed, and do a nice of evaluating who you’re getting. So, that was our main priority coming in there toward the end of the first signing period. I kind of have mixed emotions on whether or not I like it or I do not like it. I’m a traditionalist. I like the way it was done before. To me, if they were going to have an Early Signing Period, I would prefer it to be earlier in the summer, coming out of the summer camps. You’d have the chance to go out and do your spring evaluations, you bring them into your camps and then it doesn’t get into where you’re affecting the high school season. You take, for example, some of the young men we were recruiting playing in some of the state championship games, well, you’re sitting there and you’re trying to do visits, and trying to get them on trips, and they’re trying to prepare to win a state championship, so I can see both sides of it. The good and the bad.”
You guys have hit the ground running from a recruiting standpoint, how much time have you been able to spend with guys like Broderick Washington and Eli Howard and Jordyn Brooks and some of your core guys that’ll be on the team next year.
“Most of it, obviously, has been over the phone. Just trying to reach out to those guys and so that’s been a major emphasis – because that’s a priority, I mean, we’ve addressed them as a unit, before we hit the road December, then obviously they’re gone for break over Christmas and then you get back and you’re out on the road again, so that’s been a major priority, an emphasis, with our defensive staff for sure over the course of the last two days just spending time with our guys, getting them into our offices and getting to know each one of those guys better and find out what makes them tick.”
You’ve alluded to this whenever you guys, in the initial press conferences, the scheme-wise, a lot of people think, ‘These guys are trying to coach defense in the Big 12 it’s just a nightmare’ and all that but you actually kind of turned the tables a little bit and said ‘We’re going to be really aggressive, this is what we do, a lot of blitzes’ and things like that and make it fun for the kids and try to create your own luck, if you will. Take listeners through what your scheme is.
“We’re an aggressive, attacking-style defense. I just believe in today’s football, the way there’s a fault, your defense has to be built to compliment your offense. When you play a hurry up, no-huddle offense, they have to get into rhythm and to do that you just can’t sit there and allow people to drive the ball, drive the ball, drive the ball and be a bend don’t break defense. I think you’ve got to get people behind the chains in early downs and then you’ve got to mix up and be able to disguise, moving in and out of coverages and blitzes, and things that keep people from trying to draw a beat on you. So, we’re very multiple with our scheme but there’s a simplicity with it, the complexity of our system as well. So, we’ve built it obviously of trying to create negative yardage plays which we think are going to lead to three and outs, lead to takeaways. We love the challenge of it. I mean, over the course of the last four jobs that I’ve had, I’ve had the opportunity to work with Gus Miles, David Holgorsen, David Yost, Mike Norvell, Chad Morris, those were our five offensive coordinators, so I’ve just tried to build a system that’s designed to not necessarily stop but for sure try and impact and slow those guys down, so we definitely look forward to the challenge.”
A lot of folks griping about the Super Bowl, on Sunday, I would guess as a defensive guy, you loved that, 13-3, result.
“It was awesome. I mean, I don’t know what the problem was. At the end of the day, I love the nature of now the college influence with Kliff going to the Cardinals, and the influence that McVay and those guys are going to have. These guys, I’ve said it, I’ve said it the David Yosts, the Gus Miles, the Mike Leaches, the guys are modern day innovators of the game. I think defensively, we’re all trying to sit here, we were on the ropes for about four or five years, trying to figure out how in the world do you slow this stuff down? As soon as you thought you’re closing the gap, here comes the RPOs. It’s like offenses are playing with 12 people and used to, when you went into shotgun, you didn’t have to worry about defending the quarterback you knew it was going to be pass, now all of a sudden, these guys are innovators of the game, they’ve changed the game, and I love it. It’s challenging it’s stretched all of us defensively to become better coaches.”
Coach Beard is big on position less guys, you can switch off defensively on that. I’ve heard you talk about kind of hybrid-type guys that’s the football version of that where you can put your hand on the ground, let you go after the quarterback, let you drop you in coverage, how big are some of those hybrid-types in today’s defenses in trying to play in the Big 12?
“You have to have them. You can’t just be, ‘oh I’m a linebacker, oh I’m this’, because you have to play so much situational defense now. We have multiple sub packages. I can name it off the top of my head we probably have six different substitutional packages that we play, so therefore what you play on base down may not be what you play on say third and medium and what you play on third and medium may not be the position that you play on third down and long. We’re the same. I tell you what, we get our guys playing on defense like our basketball team does we’ll be in great shape.”
