Defense Primed for Veterans to Lead the Way
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Written by Matt Smith
Chad Wilt met with the media for his first Monday morning press conference with the Hoosiers. The defense will look to get back to what they were during the 2020 season with an emphasis on turnovers and short drives.
The first position group that has been a question was the defensive line. Wilt said the whole group has “a great mindset and approach,” collectively. The veteran players such as Demarcus Elliot and Sio have been doing what they always do.
However, there are new faces to the defensive line this year that have impressed as well. Names such as JH Tevis and PJ Lucas. They have all really been coming together. James Head also had a great camp.
“The older guys are taking the right leadership and in the right ways, being themselves,” Wilt said, “ They’re going to have to play a lot of guys in the right ways.”
With Tom Allen calling the plays for the defense, Wilt plans to be on the sidelines with the players during the games. He will mainly be assisting Allen so he can be head coach as well. Wilt will be handling personnel, sideline adjustments, and working how they have their game plan mid game.
The Hoosiers now turn their attention to their opening game against Illinois. Chase Brown is a very talented running back who Wilt is very familiar with as he coached against him at Minnesota. Brown rushed for 100 yards last week as well.
“He’s a talented back, and they have a great plan for how they want to use him,” Wilt said. “ When you look at their offense, they have balance, they ran for more yards, but some of that is distorted at the end.”
The Illini do a great job of distributing the ball to their receivers. Tommy Devito had a nice game, but they look to run the football as most Hoosiers do.
One of the biggest positives for the defense is the veteran leadership they have in Tiawan Mullen and Cam Jones. Wilt also brought up Jaylin Williams, Devon Matthews, and Bryant Fitzgerald in the secondary as leaders.
“Tremendous,” Wilt said. “Those two young men, the leadership we have on defense is a strength for us, just having so many older veteran players. They know how to handle their business and allow them to hold others accountable.”
A big key to the new guys coming around are the early enrollees that came in spring ball and had a chance to learn the new system.
The mantra for the defense this year is “swarm d,” this means having fresh legs and having all the players swarm the ball. Wilt said the Hoosiers are fortunate to have a bunch of guys that can play in order to keep players fresh.