JonDMiller
Publisher/Founder
COACH PARKER: All right. What do you want to argue about? (Laughter).
Q. What did you like so far that you've seen on tape of the defense the first four games?
COACH PARKER: Really, if you went week‑by‑week, I think we played*‑‑ the first week, Tennessee Tech, they were hard to defend. And I think we played well. Then I don't think we made much progress from the first week to the second week. But then from the second week to the Pitt game, I think we made a lot of progress and from the Pitt game to this game last week, I think we made a lot of progress again.
So I see a young defense that's sort of learning and getting better and feel pretty good about it that way.
Q. You made a lot of changes from week two to week three after Iowa State. Is that stuff that you saw from the guys or simply that game?
COACH PARKER: We were*‑‑ at the beginning, we went around back there with the safety and free safety and then the Iowa State game, Bernstine was sick. He was not even allowed to play in the game. So that hurt.
When he came back, and he's done an incredible job of turning his attention and his zest for the game around, and he's really become, from being a very insignificant leader to maybe the leader of the defense.
The guy has done a heck of a job just if you took an individual story. He's really, really done a great job being a leader. He's a smart guy. He always was, you know, the people you saw asking the question, where's Bernstine, where's Bernstine, and he always was that guy; could of been, should of been, never was. Then all of a sudden, like sort of a light switch, turn it on, and he's really done well for himself and well for the team, and it's a good story. He's really done well.
Q. Is it sort of*‑‑ you're discovering a lot about a lot of new guys imagine. You knew about Tom Nardo, but probably*‑‑ he had 12 tackles last week. You probably found out a lot about new guys.
COACH PARKER: Yeah, and he's getting more comfortable with the position. When you play lin your first game, when you're really a starter for the first time, you burn so much up, energy before the game and all that kind of stuff that it's hard to play good until you settle down and get used to playing, get used to playing. I'm sure that some of those young guys, they burn up so much energy before the game just worrying about everything. Kirk (ph) used to be the same way. He's just more relaxed that he's playing a little bit now. I think that's really helped him out.
Q. No‑huddle offenses, whatever it is, do you recruit differently?
COACH PARKER: The hardest thing about the no‑huddle offense is in pro football, if you have one group of personnel in the game and you put in another group, you must give the defense time to change personnel.
In other words, you can't go from a bunch of receivers to a bunch of tight ends without allowing the defense to change. In college football, you don't have to give the defense time to change.
So that's what's really happening. It's all of these different personnel groups. They are coming in from the sidelines, but by the time you figure out who is in there, you get stuck with the same guys on the field*‑‑ there's never been a rule that's been made for the defense. Really, defensive coaches sort of think it's not fair. Like pro football, you have to give them time to get their guys in the game.
So I think that's the big advantage of the no‑huddle is you can't match them up personnel‑wise. But I don't think you recruit any different. The no‑huddle, all of that stuff sounds great, but if you go no‑huddle, one, two, three downs and out, you don't have the ball very long. So that has its drawbacks, too.
But the craze in college football now is all of this no‑huddle, hurry up, how many plays can you get in and try to wear the defense down. I think it's harder to physically play defense than offense. It just is. People don't believe that but it's harder.
So the more plays they can run at you, the more they can wear you down, the more they can get to you break down mentally, that's the whole thing, how fast can they go. It's fast‑break basketball. Throw away the shot clock.
Q. Is it harder to adjust when your second and third guys are so young?
COACH PARKER: I don't think that's a big thing. I think you've got to be able to try to get guys in there, and the hard thing, when they get those no‑huddle offenses is when they get a seven‑, eight‑, nine‑play drive that's boom, boom, boom, and they are shuffling guys in and out and you're trying to match them with the same guys in and out. That's where they start wearing you down a little bit.
Q. We asked him, does he think*‑‑ should have time to set them up the offense?
COACH PARKER: There's never been a rule made for the defense. They like points. Who wants to watch. I think it's a hell of a game. You guys like arena ball, 60‑50, that kind of stuff.
Q. The 3‑4, what are you trying to accomplish there?
COACH PARKER: Everybody in the world is using all of these passing routes for running people off and dragging the guy underneath. Everybody does that. So what you're doing is you just have another linebacker that when they run guys off*‑‑ you have somebody to pick up those shells, and that's what we try to do.
Q. Is it tougher to teach the younger guys?
COACH PARKER: Really with Nielson going down literally for most of the Iowa State game and all of the last two games, we have been playing with three sophomore linebackers, and linebacker is like any other position, but especially linebacker, defensive back, you have to build up a memory bank. In other words, I've seen that before. Because you can't practice everything.
Some of the things that happen, you have to recall from games in the past, and experiences in the past. And these guys have no memory bank. I mean, everything is brand new. So after three or four games, now James Morris*‑‑ at least they are getting an, oh, I saw that one before. It's not new. It's the same old story, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I'm the dummy. That's sort of what happened.
If you don't have a memory bank and when you've got young guys, there's no memory bank there. Everything is brand new. I told you it was like taking a bunch of kindergarteners to New York City: Oh, that's a big building. No kidding.
So hard to teach them everything, and like when*‑‑ I'll just make an example. When Hodge and Greenway were the linebackers, you could say, remember the way Indiana did this against us two years ago; I got it. I know what this is.
Well, these guys, they have got no 'remember whens.' This is just all new. So you have to learn on the job, learn on the run. And you try to learn on the run and these guys are speeding up the offense, that's not making it any easier either.
Q. Going into the season with Adrian, Christian and Karl were all going to be gone, what has been the message to the young guys? You've had some consistent messages for them*‑‑ what has it been for them?
COACH PARKER: They have to pick it up. It has to be their turn. They have to fill those gaps and you know that realistically, you are not putting that pressure on them. I don't expect the new guy to be Adrian Clayborn, but you have to go out there and be as close to Adrian Clayborn as you can, and then you've got to get better every week. Not only were we young at those linebacker positions, Dominic Alvis had never played before. This guy, before our first game, this guy has never played. So Miller, the free safety, he's never played before. It's all new.
But the thing that is good is they are young, they are eager to learn, they are willing to learn, they are not afraid to say, Coach, I blew it, teach me how to do it. If you criticize them, they have to understand the criticism, it's not them as a person, it's how you play the play. But they don't*‑‑ like you're confronting them personally; okay, I'll try to do it better next time. They can't be more willing than they are. That Iowa State game, the quarterback running around outside, that's elementary football, elementary and we blew it, but it was guys that had never done it before. We put in a couple of drills to try to solve that problem.
Q. The D‑Line, do you see that improving?
COACH PARKER: Yeah, I see improvement really at every segment. I see the defensive line improving, I see the linebackers improving. I see the secondary improving. I think we can do more things and we can make more adjustments than we could three weeks ago. Three weeks ago if we had to make an adjustment, that was like a major crisis. Now it does not fall into place like dominos but at least it gets closer to falling like dominos.
Q. Coach Ferentz joked about going 50 percent blitz*‑‑
COACH PARKER: No. It's all down and distance. When in doubt, blitz, I guess. You don't go into a game saying, I'm going to blitz this many times or throw this many passes. You sort of let it unfold.
Q. What do you think of the Big Ten, full of rushing quarterbacks this year?
COACH PARKER: They are single‑wing tailback. It's like going back to the old days. They run, they pass. Some of them even kick. They are single‑wing tailbacks. That's who they are. About three or four teams, aren't the leading rushers at quarterback? That's not football.
All right. Have a very nice day.
Q. What did you like so far that you've seen on tape of the defense the first four games?
COACH PARKER: Really, if you went week‑by‑week, I think we played*‑‑ the first week, Tennessee Tech, they were hard to defend. And I think we played well. Then I don't think we made much progress from the first week to the second week. But then from the second week to the Pitt game, I think we made a lot of progress and from the Pitt game to this game last week, I think we made a lot of progress again.
So I see a young defense that's sort of learning and getting better and feel pretty good about it that way.
Q. You made a lot of changes from week two to week three after Iowa State. Is that stuff that you saw from the guys or simply that game?
COACH PARKER: We were*‑‑ at the beginning, we went around back there with the safety and free safety and then the Iowa State game, Bernstine was sick. He was not even allowed to play in the game. So that hurt.
When he came back, and he's done an incredible job of turning his attention and his zest for the game around, and he's really become, from being a very insignificant leader to maybe the leader of the defense.
The guy has done a heck of a job just if you took an individual story. He's really, really done a great job being a leader. He's a smart guy. He always was, you know, the people you saw asking the question, where's Bernstine, where's Bernstine, and he always was that guy; could of been, should of been, never was. Then all of a sudden, like sort of a light switch, turn it on, and he's really done well for himself and well for the team, and it's a good story. He's really done well.
Q. Is it sort of*‑‑ you're discovering a lot about a lot of new guys imagine. You knew about Tom Nardo, but probably*‑‑ he had 12 tackles last week. You probably found out a lot about new guys.
COACH PARKER: Yeah, and he's getting more comfortable with the position. When you play lin your first game, when you're really a starter for the first time, you burn so much up, energy before the game and all that kind of stuff that it's hard to play good until you settle down and get used to playing, get used to playing. I'm sure that some of those young guys, they burn up so much energy before the game just worrying about everything. Kirk (ph) used to be the same way. He's just more relaxed that he's playing a little bit now. I think that's really helped him out.
Q. No‑huddle offenses, whatever it is, do you recruit differently?
COACH PARKER: The hardest thing about the no‑huddle offense is in pro football, if you have one group of personnel in the game and you put in another group, you must give the defense time to change personnel.
In other words, you can't go from a bunch of receivers to a bunch of tight ends without allowing the defense to change. In college football, you don't have to give the defense time to change.
So that's what's really happening. It's all of these different personnel groups. They are coming in from the sidelines, but by the time you figure out who is in there, you get stuck with the same guys on the field*‑‑ there's never been a rule that's been made for the defense. Really, defensive coaches sort of think it's not fair. Like pro football, you have to give them time to get their guys in the game.
So I think that's the big advantage of the no‑huddle is you can't match them up personnel‑wise. But I don't think you recruit any different. The no‑huddle, all of that stuff sounds great, but if you go no‑huddle, one, two, three downs and out, you don't have the ball very long. So that has its drawbacks, too.
But the craze in college football now is all of this no‑huddle, hurry up, how many plays can you get in and try to wear the defense down. I think it's harder to physically play defense than offense. It just is. People don't believe that but it's harder.
So the more plays they can run at you, the more they can wear you down, the more they can get to you break down mentally, that's the whole thing, how fast can they go. It's fast‑break basketball. Throw away the shot clock.
Q. Is it harder to adjust when your second and third guys are so young?
COACH PARKER: I don't think that's a big thing. I think you've got to be able to try to get guys in there, and the hard thing, when they get those no‑huddle offenses is when they get a seven‑, eight‑, nine‑play drive that's boom, boom, boom, and they are shuffling guys in and out and you're trying to match them with the same guys in and out. That's where they start wearing you down a little bit.
Q. We asked him, does he think*‑‑ should have time to set them up the offense?
COACH PARKER: There's never been a rule made for the defense. They like points. Who wants to watch. I think it's a hell of a game. You guys like arena ball, 60‑50, that kind of stuff.
Q. The 3‑4, what are you trying to accomplish there?
COACH PARKER: Everybody in the world is using all of these passing routes for running people off and dragging the guy underneath. Everybody does that. So what you're doing is you just have another linebacker that when they run guys off*‑‑ you have somebody to pick up those shells, and that's what we try to do.
Q. Is it tougher to teach the younger guys?
COACH PARKER: Really with Nielson going down literally for most of the Iowa State game and all of the last two games, we have been playing with three sophomore linebackers, and linebacker is like any other position, but especially linebacker, defensive back, you have to build up a memory bank. In other words, I've seen that before. Because you can't practice everything.
Some of the things that happen, you have to recall from games in the past, and experiences in the past. And these guys have no memory bank. I mean, everything is brand new. So after three or four games, now James Morris*‑‑ at least they are getting an, oh, I saw that one before. It's not new. It's the same old story, fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, I'm the dummy. That's sort of what happened.
If you don't have a memory bank and when you've got young guys, there's no memory bank there. Everything is brand new. I told you it was like taking a bunch of kindergarteners to New York City: Oh, that's a big building. No kidding.
So hard to teach them everything, and like when*‑‑ I'll just make an example. When Hodge and Greenway were the linebackers, you could say, remember the way Indiana did this against us two years ago; I got it. I know what this is.
Well, these guys, they have got no 'remember whens.' This is just all new. So you have to learn on the job, learn on the run. And you try to learn on the run and these guys are speeding up the offense, that's not making it any easier either.
Q. Going into the season with Adrian, Christian and Karl were all going to be gone, what has been the message to the young guys? You've had some consistent messages for them*‑‑ what has it been for them?
COACH PARKER: They have to pick it up. It has to be their turn. They have to fill those gaps and you know that realistically, you are not putting that pressure on them. I don't expect the new guy to be Adrian Clayborn, but you have to go out there and be as close to Adrian Clayborn as you can, and then you've got to get better every week. Not only were we young at those linebacker positions, Dominic Alvis had never played before. This guy, before our first game, this guy has never played. So Miller, the free safety, he's never played before. It's all new.
But the thing that is good is they are young, they are eager to learn, they are willing to learn, they are not afraid to say, Coach, I blew it, teach me how to do it. If you criticize them, they have to understand the criticism, it's not them as a person, it's how you play the play. But they don't*‑‑ like you're confronting them personally; okay, I'll try to do it better next time. They can't be more willing than they are. That Iowa State game, the quarterback running around outside, that's elementary football, elementary and we blew it, but it was guys that had never done it before. We put in a couple of drills to try to solve that problem.
Q. The D‑Line, do you see that improving?
COACH PARKER: Yeah, I see improvement really at every segment. I see the defensive line improving, I see the linebackers improving. I see the secondary improving. I think we can do more things and we can make more adjustments than we could three weeks ago. Three weeks ago if we had to make an adjustment, that was like a major crisis. Now it does not fall into place like dominos but at least it gets closer to falling like dominos.
Q. Coach Ferentz joked about going 50 percent blitz*‑‑
COACH PARKER: No. It's all down and distance. When in doubt, blitz, I guess. You don't go into a game saying, I'm going to blitz this many times or throw this many passes. You sort of let it unfold.
Q. What do you think of the Big Ten, full of rushing quarterbacks this year?
COACH PARKER: They are single‑wing tailback. It's like going back to the old days. They run, they pass. Some of them even kick. They are single‑wing tailbacks. That's who they are. About three or four teams, aren't the leading rushers at quarterback? That's not football.
All right. Have a very nice day.
