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No restraint key to ND's veteran D

Coaches trust their leaders to take chances without fear of retribution, leading to a stifling unit.

By BRIAN LANDMAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published October 25, 2002

SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Most of the faces on the Notre Dame defense are the same as last season.

But somehow they look like different players.

"This year, we're flying to the ball," linebacker Brandon Hoyte said. "The coaches have done a great job of stressing, "Get to the ball. Hustle. Hustle.' Regardless of what type of athletic ability you have, as long as you hustle and give it everything you've got on every single play, good things are bound to happen."

They have.

The veteran defense is allowing 80.1 yards rushing, sixth nationally, and 275.9 yards overall (10th). Just as important, it's giving up an average of 12 points, third nationally.

Last season, it gave up 132.3 yards rushing, 304.9 total yards and 19.6 points a game.

"Our coaches are giving us leeway to be aggressive," safety Gerome Sapp said. "They want us to be aggressive and make plays and I think we're taking advantage of those opportunities. Sometimes coaches can hold you back a bit, and as a player you don't want that."

Entering Saturday's matchup against No. 11 FSU, the No. 6 Irish have created 20 turnovers -- 12 interceptions and eight fumbles -- and turned them into 78 points.

That's an average of 11.1 points.

"We have playmakers and playmakers are able to make plays in zone," said cornerback Shane Walton, who has six interceptions and has been involved in three other takeaways (a fumble recovery, a forced fumble and a pass deflection that led to an interception).

Consider the Irish (7-0) scored the decisive touchdown against Purude when cornerback Vontez Duff returned an interception 33 yards for a score late in the fourth quarter.

Consider the Irish escaped with a 25-23 win against Michigan when Walton knocked away a pass on a two-point conversion with 2:53 left and then came up with an interception with 21 seconds to play.

And consider they sealed wins against Michigan State and Pittsburgh on last-minute interceptions by Sapp and backup cornerback Preston Jackson, a former Hillsborough High standout.

"That's the thing that concerns you more than anything," FSU coach Bobby Bowden said of the turnovers the defense forces. "They've had a bunch of them. A bunch of them. As you prepare for them, you work in plays, you work in defenses, you work on this and that, the one thing you can't account for is a fumble and them picking it up and running it for a touchdown or just snatching it right out your hands. They do a great job of that."

Last season, Notre Dame forced 26 turnovers.

Irish coaching legend Ara Parseghian said a simple change in defensive philosophy helps explain the statistical turnaround.

"This year," he said, "they're using some man-to-man, but they're also using combination zone coverages that give the defenders the opportunity to follow the passer's eyes and react to that." "They're reckless. We weren't reckless before," said Irish Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung, now a team radio analyst. "You have to play recklessly on defense."

First-year coach Tyrone Willingham and the defensive coaches have preached creating turnovers from Day 1. They begin each Thursday practice with a turnover drill.

"When you trust your players that they're going to be smart enough to do the right things and make the right decisions on when to be as aggressive as possible without hurting the defense, they feel you're with them all the way," said assistant coach Greg Mattison, the lone holdover from Bob Davie's staff. "If you're standing over them and saying, "Okay, go ahead and be aggressive, but if you screw up, I'm going to be really upset,' they're going to pull back."

The Irish haven't done that this year.

"It's more of a relaxed environment," Walton said. "It's like going back to high school days when you can go out and just make plays."

As the Irish started making plays -- Walton had three interceptions in the opener against then-No. 21 Maryland -- it gave them even more confidence in the system and in each other.

"When you're beside someone you have confidence in, it allows you to play a lot better," defensive end Justin Tuck said.

And they don't hope to make plays.

They expect to make them.

"To say they are unbelievable would not be accurate," Willingham said of his defensive players. "Last year, this was a good defense. What they've done this year is step it up a notch. . . . I hope our system has been an improvement. I hope our coaching has been an improvement. I hope the attitude of our team is an improvement. I hope physically they've improved. I hope they understand how to play defense better. I hope they've raised their expectations. It just goes on and on and on."

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