No compromise in 2017 makes path to success for Snow's 2018 defense easier
If you listened to a Phil Snow interview in the spring of 2017, there wasn't any need to read between the lines. He was blunt, often making statements in regards to a lengthy install time for his defensive system. In fact, the Baylor defensive coordinator told the media that working on third-down packages wouldn't take place for the first time until the final weeks of fall camp leading up to the season opener.
As the excitement brewed following an incredible close to the 2017 recruiting class, there was finally a bit of momentum for a program that was snakebitten by negative news over the previous 20 months and the taste of lemon juice in a big glass of sweet tea was drowned out immediately.
Then Baylor's defense was torched by a quarterback named Buckshot from Liberty in the season opener and the ratio of lemon to sweet tea was balanced out. Those quotes by Snow, a veteran coach with experience ranging from the West Coast to the East Coast over the course of nearly 30 years, were rarely revisted or discussed amongst a miserable fan base.
Now a year later, Snow's message is acting as a friendly reminder to not forget what he tried to make clear last spring.
"The things we teach them the first year is always a struggle, and you know, Matt (Rhule) knew that on defense because we not only teach them our playbook, but we teach them offense so it takes awhile to learn all that and it’s all kicking in now. If you watch them out there, the players, they look like they know what they’re doing," Snow said.
Snow's defense is one that requires a considerable amount of communication between the players on the field and with the coaches on the sideline. Remember seeing a defensive player tap their helmet prior to the snap of the football? That's a simple communication between players and coaches that they have received their updated assignment based on offensive adjustments.
New defensive line coach Frank Okam, a former All-American at the University of Texas and NFL player, has been in Waco for less than two months, but the communication has picked up considerably even during his short time in Waco.
"Coach (Francis) Brown, Coach (Evan) Cooper, Coach (Mike) Siravo, they all have said that each guy is a little bit cleaner in understanding his fit, understanding the checks because this defense does have a lot of checks based on the situation that the offense presents to us," Okam said.
"So what I've tried to listen to is I try to listen to see if I hear the communication from the players on the field because if what we said as coaches in the classroom, if I don't hear the players on the field then they still haven't learned it, but we're starting to hear that day in and day out a little bit more and they're beginning to get a little bit cleaner and sharper for us."
A mix of a new system, new positions and new players isn't exactly a recipe for success. Last fall the Bears placed mutiple true freshmen into the fire, asking them to not only play but also start games multiple games. Not because they were necessarily ready to succeed at a high level, but because they were needed.
Along with the influx of freshmen, the Bears also saw multiple players playing in new positions, including Blake Lynch and Verkedrick Vaughns.
"Time is a healer of many things" is an appropriate use to apply here. For those who don't see practice every day, that's the hope at least. Baylor head coach Matt Rhule said that the defense knows what they are doing after a year under Snow, stating that the players feeds off of their own experience and knowledge of the system.
"Year one you’re all trying to figure it out at once and Phil doesn’t compromise," Rhule said. "He might try to compromise in terms of volume, but he doesn’t compromise in terms of detail."
For Derrek Thomas, Baylor grad transfer cornerback from Temple who spent multiple seasons under Rhule and Snow, he sees a familiar look from his new teammates that he had when learning the same system.
"The change I see from the first spring was me being real hesitant, where do I look, what are my calls," Thomas said. "To the next spring being like I got the call, I got the guy, let’s play football. That’s what I see with these guys."
Fifth-year senior and grad transfer aside, even a former 3.9 GPA student at Lake Highlands High School, a U.S. Army All-American, a Big 12 and College Football National Champion, a First-Team All-American, an NFL draft pick, and now a collegiate coach, Okam admitted to Snow's scheme being something more unique than what he has been part of in his football career.
"As far as schemes, I think he has one of the most diverse cover-four schemes that I've been apart of in my whole career, player or coach," Okam said.
The diversity also explains why an emphasis has been placed on intelligence when finding prospects to fit into the system. Though Rhule has stated he'd choose heart of football IQ, there is no denying the two have a place in the same room together along with work ethic.
At minimum, those three things are what it will take to become comfortable in Snow's defense.
"That just comes with study because this defense is complex," Thomas said. "I see every level of the ball, the d-line, linebackers, safeties, corners, study. I see constant progression because that’s really all there is. Any defense, any offense, it’s just about studying. How much do you study to learn it? Everyone is right where they need to be and we continue to get better."
One of Baylor's defensive bright spots in 2017 was the emergence of Ira Lewis as a consistent playmaker. As a junior he totaled 5.5 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss, but now entering his second season in Snow's scheme and his final season as a collegiate player, he has settled into the defense even more and is expecting more from himself.
Those same feelings also apply to the rest of his defensive teammates.
"I feel really, really comfortable with the defense and how we’re doing things," Lewis said. "I just think guys in general are getting more comfortable with how things are working and how guys are staying in the film room. And then day-by-day practices you’re just going to keep getting better and more comfortable with your craft."
"Defense has a huge upside," Lewis added. "I’m really excited to see what all these guys are going to do."
Upside it great, but production and actual results are better than great. In Rhule's second season at Temple in 2014, also Snow's second season, the Owls saw their defense jump from the No. 108 overall unit nationally to No. 24 in 2014 according to raw, unadjusted statistics.
A similar astronomical jump in the course of one offseason shouldn't be expected in the Big 12, but the Bears 111th ranked 2017 defense should at least see a decent spike in ranking if the team sticks to the blueprint. A surge into the top 50 nationally would give the Bears their highest finish in total defense since their Big 12 Championship season in 2014 where they finished ranked No. 50.
"I’d probably always like to be further ahead of anywhere, but I really am pleased with the mentality and toughness and brand that the guys are building," Rhule said. "I like the way we are playing defense. I like our young players. I like the leadership by our seniors, it’s been outstanding."
Flashback to March 28, 2017: "I wasn't super thrilled today. I think a lot of young guys were practicing really hard, a lot of older guys, not all of them but some of them, maybe don't like the level of physicality and didn't practice to the level I think we're going to need. Kind of a mixed bag. Some really good things from some of the younger kids, some of the older kids not really the leadership and level of practice that we want."
“They like to play football." Rhule said. "There’s not kind of that whole storyline from last spring about our contact. They’re out there and getting after each other.
"You like to get to the point where you have a team that you have to tell to slow down and not speed up, and they’re a team we’re having to tell to slow down."