He calls this defense himself, and on Monday he laid out the philosophy instead of hiding it. He said they want to be the aggressor, that this is an attack and react team. Most people hear aggressive and think blitz. That is not what he said. He said stems and disguises matter just as much as pressure - moving the front, showing one thing and playing another, making a quarterback wrong before the snap. And then the line that tells you everything: if you can rush three and get there, why rush five. That is not conservative, it is arithmetic. Every man you do not send is a man in coverage, and Will Echoles had twenty-six pressures last season, most of any tackle in the Power Four. But the whole theory rests on the front winning alone, and this defense finished sixty-ninth against the run.
Pete Golding calls the Ole Miss defense himself. Bryan Brown is the coordinator and works from the box, but the calls belong to the head coach - and on Monday he laid out the philosophy instead of hiding it 11 days from an opener.
He said they want to be 'the aggressor' and called it an 'attack and react' team. But most people hear aggressive and think blitz, and that is not what he said. Stems and disguises matter just as much as pressure - moving the front, showing one thing and playing another, making a quarterback wrong before the snap.
Then the line that tells you everything: if you can rush three and get there, why rush five. That is not conservative, it is arithmetic. Every man you do not send is a man in coverage, and Will Echoles had 26 pressures last season - the most of any defensive tackle in the Power Four.
The honest counterweight: the whole theory rests on the front winning alone, and last season it did not. This defense gave up 4.2 yards a carry and finished 69th nationally against the run. Rushing three is a luxury you earn in September, not a plan you announce in August.
Then later: Golding said, unprompted, that freshman Jayden Curtis is 'the steal of that class,' and praised Landon Barnes and Carmelow Reed in the same answer. Five days earlier, fifth-year senior Jonathan Maldonado volunteered the same three names without being asked - 'they're some dogs,' and 'it looks like they're not even freshmen.' Which freshman actually plays in Nashville? Tell us in the comments.
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