Nebraska defenders excited for new 3-3-5 scheme: 'It’s more of an attacking defense'

[cornhuskers4ever]

• Luke Mullin Lincoln Journal Star
•  
• Mar 21, 2023 Updated Mar 22, 2023

When asked to describe a Tony White-led defense, Nebraska linebackers coach Rob Dvoracek had a simple answer.

“Chaos,” he said in February.

Nebraska’s defensive coordinator has a different way of describing the way he sets up his unit.

"It's a defense that finds answers," White said in January.

Regardless of the words Nebraska’s coaches use to describe the new 3-3-5 scheme, they can all agree on one thing — it’ll hopefully make life difficult for opponents in the fall.

But before Nebraska’s defensive front can put those expectations to the test, they have to get the foundations committed to memory. In NU’s first practice of the spring on Monday, that was a priority for head coach Matt Rhule to see from his defense.

“Everyone always focuses on the scheme, but to me it’s really about how you do what you do,” Rhule said Monday. “The standards of the way that we practice, strip the ball and move from drill to drill, those are the ones that are important to me.”

 

One of the few Nebraska assistant coaches who had never worked for Rhule previously, White will have a unique perspective in that regard. That’s why Rhule said that he’ll be adjusting to White as much as his defensive coordinator will be adjusting to him in these first few practices.

There are also plenty of adjustments to be made from a player’s perspective. The entire defense has picked up the terminology quickly, but knowing assignments and different positional alignment may take time.

 

 

That’s especially true for players like senior Luke Reimer, who has four years of experience playing under former defensive coordinator Erik Chinander. With a few small changes here and there, Reimer is quickly picking up the concepts of the new defensive setup.

 

“It’s going to take a little bit of getting used to, especially for us old guys that have played pretty much in the same scheme for four years,” Reimer said. “It’s definitely fun to play in, so it’ll be a good change.”

But, what makes the new 3-3-5 defensive scheme fun to be a part of? For Reimer, it’s the different looks that Nebraska will be able to throw at opponents.

“It’s more of an attacking defense, and there’s a lot of different blitzes and movement in the defense as a whole,” Reimer said.

 

More blitzes? That should be music to Nebraska fans' ears because of the Huskers’ general inability to rush the passer in recent years. Dating to the 2018 season, Nebraska has ranked No. 119, No. 69, No. 65, No. 87 and No. 79 nationally in team sacks — never breaking into the top half of FBS programs over this period.

 

With different personnel groupings and pre-snap movement, the goal for a White-led defense is to keep offenses on their toes and simply put defenders into spots where their athleticism can take over. For Reimer, that’s right up his alley.

“I definitely play off a lot of ‘feel,’ and that’s kind of what this defense is, just relying on athleticism and still knowing what your job is and where your leverage is,” Reimer said.

 

There are other areas of the defense that also need improvement, but pass rush stands out as an area where a renewed effort could pay dividends immediately. And in order for White’s defensive chaos to bridge that gap, it’ll take consistent effort from Nebraska on the practice field.

“It’s really important that we go through this process now in the spring so that when we hit the fall, there is no gray area,” Rhule said. “That’s the worst thing you can give players — a gray area — because it’s got to be concrete.”

 

 

-I'm super excited to see the 3-3-5 Defense.  Nebraska needs to control the tempo and an attacking defense would help out greatly.  I feel like this is a major improvement that Nebraska has needed and should make as high of an impact as they did when they switched to the 4-3 Defense in the early 90s.

 

 

[cornhuskers4ever]

 

Forgot to add the source

Luke Mullin Lincoln Journal Star

 

Mar 21, 2023 Updated Mar 22, 2023

[admo]

Sounds good !  Hope we have a good DL rotation and depth.  I like our secondary.  Haven't been too healthy at LB because in recent years they have to do a lot, and it takes a heavy toll on their bodies.  

 

In the big ten, we just need to be able to slow down the opponents running game to get off the field.  Not many stellar passing teams besides the usual top 3 talented teams in the conference.

[Toe]

1 hour ago, cornhuskers4ever said:

More blitzes? That should be music to Nebraska fans' ears because of the Huskers’ general inability to rush the passer in recent years. Dating to the 2018 season, Nebraska has ranked No. 119, No. 69, No. 65, No. 87 and No. 79 nationally in team sacks — never breaking into the top half of FBS programs over this period.

 

Unsurprisingly, the last time Nebraska cracked the top fifty for sacks was Bo's last season. Since that time, there's been three seasons where they didn't even crack the top one hundred...

[Husker03]

2 hours ago, Toe said:

 

Unsurprisingly, the last time Nebraska cracked the top fifty for sacks was Bo's last season. Since that time, there's been three seasons where they didn't even crack the top one hundred...

But where did we rank in the most important stat all of those years? The strain.

 

[UniversalMartin]

I don't believe any Husker related football "this is going to be dope" jargon until I see it actually on the field against teams not named Nebraska.

[GSG]

14 hours ago, UniversalMartin said:

I don't believe any Husker related football "this is going to be dope" jargon until I see it actually on the field against teams not named Nebraska.

 

Cool. See you in the fall

[UniversalMartin]

On 3/29/2023 at 9:38 AM, GSG said:

 

Cool. See you in the fall

But I still want to read that jargon

[Mavric]

 

[TGHusker]

18 hours ago, Mavric said:

 

I wonder - does that mean we can fall into over pursuing and lose our areas of containment??   I like the aggressive nature but I would think there has got to be some reading and discipline in the process and not just  "meet you at the QB" 

[BigRedBuster]

1 minute ago, TGHusker said:

I wonder - does that mean we can fall into over pursuing and lose our areas of containment??   I like the aggressive nature but I would think there has got to be some reading and discipline in the process and not just  "meet you at the QB" 

He also added..."but you have to know your assignment".  Obviously, you can't just run around like a headless chicken.

[TGHusker]

6 minutes ago, BigRedBuster said:

He also added..."but you have to know your assignment".  Obviously, you can't just run around like a headless chicken.

Good to know -  don't get me going on the headless chicken image - butchered way to many on the farm back in the day...

[Toe]

Everything A Nebraska Fan Could Possibly Want To Know About The 3-3-5

The Huskers have their third new defensive scheme in the last five years, one that remains untested in the Big Ten but also might be its future

https://black41flashreverse.substack.com/p/everything-a-nebraska-fan-could-possibly

 

(accidentally posted this in the wrong thread earlier, lol)