Colorado State University Athletics
Photo by: Mike Brohard
In Position: Safeties expanding their knowledge
6/17/2019 12:00:00 PM | Football
Group tasked to understand every assignment around them
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Know your assignment. That's a given.
For Colorado State safeties coach George Helow, the knowledge has to extend. If his group knows the task of those around them, they'll gain a better understanding of the concept of the defense and how it operates.
They will grasp where the secondary is strong, where the vulnerabilities lie in specific coverages against certain personnel groupings.
"We've set up organizational things for them to study the scheme and film and to have a great knowledge and understanding of what we're doing on defense," Helow said. "We've put a big emphasis as a group on knowing what to do, how to do it, why it's important to do it that way and understanding the overall system of the scheme."
For Helow, simply memorizing an assignment makes it harder to learn a defense, and in 2018, Colorado State broke out a new design under defensive coordinator John Jancek. For the unit to progress, mentally organizing the conceptual design and structure is a must.
The safeties comprehend the task and have set out to breakdown the overall blueprint. Doing one's job isn't enough. Knowing what the corner, the linebackers and even the defensive line is assigned paints a portrait, not a mug shot. Not just in pass coverage, but the design of run fits.
"I've been going in and getting extra film. That's been the biggest thing, being able to draw it up and go over one-on-one," Logan Stewart said. "Learning the safety's job, the nickel's job as well as the linebacker's job and all the drops. That's helped me learn the defense a lot better.
"I know it a lot better. The concepts have gotten a lot easier, responsibilities have gotten a lot easier."
As Tywan Francis explained, they watch film as an entire secondary. Then they watch it as position groups – corners and safeties – where he spends time with both. Then they will all watch film on their own.
Each step exposes another layer of consideration.
It's especially beneficial for him, as he is a player who can play corner, safety and nickel. Understanding the entirety of the roles provides flexibility for the staff when injuries occur. If a player knows all the assignments around them, they have the ability to fill gaps, and the staff can put its true best 11 players on the field.
"The more positions you can play, the higher your stock rises," said Francis, who appeared in 11 games, starting one, as a true freshman a year ago. "At the end of the day, it's watching a lot of film so we can know the concepts and play faster.
"That's been a key for me since I stepped foot in the building. I'm trying to make sure I'm in the best position to help my team win games. That's the ultimate goal at the end of the day. I focus on everything I need to know and not having any gray area on the field. That will allow us to play fast."
As with anything, there are rules. Helow also understands, at times, they can hamstring a player. Yet, armed with an idea of the overall concept, the players find the freedom and confidence to perform.
Stewart feels the direction has been especially key for him, as he's still relatively new to the team and used his first spring camp to push his way up the depth chart. The more he can process, the better
"When we know what weakness is in our defense, we know where the offense is going to look to throw the ball, so then we're ready to make plays," Stewart said. "That's the biggest thing. Getting extra film work, recognizing we're in this coverage, the weakness is here and they're going to try to attack us here, we're able to change what we do and make plays off what the offense is going to give us."
For Colorado State safeties coach George Helow, the knowledge has to extend. If his group knows the task of those around them, they'll gain a better understanding of the concept of the defense and how it operates.
They will grasp where the secondary is strong, where the vulnerabilities lie in specific coverages against certain personnel groupings.
"We've set up organizational things for them to study the scheme and film and to have a great knowledge and understanding of what we're doing on defense," Helow said. "We've put a big emphasis as a group on knowing what to do, how to do it, why it's important to do it that way and understanding the overall system of the scheme."
For Helow, simply memorizing an assignment makes it harder to learn a defense, and in 2018, Colorado State broke out a new design under defensive coordinator John Jancek. For the unit to progress, mentally organizing the conceptual design and structure is a must.
The safeties comprehend the task and have set out to breakdown the overall blueprint. Doing one's job isn't enough. Knowing what the corner, the linebackers and even the defensive line is assigned paints a portrait, not a mug shot. Not just in pass coverage, but the design of run fits.
"I've been going in and getting extra film. That's been the biggest thing, being able to draw it up and go over one-on-one," Logan Stewart said. "Learning the safety's job, the nickel's job as well as the linebacker's job and all the drops. That's helped me learn the defense a lot better.
"I know it a lot better. The concepts have gotten a lot easier, responsibilities have gotten a lot easier."
As Tywan Francis explained, they watch film as an entire secondary. Then they watch it as position groups – corners and safeties – where he spends time with both. Then they will all watch film on their own.
Each step exposes another layer of consideration.
It's especially beneficial for him, as he is a player who can play corner, safety and nickel. Understanding the entirety of the roles provides flexibility for the staff when injuries occur. If a player knows all the assignments around them, they have the ability to fill gaps, and the staff can put its true best 11 players on the field.
"The more positions you can play, the higher your stock rises," said Francis, who appeared in 11 games, starting one, as a true freshman a year ago. "At the end of the day, it's watching a lot of film so we can know the concepts and play faster.
"That's been a key for me since I stepped foot in the building. I'm trying to make sure I'm in the best position to help my team win games. That's the ultimate goal at the end of the day. I focus on everything I need to know and not having any gray area on the field. That will allow us to play fast."
As with anything, there are rules. Helow also understands, at times, they can hamstring a player. Yet, armed with an idea of the overall concept, the players find the freedom and confidence to perform.
Stewart feels the direction has been especially key for him, as he's still relatively new to the team and used his first spring camp to push his way up the depth chart. The more he can process, the better
"When we know what weakness is in our defense, we know where the offense is going to look to throw the ball, so then we're ready to make plays," Stewart said. "That's the biggest thing. Getting extra film work, recognizing we're in this coverage, the weakness is here and they're going to try to attack us here, we're able to change what we do and make plays off what the offense is going to give us."
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