Colorado State University Athletics
Defense Will Take the Time to do it Right
3/24/2022 12:39:00 PM | Football
New defense or not, Banks will start from square one every spring
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – For Freddie Banks, the conviction he carries is not just in the defensive system, but how it is taught.
Slow and steady. Basics first and foremost. Eliminate hesitation to play fast, then build from there. There's not a lot to it, but he's in no rush to get to everything right away. Not even by the end of the 15 spring practices.
"Our base calls, we have a certain amount of reps, we have a percentage of reps we want to get of each call, and then we say at the end of spring, we feel like we can now at least know the basics," Banks said after Thursday's workouts. "We won't really be masters at it by the end of the spring, but we'll be close. Â Then have a great summer, then fall camp is when we will become experts."
This isn't just about a new system, one which Banks played in and came to love at North Dakota State, being taught to a new group of coaches and new players. This formula will be followed each and every year by the CSU defensive coordinator. Start at ground zero and move up. Start from scratch each spring, treat it as if they're spoon-feeding babies each time out.
It's his chosen method, and from the player's perspective, it's a decent way to learn a new system. For some, this is their third in a Colorado State uniform.
"We're going to take it step by step. I think we're installing it more slowly, because we want the guys playing real fast right now and not hesitate as much," linebacker Dequan Jackson said. "Once we master the first play call we've got, then boom, we move on to the next one and try to eliminate some of the mistakes early."
There is some carryover from one defense to another, but there are some complete lane changes, too, for those who are returners. The defensive linemen will still be expected to create chaos, push the line of scrimmage and Banks expects the group to lead the unit in tackles for loss.
There are new roles for linebackers, especially the secondary players, but at first glance, they've liked what they've seen from the system itself and the man doing the teaching.
"Coach Banks has been awesome, and we've been meeting hard," safety Jack Howell said. "I really like his scheme, and I think we're going to have a great defense this year. I really like being able to roll down some and get in the box. It's really versatile; you can show all aspects of your game, and I really love that."
Banks does plan on the Rams being able to do many things, but not too many. He and the staff broke down film of their future opponents, letting that determine what play calls they will need. If they're not necessary, there's no need to work on them.
But all the specialty items will feed directly off the three or four base calls the defense is built upon, and those need to be extremely operational for the others to fit properly. It's one of the reasons Banks likes the system.
He's been to other places in his coaching career, been exposed to different philosophies and schemes, but this is the one which has always made the most sense to him, partially because assignments go hand in hand with each other. He knows other defenses are great. He just feels this one is better.
"I didn't create this. I learned it, and we've got our minor tweaks to ourselves, but it's something that's been going on long before I was born," Banks said. "When I went out and had to work in other systems, before I became a coordinator, before I got back in our system … it just makes sense. It's fundamentals, it's technique and it's getting our guys to execute. It's not calls, it's our guys doing their job over and over again so we can go make plays. That's the foundation of it. Your pass responsibility, it takes you to your run responsibility. It makes sense."
Learn a little bit and absorb it well. Then get even better at it and move on to the next item on the list. Being exact in the base concepts leads to playing fast, and he said if the defense isn't flying to the ball, it won't really matter what the play call is anyway.
Banks doesn't think it's that hard to learn, and neither does head coach Jay Norvell. The Air Raid is so simple it can be taught in three days, but the defense will take a more methodic approach. Different styles for both, but the same ending point is targeted.
"They're not quite on the same schedule as (the offense), but the philosophy is the same," Norvell said. "We're not trying to be experts on everything, but we want to be really detailed in the areas we choose to do. Our defense is the same way. We'll have a very narrow focus with our install, and we'll teach the base foundation and fundamentals, and then well add to it every day. After the next four or five days, we'll have most of our defense in and we'll just continue to rep it. The best teams don't do a lot, and we don't do a lot, but we want to be very good at what we do."
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Slow and steady. Basics first and foremost. Eliminate hesitation to play fast, then build from there. There's not a lot to it, but he's in no rush to get to everything right away. Not even by the end of the 15 spring practices.
"Our base calls, we have a certain amount of reps, we have a percentage of reps we want to get of each call, and then we say at the end of spring, we feel like we can now at least know the basics," Banks said after Thursday's workouts. "We won't really be masters at it by the end of the spring, but we'll be close. Â Then have a great summer, then fall camp is when we will become experts."
This isn't just about a new system, one which Banks played in and came to love at North Dakota State, being taught to a new group of coaches and new players. This formula will be followed each and every year by the CSU defensive coordinator. Start at ground zero and move up. Start from scratch each spring, treat it as if they're spoon-feeding babies each time out.
It's his chosen method, and from the player's perspective, it's a decent way to learn a new system. For some, this is their third in a Colorado State uniform.
"We're going to take it step by step. I think we're installing it more slowly, because we want the guys playing real fast right now and not hesitate as much," linebacker Dequan Jackson said. "Once we master the first play call we've got, then boom, we move on to the next one and try to eliminate some of the mistakes early."
There is some carryover from one defense to another, but there are some complete lane changes, too, for those who are returners. The defensive linemen will still be expected to create chaos, push the line of scrimmage and Banks expects the group to lead the unit in tackles for loss.
There are new roles for linebackers, especially the secondary players, but at first glance, they've liked what they've seen from the system itself and the man doing the teaching.
"Coach Banks has been awesome, and we've been meeting hard," safety Jack Howell said. "I really like his scheme, and I think we're going to have a great defense this year. I really like being able to roll down some and get in the box. It's really versatile; you can show all aspects of your game, and I really love that."
Banks does plan on the Rams being able to do many things, but not too many. He and the staff broke down film of their future opponents, letting that determine what play calls they will need. If they're not necessary, there's no need to work on them.
But all the specialty items will feed directly off the three or four base calls the defense is built upon, and those need to be extremely operational for the others to fit properly. It's one of the reasons Banks likes the system.
He's been to other places in his coaching career, been exposed to different philosophies and schemes, but this is the one which has always made the most sense to him, partially because assignments go hand in hand with each other. He knows other defenses are great. He just feels this one is better.
"I didn't create this. I learned it, and we've got our minor tweaks to ourselves, but it's something that's been going on long before I was born," Banks said. "When I went out and had to work in other systems, before I became a coordinator, before I got back in our system … it just makes sense. It's fundamentals, it's technique and it's getting our guys to execute. It's not calls, it's our guys doing their job over and over again so we can go make plays. That's the foundation of it. Your pass responsibility, it takes you to your run responsibility. It makes sense."
Learn a little bit and absorb it well. Then get even better at it and move on to the next item on the list. Being exact in the base concepts leads to playing fast, and he said if the defense isn't flying to the ball, it won't really matter what the play call is anyway.
Banks doesn't think it's that hard to learn, and neither does head coach Jay Norvell. The Air Raid is so simple it can be taught in three days, but the defense will take a more methodic approach. Different styles for both, but the same ending point is targeted.
"They're not quite on the same schedule as (the offense), but the philosophy is the same," Norvell said. "We're not trying to be experts on everything, but we want to be really detailed in the areas we choose to do. Our defense is the same way. We'll have a very narrow focus with our install, and we'll teach the base foundation and fundamentals, and then well add to it every day. After the next four or five days, we'll have most of our defense in and we'll just continue to rep it. The best teams don't do a lot, and we don't do a lot, but we want to be very good at what we do."
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