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George Kalaftis is ready. You can see it in his eyes and you can hear it in his voice. He likes the direction of the rebranded Purdue defense.
“This year, we’re united, we’re together, we’re aggressive, we’re getting after the quarterback, we’re making big plays and we’re going to take the ball away and create turnovers,” said Karlaftis during Big Ten media days in Indianapolis. “We have a lot of guys returning. We’re excited to see what our coaches have planned for us.”
It’s a big year for the Boilermaker defense. Huge. Will Purdue get back in the bowl business after missing it the last two seasons? It’s not an overstatement to say the defense--more than any other segment of the Boilermaker squad--will dictate the tale of the 2021 season.
Defensive change has been the operative word in West Lafayette. The moment the disjointed 2020 season ended, Jeff Brohm went to work re-constructing the defense. He had to.
Coordinator Bob Diaco and his passive 3-4 base scheme were out after one tumultuous season that ended with a 2-4 mark. And cornerbacks coach Greg Brown was let go after two seasons. Purdue also saw line coach Terrance Jamison (Illinois) and safeties/co-defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter (Penn State) leave for similar roles on other staffs.
The result: A different vibe in the halls of the Kozuch Football Performance Complex.
The new-look Boilermaker staff includes three co-coordinators in Brad Lambert (linebackers coach), Mark Hagen (line) and Ron English (secondary). James Adams was brought on board to coach cornerbacks. Lambert (Charlotte) and English (Eastern Michigan) have been head coaches, while Hagen has worked at places like Texas and Texas A&M and in what is now his second stint at Purdue. Experience abounds--as well as harmony and cooperation.
“I think we got a great collection of coaches that are great people, that care about winning but also care about players, doing things the right way,” said Brohm. “To this point, they have worked extremely well together.
“What we want to try to do is create a room of a lot of ideas and a lot of knowledge, a lot of experience, a lot of know how and work together as a team to get things done throughout the season.”
Working together didn’t always happen with last year’s defensive staff, when Diaco was routinely the lone voice in the room in what wasn't a collaborative effort. No more. Brohm wants everyone’s voice heard, including his own.
“We kind of went back to my terminology, what I believe in on that side of the ball,” said Brohm. “I want to make sure the coaches that brought in would be comfortable adapting to that. Without question, they were all in.
"I want to make sure that I have a footprint in there, that I give my input, not just during the season. I think this is a lot of offseason work and a lot of pre-camp work and a lot of study that we have done and put together the initial first package together that has a lot of options and ways to play defense.”
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The unit overhaul didn't stop with hiring four new assistants. Purdue also has brought in six transfers: tackles Damarjhe Lewis (Indiana) and PrinceJames Boyd (JC), end Joe Anderson (South Carolina), linebacker OC Brothers (Auburn), safety Christopher Jefferson (Findlay) and cornerback Jamari Brown (Kentucky). The staff also is recruiting Virginia Tech end Alec Bryant in the portal.
One thing Brohm’s overhauled defense will be: Aggressive.
“When I say play offense on defense, I want us to be aggressive in our approach as coaches first,” said Brohm. “I want us to be aggressive in our approach as a player, I want us to not be afraid to take chances and make a play or interception, go for a pass breakup, go for the sack, tighten up the coverage. You know, sometimes we give offenses too much credit and we are just so scared of the big play in there that we are not defending everything."
Karlaftis, who says players are spending more time with their position coaches, has liked what he has seen so far from a unit aiming at three key areas of improvement:
• Creating turnovers
• Getting off the field on third downs
• Pressuring quarterbacks
“All of our coaches coach us really hard,” Karlaftis said. “That’s great. That doesn’t stop when you get off the field. That’s off the field with academics with everything and it’s brought a different sense of urgency and doing everything the right way. I think it’s really helped us--this whole massive coaching change.”
Perhaps the most key new hire is Lambert, who will call the defense on game days. Still, this will be a collaborative effort.
“So, you're not gonna be perfect,” said Brohm. “We can’t defend it all, but we want to try to defend the field as aggressive as we can, we want to try to stop the run, stop guys at the line of scrimmage, give different looks, allow guys to blitz and attack and allow guys to sit on routes if they want to, not just be scared to play the deep third, so to speak, just let everything in front of them. We've got to improve and work at it, allow our guys to gain confidence so that they feel good about it.”
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