Q&A: Co-defensive coordinator, secondary coach Anthony Poindexter

Anthony Poindexter has high expectations for his Purdue defensive backs.

So it's not surprising to see him moving around like one during spring practices, showing guys where to line up, getting to them immediately after they make a play or barking at them when they make a mistake.

Poindexter, a two-time All-American when he played at Virginia, has ramped up the energy for the group through the first week-plus of practices. How's it gone? He talked to reporters after Monday's practice.

Q: Your first impressions of the safety group.

Poindexter: "We have work to do, but I think we’ve got enough to get the job done. Besides Parker, we’re kind of young back there. I think Jake (Thieneman) played a little bit last year. Mosley played a little bit, but we’ve got a ways to go. We’re just trying to work hard each day."

Q: What need the safeties to do to fit into the scheme of the defense?

Poindexter: "You’ve got to be the quarterback of the defense. They’ve got to get people lined up. They’ve got to get themselves lined up. They’ve got to get the coverage calls. They’ve got to get the coverage checks. They’re just got to operate like the quarterback."

Q: During one of the practices, you said, ‘You have to play football with malice in your heart.’

Poindexter: "Yeah, yeah, you probably heard me say a lot of crazy things. Don’t y’all quote me on all of them. They’ve got to have a little anger, aggressive. This is an aggressive game. In my mind, it’s a contact sport that you’ve got to have a little aggression. They’re starting to understand the style of play that Coach (Nick) Holt and the rest of the staff is trying to bring to this team."

Q: Is there a real difference from free safety and strong safety in this defense?

Poindexter: "A little bit. But I think all of them are going to have be able to play both sides because there are certain formations, certain motions that they can be flip-flopped jobs. They’re almost mirror positions in certain things. We’re going to need one of those guys to be able to cover a little bit more than the other one, but they’re all going to have to do a similar job."

GoldandBlack.com: When you were on the ‘LIVE’ show, we talked about how your experience as a player helps you express truth to these guys. How has it gone so far in terms of reality coaching?

Poindexter: "I don’t know. I hope it’s going good. But, look, I think they respect me enough and been around me enough now to know I’m just trying to help their game. Sometimes it doesn’t come out the way you want to hear it, soft and cuddly. Other times, it does. But got to put the pressure on you now so when you get to the game in the fall, it’s a lot easier. I think they’re adjusting well and they’re trying and they’re working hard. We still just have a little bit of work to do."

Q: What’s the adjustment been like for you here?

Poindexter: "Just learning the new system and way of practicing. Coach Brohm has a little bit different style than (Bob Diaco) has. Other than that, the Xs and Os are kind of similar. There’s a few things a little bit different, but other than that, just getting to know the kids, it’s just coaching the football."

GoldandBlack.com: You mentioned on the 'LIVE' show that you were saving your energy for practice and the guys. It's been pretty good.

Poindexter: "Trying to keep it up. Getting good rest at nighttime."

Q: Been a lot of talk about the offensive scheme that Brohm brings. Getting to pit your defense against that scheme, what’s that like?

Poindexter: "That’s great. This is the first time that I’ve seen this many plays, this many different formations in a four-day window of spring practice since I’ve been coaching. It’s awesome. I tell our kids, it’s hard for them. It’s hard for our defense to get lined up, see different formations, see different plays and it’s coming at them fast. But it’s only going to help us in the long run. We’ll have 15 practices of that in the spring and then 20-some practices in fall camp. It’s only going to benefit us. It’s good."

GoldandBlack.com: You told the guys the first week, ‘Minimize the gain, just make the tackle.’ Is that in a certain defense or just generally speaking?

Poindexter: “There are certain times when we’re playing deep field, the guys split, you aren’t making it at the line of scrimmage. Just trying to get them to understand, here are the plays that need to be minus gain or right at the line of scrimmage and here are the plays you’ve just got to knock them down and let’s live to see another day. Every play is different. They’re learning it. The kids are trying hard and working hard. I can see us getting better. We got better (Monday). But we’ve still got a ways to go."

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