The run game can’t gash the defense up the middle. Now UGA can bring rushers from anywhere they want, and the lineman are occupying all four inside rushing lanes. With the nose tackle in zero technique and the two down lineman in a 4I technique, the guards are occupied. Butts take up space, and it’s easier for linebackers to fill gaps when they can crash behind big butts. Why? He wanted the biggest butts possible in the trenches. Belichick liked to get behind the defensive lineman when they lined up to run the 40-yard dash. At the combine he told Smart to stick with Bill Belichick. He tells a story about going to the NFL Combine when he was coaching for the Miami Dolphins under Nick Saban.
When talking about what he wants in those three down lineman, Smart emphasizes butts. The Jack can rush the passer, play the run, or get out and cover the running back on screens and pass routes. Some Jack LB’s of the past include D’Andre Walker, and Azeez Ojulari. The Mint Front is still technically only three down lineman, but the Jack LB is up at the line of scrimmage.
The spread was stressing Smart’s defenses. “You’re not gonna cover Alvin Kamara with a 250 pound linebacker.” The problem? Those big linebackers also had to go cover in space. In the SEC, guards are often 300 pounds or more. In his three-man fronts, Smart needed bigger linebackers because they would have to take on the guards on every play. If an opposing coordinator felt they had more of an advantage against Alabama’s four-man front than their three-man front they could just stay in certain personnel packages. Smart’s defense to that point had been based on the opponent’s personnel. The big Alabama lineman were too tired by that point in the fourth quarter to keep contain. All of those body blows eventually resulted in a knock out punch when OSU running back Ezekiel Elliott busted through the line for an 85-yard touchdown run that put the game out of reach. They ran the ball sideline to sideline in an effort to wear out the bigger Alabama defenders and negate OSU’s size advantage.
The Buckeyes didn’t even try to test Alabama inside. After OSU put up 42 points on Alabama, Smart went and met with his counterpart in that game, Tom Herman. The Crimson Tide started three lineman over 300 pounds in that game. Smart mentions the 2014 CFP Semifinal between Ohio State and Alabama. We need guys that can line up, play fast, be active, and run in space.” In the summer of 2018, Jordan Davis went from 347 pounds to 320 in about two-and-a-half months. Smart mentions that the coaches get weight reports on their players two times a week. Smaller lineman can get down the line and cover screens. Smaller linebackers play better in space. The UGA defense in 2017 is significantly lighter, and that made it significantly faster than the units Smart ran in the early part of his Alabama tenure. I don’t know if Kirby realized he was encapsulating why offensive football has evolved so quickly and uniformly over the last decade with one hypothetical question or not, but he nailed it. It’s hard to find people to move those kind of guys.”
#KIRBY SMART PLAYER UGA HOW TO#
Are you gonna block that guy? Are you gonna spend all night sitting up at the office when you could be with your kids figuring out how to block him, double team, move him? Or are you gonna say piss on that… we’re fixing to find a way to run around him, throw the ball in space… It’s not the same kind of game. “Look at that Nose Guard right there… 6’4”, 316. At one point, Smart looks into the audience and speaks. Yes, they are fast… But mostly they’re immovable. Here’s the measurables for the 2009 Alabama defense. While they were still ranked in the top 5 in scoring defense and rushing defense, the Tide’s passing defense had dropped down to 58th. In 2014, Smart’s unit ranked 12th in total defense. Other than one year each, those Alabama defenses were in the top 10 in rushing and passing defense as well. From 2009-2013, Smart’s defenses ranked in the top 10 nationally in total defense every season. He starts by talking about his first years as the defensive coordinator at Alabama. There probably isn’t too much exceptional about Kirby Smart and UGA LB’s Coach Glenn Schumann talking to a bunch of football coaches about defensive strategy in its own right, but this talk is exceptional in that it ended up on YouTube. Back in 2018, Kirby Smart presented at a coaching clinic and talked about defending modern college offenses.
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