Film Study: UT-San Antonio's defense

A week after what his star, record-tying running back called a “masterful” performance, Arizona State offensive coordinator will face his next task on a short week against the University of Texas-San Antonio.

He’ll also be encountering a familiar face.

Pete Golding, who is in his first season as the Roadrunners’ defensive coordinator, has worked with Lindsey – along with first-year running backs coach John Simon – before. The three worked together each of the last two seasons at Southern Miss, with Lindsey as the offensive coordinator, Simon the running backs coach and Golding working with the safeties.

“He’s one of the best young defensive coordinators in the country,” Lindsey said of his former colleague. “I worked with him at Southern Miss, so firsthand I’ve seen him. Obviously, that wasn’t his defense at Southern Miss, but at the same time, he’s a passionate guy. His players will play really hard for him. A very sound, very smart guy so we’ve definitely got a big challenge.”

The two schemes appear to flow directly into ASU’s favor. For one, UTSA is still working in a brand-new coaching staff in the first year under head coach Larry Wilson. The results have been predictable, with a noticeable learning curve still underway. Defensively, the problems haven’t been necessarily egregious, especially for two games. They’ve allowed an average of 18 points and 307.5 yards per game but have particularly shown holes against the run (including more than 200 yards against Colorado State last week).

ASU’s offense, on the other hand, boasts one of the top running back tandems in the country in juniors Demario Richard and Kalen Ballage. Each of the two ran for more than 100 yards last week against Texas Tech as the Sun Devils exceeded 300 yards total on the ground. Richard did so the old-fashioned way, dominating between the tackles on 30 carries, but couldn’t do so in the same style as Ballage, who matched a NCAA record with eight total touchdowns.

“I think they both stood out in their own right, [Demario] pounding the ball and being physical and getting those hard yards and he had a quiet 100-yard rushing game,” Simon said. “A lot of people don’t realize that, but you only get so many 100-yard rushing games.”

While Richard certainly proved he was capable of handling the grind of 30 carries, Simon said he’d like to see more balance. He wants to keep Ballage fresh (he’s never had more than 18 touches in a game for his career), so that could lead to more carries for redshirt freshman Nick Ralston, as well.

“I think I’ve got to do a better job of saving [Richard],” Simon said. “I feel like he probably had a couple carries too many in the end. When you’re in the flow of a game and your guy is just pounding the ball and it’s a four-minute drill, I just believe in D-Rich and finishing the game. I probably want to do a better job of getting Nick Ralston involved more to take those 30 carries away. I’d like to keep D Rich somewhere around 24 carries.”

Regardless of who is in the shotgun next to redshirt sophomore quarterback Manny Wilkins (or in the ‘Sparky’ formation), UTSA’s defensive sets should allow the Sun Devils to take advantage on the ground.

UTSA runs a multiple base defense, which in essence means they don’t really have a base defense. They run a lot of the same personnel, but their responsibilities and roles often change. For example, a typical 4-3 set (four linemen, three linebackers) easily transitions to a 4-2-5 nickel defense depending on what type of look they get from an offense. The transition for a new coaching staff can make a defense like this hard and tedious to install, which can explain some of the Roadrunners’ early lapses. Some issues are based off of alignment, while others lie in miscommunication or forgotten assignments.

Take this first shot, for example. This shows a multiple set – a designated 3-4 that has one of the linebackers effectively working as a fourth lineman (highlighted in yellow). Their defense likes to attack with blitzes and other looks from the perimeter, which puts the onus of offensive line success on Evan Goodman and whoever starts at right tackle between Quinn Bailey and Zach Robertson this week. As a result, however, they’re exposed inside against the run. They’ve allowed gashing runs up the middle throughout their first two games this season, in part due to the large gaps between where the linemen put their hand in the dirt (as shown in the highlighted boxes).

On this specific play against Colorado State, UTSA is uncharacteristically conservative and plays off coverage in a Cover 4 look. Each of the four defensive backs plays off coverage behind them, with the three non-blitzing linebackers each taking their own zone coverage assignment. The strong side backer takes the flat on his side, while the weak side backer does the same on his. The middle, or “Mike,” linebacker takes the gap behind him that occupies where the safeties used to be. As a result, there’s a gap in the middle between the linemen and the “Mike” that should be open as long as the quarterback doesn’t telegraph his throw. In this case, it’s open but a poor throw led to an incompletion.

As was the case when facing a Cover 4 look against NAU, it’s more about forcing the offense to execute than trying to pressure and force turnovers. As a result, it’s become a major focus for ASU wide receivers coach Jay Norvell.

“They’re a solid bunch back [in the UTSA secondary],” Norvell said. “We want to really take this as an opportunity to improve and get better. We have a lot of things that we need to work on. Working on the perimeter, getting open, making plays down the field, blocking, finishing plays. This is just another opportunity to get into that.”

This is a case where UTSA tries to overload pressure, something it has to do while it doesn’t have the proper personnel in place. There are three down linemen with an outside linebacker on each side to bring pressure off the edge. The “Mike” backer remains under the nose as a spy on the quarterback, something they’ll definitely use to try to limit Manny Wilkins’ ability to use his legs. In this zone, three men are assigned to cover for deep shots over the top – the weak side corner, the strong side safety, and the strong side corner. They do so to avoid deep shots, which has allowed just two completions of 30+ yards this season thus far. The weak side linebacker sits in front of where he lines up, occupying the space directly behind the “Mike.”

The rush gets through, but just too well. They over pursue, especially with the weak side linebacker, opening up a gaping hole (as highlighted) for the running back to go through. When ASU is running its inside zone run, a staple of its running game, this is what they’re looking to attack. The defense hasn’t given up too many big plays, but could when facing bigger, stronger athletes who could make it to the next level (highlighted in gold).

The issue in over pursuing a play is understandable with an inexperienced defense, and Simon said he expects the Roadrunners to only continue to tighten things up.

“It’s just two games, so with a new coaching staff, a new [defensive coordinator] who is smart on the defensive side, I expect them to improve every week,” he said. “We have to go into that game expecting that they’re going to get it better, that they’re going to figure it out.”

Facing a run blitz will be familiar for the Sun Devils, who routinely ran into eight- and nine-man fronts against NAU.

“You have to trust it and just get the max out of every play,” Simon said of running in those situations. “You have to trust that your big run is going to come, but until then you have to make your read, protect the ball and be physical and not look for it and just play ball.”

When teams have the success they’ve had against UTSA with the running game, it also opens up options in the play-action passing game. While Colorado State did not do an effective job taking advantage of this last week, the options are certainly open. Take this play for example. UTSA lines up in a 4-3, with each of the two outside linebackers set to come off the edge and the “Mike” backer again working as a spy on the quarterback. This is important to remember in situations of read option and RPOs (run-pass option), something ASU has worked well in integrating with Wilkins at the helm.

“Not enough people talk about Manny, and the yards he’s able to get on the ground,” Simon said. “He really balances our running game and helps our running backs when they’re game planning to stop [Ballage] or game planning to stop [Richard]. We can zone read it and pull it, and then Manny can pull it and get 15 yards.”

The strong-side corner works man-to-man at the top of the screen, while the strong safety works in the zone over the top. The weak-side corner backs off and plays off coverage, while the weak-side safety creeps forward into the flat – the same “robber” concept of coverage NAU exploits.

ASU needs to continue to improve again man coverage, something Norvell said is still a work in progress.

“We’ve got to beat man coverage every week,” Norvell said. “We did a good job of that last week, but that continues to be a challenge. These guys will come after you, and you’ve got to answer the bell.”

The weak-side corner makes the mistake of playing too far off, as he’s baited by the prospect of being beaten over the top. The weak-side safety, who is playing the “robber” technique, is too slow to get over, leaving open space for the receiver on a comeback route (as shown in gold). Against Colorado State, the pressure does get home in time and alters the throw for an incompletion, but if Wilkins can stand in the pocket and absorb the hit, this could be a money play to find a big target such as freshman receiver N’Keal Harry.

By protecting against an edge rush, dominating the line of scrimmage and emphasizing inside run, Arizona State should have what it takes overmatch UTSA’s defense.