Interview with Will Muschamp in Montgomery Adverti

[cleburnecountytigerfan 0]

Here is an interview with Will Muschamp that ran in today's Montgomery Advertiser. Here is the link.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/p.../606040331/1002

AUBURN -- The spotlight is on Will Muschamp these days, though you'd never know it from meeting him.

Auburn's new defensive coordinator spends most summer afternoons huddled around his computer at the team's sprawling compound, scouting video of Auburn's opponents with the lights off.

"I don't really think about it being dark in here," Muschamp said. "I'm pretty focused on what I'm seeing on the screen."

Auburn fans are focused on what Muschamp will accomplish on the field this fall. The Tigers' defense was uncharacteristically flawed last season, finishing middle-of-the-pack in most statistical categories among Southeastern Conference teams.

Muschamp thinks he can change that. Soon.

Hired away from the Miami Dolphins a few weeks before spring ball began, Muschamp said he's been impressed with the situation at Auburn.

He had no worries about the talent level but had no way to predict the players' attitudes.

That, he said, has been flawless.

Muschamp recently sat down with Jay G. Tate of the Montgomery Advertiser to talk about his team's enthusiasm, his plans for the season, his feelings about a few key players and even his mathematical formula for success.

Q You've been here six months or so. What have you learned so far?

A We've adapted to our per sonnel. We've added a couple things here and there, but we're still doing the things that make us successful on defense. We've spent a lot of time looking at the teams we're going to face this year, and looking at how to best defend them. Our offense does some unusual things. That gives us some good ideas, too.

Have you adjusted any of your major defensive principles since coming over from the Dolphins?

From a philosophy standpoint, we believe in physical and mental toughness. That's what we do. That won't change at all. Week to week, our scheme might change based on the team we're playing.

You were so animated in the spring -- getting on the field and talking to the players face-to-face. Is that an effort to make them more enthusiastic?

If they don't play hard, they won't play. If they don't strike up front and head-butt the guy across from them, they won't see the field. That's just how it is here. I think kids take on the personality they're coached. That's how I coach. If they have a hard time with my enthusiasm, they need to find another place to play.

How have the players handled that?

They've been great. Tommy (Tuberville) and the staff have brought in kids who are great people and great players. They work hard.

Freshman linebacker Tray Blackmon already has become a very popular player among fans. What do you expect from him this fall?

Tray is a guy we need. He's battling for a starting spot with Merrill Johnson, who also is going to be a good player for us. Tray needs to get a lot better. Remember, he hasn't played on Saturdays yet. Let's let him play a little bit and then start thinking about what he can do as a player.

Merrill missed part of the spring with an ankle injury. How is he doing? And isn't it weird how often he's overlooked?

I'm very disappointed that he got hurt. He was progressing well for us. He's going to be a very good player. He's feeling great now. He's been at full speed right now. He's a tough ol' country kid, a typical Auburn player. He's got good speed, agility and quickness. He's a little behind because of the injury, but he's a guy I love to coach.

Are you sticking with Will Herring at outside linebacker?

Will was one of our most productive players in the spring. He had more production points than anyone else on the defense. I'm really pleased with him and the unselfishness he's shown to the program.

Explain what "productivity" means.

Guys making plays. We award points for positive plays, and we take points away for negative plays. Playing football is not different than being in the business world. You either make progress for your company or you don't. We award for tackles, tackles for loss, assists, sacks, batted balls, interceptions, scores, game-changes on third down, red-area stops. If you can name it, we try to give points for it.

It's a total evaluation for the players. For the last five years in the NFL, the most critical factors were big-play ratio and turnover ratio. If you get three turnovers a game, you win 90 percent of the time. We were one of the worst teams in the league last year in terms of turnover ratios.

We have to get the ball back to our offense.

How do you teach players to create turnovers?

We reward it every day. We gave a t-shirt every day (during the spring) to the guys who were causing the most turnovers. We give them cut-ups and tape of different ways to strip and hit the ball. Our offense talks about ball security. We're talking about taking the ball away.

What are you going to do at safety? You have almost no experience back there.

We have about five guys who are all battling. Time has done some good things. The big thing we're looking for is consistency and performance. We need guys who play well all the time at that position. We need good tacklers there. We have the talent.

Knowing how inexperienced you are at safety, do you have to shift your strategy around to compensate?

My job as a coach is to put players in the best position to be successful. We'll choose the most dependable guys, and we'll adapt our scheme and our style for them so they can be successful. We're going to play to our strengths, and we feel like cornerback is a strength of this team. We have to be multiple enough, though, because there are too many good coaches around. If we run the same thing over and over, they're going to get you.

Greg Smith was a big signing for you all this winter. Is he someone you believe can step in an start playing immediately?

We hope that Greg is in shape and ready to play come fall. I'd love to play four guys (on the inside portion of the defensive line), but I don't know who those four guys will be. Let's let Greg come in here and practice first before we decide how much he can help us.

Tez Doolittle is another guy who plays inside. He had some motivational problems before you arrived. Have you seen anything like that lately?

Tez is hopefully turning the corner. We'll let him do it on Saturdays.

Do you miss the NFL?

I love coaching ball. I enjoy watching film and helping players get better. I enjoy the NFL. I enjoy the college game. It's a rush for me. I might be one of the few people who hit their feet every day excited about going to work.

There's a lot of talk out there about how demanding Nick Saban is. How much of that is real, and how much is myth?

Nick Saban never asked me to do anything he wouldn't or didn't do himself. He's an outstanding coach. I owe where I am today to him. He's an intense guy. He is demanding. I learned a lot from him.

People say Tommy Tuberville is the opposite of Saban in terms of the autonomy he gives assistants. Is that true?

They both want to win, so they're not opposites. Tommy hired me to be the defensive coordinator, but I lean on him from an experience standpoint. In playing, there is no substitute for speed. In coaching, there is no substitute for experience. What we're doing is what Auburn has been doing for a long time -- even going back to Coach (Shug) Jordan's days. We play hard defense.

If you had to give a coaching seminar, what would be the topic? What is your area of expertise?

Motivation. I think we complicate the game too much at times, and I do that, too. It's not Xs and Os like most people think. It boils down to people, relating to people and getting them to believe in what you ask them to do. If our players give us effort, we're going to be good. If the things you've done before have been effective, they tend to listen better.

Do the players ask about your background? How do they know you've been effective?

I don't got many questions. I'm still in the process of getting to know everybody. Kids read the Internet. They probably looked me up. I would have.

[quietfan 233]

Good find!

I'm really eager to see how CWM's defense works out this fall. In the past I've always thought of Auburn as playing hardcore defense and it did seem like we softened up a bit in some games last year. I think Muschamp will bring the intensity back to all our games. I'm expecting lots of speed, hard hitting, and blitzes/stunts/etc. that will confuse the enemy--it should be exciting!