Hoke Breaks Down Depth, Three Defensive Leaders and Points of Emphasis Heading into 2020
New faces along the defense combined with opt outs from defensive tackle Jalen Alexander, linebacker TJ Kautai and cornerback Vincent Flythe have shifted the depth chart around heading into the first weekend on camp. Defensive coordinator Jon Hoke acknowledged the uncertainty entering the upcoming season has forced staffs and players to instill more accountability in practice as depth will be more critical than ever in 2020.
“It forces you to definitely, definitely develop everybody because there’s going to be situations we just don’t know, just as you said, that may came up where everybody has the opportunity to play, so you have to do a good job developing your depth and keeping your scheme relatively broad from the standpoint that everybody can execute it,” Hoke told reporters on Friday. “And that was a great question because you don’t know from week-to-week, so you have to do a good job developing your whole roster.”
The return of senior safety Antwaine Richardson undoubtedly adds assurance to Maryland’s backline as Hoke noted the safety as one of three defensive leaders. “We’ve always had good leadership, no question Antoine and Keandre were a big part of it. We get Antwaine Richardson back, who’s played a lot of football and does a great job making his teammates better. Chance Campbell still does a good job, Ace does a good job, they kind of all do it as a group, but these three guys that have picked up the pace from where Antoine Brooks and Keandre left.
Senior linebacker Shaq Smith has also moved from the JACK to MIKE, Hoke confirmed on Friday. It’s a move that could elevate his play with a more natural fit and experience inside, while Smith joins Ayinde Eley and Chance Campbell to anchor Maryland’s defense, but the return of Durell Nchami helped make the move possible. “Shaq, he’s been around and I think it is a little more natural for him. He’s done a great job, he’s another guy that’s been very good, very vocal from a leadership standpoint so I’m encouraged from what I’ve seen so far. From the pass-rush obviously, having Durell back is a big, big plus for us because he was one of our best rushers a year ago. Joe brings suddenness and quickness as well as Frankie Burgess, who we brought in who could fit in there at third down. So we have some guys that we like can come in on third down.”
Cornerback Vincent Flythe was one of six Maryland players to opt out last week as Hoke looks to replace the production from Antoine Brooks, Tino Ellis and Marcus Lewis. “We got a good group and it’s going to be a competition to see because you have Deonte Banks, we signed Jakorian Bennett, you have Kenny Bennett back, you have Lavonte Gater, all those guys played some and we’re going to count on all of them to be able to help us. Devyn King, mid-year, I know we didn’t get a spring with him but he got to be around us and those type of things. We’ve done a good job of recruiting and trying to build that position after those two key losses.”
The committee approach to retooling Maryland’s defense ahead of 2020 has driven Hoke and the defensive staff to reinforce common themes from a season ago in order to take a step forward. Hoke noted eliminating explosive plays remains a key theme.
“That was not a little bit, it was an Achilles heel for us a year ago, just too many explosive plays whether its loss of gap control, missed tackles at time, pursuit angles not where they need to be so we got to improve that in the run and pass game, got to eliminate explosive plays. And then we need to come up with more takeaways, one of the biggest indicators in football is how well your turnover margin is and not generate as many as we need to and those three things, pass big plays, run big plays and generating takeaways will be a huge emphasis in camp.”
