Jay Bateman explains how defense slowed Clemson, previews Georgia Tech and praises linebackers

The defensive coordinator said disguise was the key vs. Clemson

How did the linebackers perform? And how does that change your defensive approach when you have three linebackers out there? 

We played with (Tyrone) Hopper as the Sam against App State a lot. We wanted to do it against Miami a lot with D. Ross. I just didn't think he was quite ready for it. We put a lot on his shoulders on Saturday, man. He played a lot of different ... He did a lot of different jobs. So I didn't think he was quite ready. And I just felt like after the App State game we needed a little bit better edge rusher to the field, some of the stuff we were doing. And we wanted to get both of them on field more. We were working in that direction. And I think a big part of it too was Chazz's improvement. We felt like we couldn't take Chazz off the field much. And so I thought they played well.

I thought Jeremiah Gemmel played really well, did a great job of getting us lined up. Handing some of the ... We were trying to show a lot of different stuff up front, to try to protect the run box, because we were pretty light in the run box most of the game. And he did a great job with that. And then I thought Chazz played really well. But we asked Dominique to do a lot. And I was really happy with him. I think every opponent's a little bit different. Right? So depending on what Georgia Tech does, how we decide to play against them. DJ Ford's still a good player. He played less than he normally does, but that was just the plan for that opponent.

Are you like the players in that when you have a big opponent coming up, you get excited?

More scared. I don't know. I think I approach every week the same. And I talk to our guys about that all the time. I try to spend ... I'm here the same amount of hours and the same amount of time and the same amount of film study for every opponent. I think it was interesting for us this year, because in our offseason film study, App State, we weren't really sure what they were going to do with a new head coach and new play caller. Miami, we weren't really sure what they were going to do with a new head coach and a new play caller.

So we felt like Clemson, Wake Forest, and South Carolina were the three teams in the first five that we could really have a pretty good bead on what they were going to offensively. So I think going forward now, we now have got to look at the games and really have a better view of the in-season games for how we're trying to defend people.

When the head coach is really on board with being so aggressive, does that help you schematically when you're preparing? 

Yeah. Coach Brown is awesome. Every week, he's got a plan for how he thinks we’re going to best have a chance to win. And some weeks it's a little more aggressive, some weeks it's not. I think he realizes that the strength of our team is probably, on defense, is attacking. And I think that's my mindset. That's how we want to build it. So I think it's to create an attacking mindset, but try to put as less stress as you can on the secondary. I thought we did a good job with that on Saturday at times. 

Mack called Myles Dorn a hero on Saturday for what he'd gone through. And you called him and Wolfolk both elite smart. Can you speak to how he performed on Saturday?

I love Myles Dorn. I told him on Monday when we found Wolf definitely wasn't going to play. I'm like, ‘Hey, look. You've got to be able to play these two spots.’ And then we were getting ready for the game, and I think it was Dre said, ‘Who's going to be our third nickel?’ And I was like, ‘Myles, you better be ready for that, too.’ 

So Myles is really smart. I actually think the boundary safety is probably what he's more natural fit for. All the NFL guys, when I talk to them, that's what they think about him is a guy who can get more involved in the run. I thought he did a really good job. Really smart. So I'm glad he's there. He's got to carry his weight a little bit with some of these young guys out there these next few weeks.

What did you see with Clemson's offense that allowed you to limit their production? 

I think the main thing was I think they were just really scary outside at receiver. And I wanted to give them as few shots on goal as I could outside against one-high defense. People that have played them with one-high defense have done okay for awhile, but then all of a sudden you turn around and it's 42 points, because they've given up three huge plays. So we felt like we had to disguise that. And then I thought we did a really good job with our front. Tim Cross, I thought our front played really well in the run game, two-gapping some stuff. Trying to take up two gaps with one guy. Some D-line twists, and some D-line stunts to try and take some run gaps away. 

And try to get them to run the ball, and then handle our run box with less defenders. I thought we did a good job with that.

And then I thought Myles Dorn, and especially I thought when Don Chapman came in, they both did a really good job of being the extra safety in the box from depth, because that's a hard thing to do. And I thought especially against their running back. And I thought we tackled him a couple of times in really, really tough tackles that were big plays.

Storm Duck played a little more than in previous games. Why?

Yeah. From the get go, we've thought Storm was really talented and going to be a really good player. I think when you have a freshman DB, you know like the first game when Trey Morrison got banged up against South Carolina, it was like, okay, Storm's in the game, it's like, ‘Okay, whew.’ I'm very confident in Storm ability-wise, but he hadn't played.

And the last thing you want to do, I think, is put a corner out there, and have him have a bad day. And sometimes that can affect him for a year. So we were trying to bring him along, and insert him in some times. And he played against App State a good amount. And we just felt like after that game he's playing at a level he deserves to play more. And so we started him, and he played really well. And we rolled with it. 

How detailed does a guy have to be when you're disguising stuff? Is it down to their eyes and where they're looking at the snap? How far does that go?

Certain calls are extremely detailed. Certain calls we're trying to paint a picture of a different play. Especially if you have some success with a play on defense, the next game you try to paint a picture, ‘Hey, look. This is that same look.’ And then it's not. Some of it's very detailed. Some of it is more general. We're trying to show high safeties or one high safety, and then how you work with that. I thought we did a really good job on Saturday with our safeties disguising. That was a big help to our defense. 

Did you bring more pressure in terms of blitzes?

I think we did a good job of getting our linebackers on the running back in one-on-one pass protection situations. I didn't think ... The people that have blitzed them a bunch, you get chewed up. I think he's so big, and he's so tall, he sees it coming. So he sees it coming off the edge. And what happens is then it’s just getting it out to Ross and Higgins, and you're in trouble. So our thing was to try to show, and then try to get running backs on linebackers isolated.

And I think early on, I thought the first couple of third downs was really good. And then you give them credit, they did some stuff with different protections, but we were trying to get Surratt on the back as much as we could. Because the other thing, that was right up the middle. And I felt like any twist, anything off the edge, he just saw it and got rid of it.

What happened on Clemson’s final touchdown where Surratt was defending Tee Higgins? 

Screwed it up. We called it earlier in the game. It worked really good for us. We played it well. And then there just was a miscommunication. So I’ve got to do a better job coaching it.

Gemmel said after the game that he thought communication for the most part was really good, and was an important part of it, particularly with all the young players. Would you agree with that? 

Yeah. I've been begging them, ‘Use your mouth. Talk. Communicate.’ Because so many times I feel like we get the look, or we get the call, and they're like, ‘Okay, got it.’ And it's like, no game was ever lost because of too much communication. They hear me say that all the time. So I think we're making progress towards that end. It's still not where I want it to be. 

How do you get that out of them? Especially if it's not part of someone's personality? 

You demand it. I think if you ask them, they would tell you that that is something that I discuss with them at length every day. 

In your experiences, how much does them actually seeing it pay off in the field help?

That's the No. 1 way to get them to do something is to have success with it, right? Also, they realize when we talk to each other, we have less mental errors, and we're all on the same page more. And we're able to see things from the boundary, we see things from the field, that we wouldn't have known if we didn't get communicated. Then you have a lot better chance to have success. 

What's improved most in Chazz's game in the past few weeks? 

I think probably the consistency of physicality. I think when you're a quarterback, you can hand the ball off, and throw a hitch, and just kind of hang out. And I think he's learned at linebacker, every snap is a fistfight. And I think football makes sense to Chazz. So you can explain things to him, and he's like, ‘I understand how that works together.’ So I think his ceiling is extremely high. 

Has he performed better than you expected at this point, five games in? 

Yeah, I would say so. 

How would you define his athleticism? 

It's funny. When we were going to play Miami, Coach Brown played a couple of clips of him not getting it done at quarterback last year against Miami. And there's an interception, and he's chasing, and I'm like, ‘Dude, you look slow.’ And he's like, ‘You can't run with the rib protectors. I was like, ‘Those must have been some big rib protectors.’ But I think Chazz has ... I think he's really talented. I think he's worked really hard in the weight room. And I think he's got real speed. He's athletic. He's a hard combination of ... There aren't many people that walk the earth that have the combination of skills that he does. .

How's his football IQ? 

He's really smart. And that's what I was getting at. He understands, ‘Okay, in this coverage. Where should the ball go?’ I have those conversations with him all the time. ‘Hey, when you were playing quarterback, if you saw this coverage, where would you throw it?’ ‘I would throw it there.’ ‘Okay. So let's go cover that guy.’ And that makes sense to him. And I think that's been really the biggest advantage he's had coming over is understanding how all 11 work, which I think at linebacker you have to have. I think Jeremiah Gemmel has that, too. I think Jonathan Smith has that, too. But I think Chazz is applying a little bit more of the offensive side to it, which helps. 

Was Strowbridge feeling good Saturday? And if he's full go, how much does that help you?

Yeah, Jason's a really, really good player. I thought he was closer Saturday. His energy was a little better I felt like. I'll give him credit, he tried to go every week. And I remember against Wake Forest, just you could tell how upset he was he couldn't go. When he plays we're a lot better football team. 

What have you seen out of Georgia Tech's offense to date? 

Obviously their transition from the option. So you see there's some pieces that ... Like the tight end's a transfer. I think he's a good player, from UConn. They didn't recruit any tight ends before. So it was smart of them to go get a guy. But I think the quarterbacks are really athletic, like you'd expect. Eight, Oliver is really fast, scary fast. And they're doing a good job. They give you a lot of stuff. It's a lot of runs. And they're spreading you out, and getting the ball in space. I think they're doing a really good job. 

Previously under Paul Johnson, they had a way that they went about their blocking scheme and stuff. How different is what they do now up front from what they did before? 

Yeah, what they're doing now is what most conventional offenses do, give or take. So it's more zone stuff. It's more pass protection. I know this much. I saw that option stuff for five years, and I would much rather defend inside zone. So I'm glad they switched.