Jordan Lesley Talks No. 1 Focus to Fix Defense, Thoughts on Transfers, Linebackers + More

Biggest focus this spring

"Number one is fundamentals. That was one of the big things that stuck out last year. At every position. That's the number one thing. Just getting back to basic, fundamentally sound football. Probably should have took that approach last year a little bit with how we were built but we didn't. Right now just focus on playing football."

Having more experience in the secondary

"Experience is the best teacher. Those reps last year to where they didn't look like anybody wanted them to look, they're still valuable. Guys have to learn. It could be a fundamental issue or maybe it's a functional strength. You go back and you watch those cut-ups and you watch the film and you try to improve on that."

Athleticism at linebacker

"I feel good about it. Starting with Lee [Kpogba], a kid who's a junior college transfer. Very rarely is a first-year junior college kid, he may be good, but he's probably not dynamic. The speed, adjusting, and he's in a new system. So obviously, we feel good about his experience last year, and then the 15 practices coming up. But the guys we've recruited there, we poured a ton of time and effort. And I credit Jeff Koonz. Those guys, I feel, are really, really good players. From Josiah Trotter, Ben Cutter, James Heard. Those guys are going to be depended upon in '23."

Plan at Spear

"We'll use a combination of guys. We'll use guys like Lance Dixon and Raleigh Collins, who are guys that can create issues in windows. They're long, fast guys, and can get their hands on people. We'll use probably a little more of a traditional nickel safety there sometimes, just more of a cover guy. That's a position we can really mix and match."

Plan at WILL with Dixon at Spear, Exree Loe graduating

"We'll rep a number of guys in between MIKE and WILL. Trey Lathan is a guy that's coming off of a minor knee deal. But he'll be ready to go, we're repping him there. Ben Cutter will rep there. Jairo Faverus will rep there. That's one position we've really simplified what the job is. So it's really going to be repping a bunch of guys there and see who fits the best."

Where Josiah Trotter will play

"Wherever he's best. The kid is an unbelievable talent. Obviously has a good head for the game. Simple answer, yes, primarily a MIKE. But he'll be a guy that'll play a number of positions.

James Heard's ball get-off

"That's the one thing that sticks out about him going back to the evaluation process. With your primary pass rusher, the thing you evaluate is first step. If they don't have that, they don't have anything. So it really doesn't matter after that. We worked a circuit drill today with a blitz path and I was the quarterback running the drill and he's on ya pretty quick."

Initial thoughts on the transfers

"They can find the ball. If you're talking secondary with Montre [Miller] and Keyshawn Cobb. They've got a nose for the ball, can play the ball. That was the number one evaluation for me for our staff going into the transfer market. That's the one thing I want to see on film is guys that when the ball's in the air, what do they do? Up front with Davoan Hawkins, the one thing that stuck out, again, was ball get-off. He's really, really explosive. Not asking him to do too many things. Do what he's good at. And then Fatorma [Mulbah], the kid from Penn State, probably the biggest body as far as interior d-linemen that we've had here."

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