Indiana University Athletics
Spring Practice Report 7: Defensive Line
4/9/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
 Coach Wilson | Coach McDaniel | Hoff | Rayner |  Photo Gallery
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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - The Hoosiers completed their seventh spring practice on Thursday morning, their second of four practices this week. This practice was Indiana's seventh of 15 total. IU will scrimmage on Saturday and closed the week on Sunday.
Head coach Kevin Wilson addressed the media after Thursday's practice.
"My main concern is to continue to run the ball consistently and play better run defense," Wilson said in his opening remarks. "I've told the defense not to protect the coverage so much because, sometimes, you're a better run defense because you're committed to stopping the run."
With the Hoosiers defensive front seven focused on the running game, the defensive backs must assume a greater responsibility to avoid giving up yards on play-action passes and coverage mismatches.
"We need those corners to come through," Wilson said regarding one of his main defensive concerns. "When the offense messes up, they get to punt. When the defense messes up, they give up touchdowns."
Pass coverage is important to Wilson's defensive plans, but he would rather force the issue of one-on-one coverage now than pull the front seven back in coverage and away from the run.
"We've tried to really go slow this spring," Wilson said. "Even though we need the secondary to develop, I still want to commit to playing better run defense. I'm not going to get cute with pass coverage so that we lose our run defense."
Watch coach Wilson's full interview with the media here:
POSITION PROFILE: DEFENSIVE LINE
Larry McDaniel is in his second season as Indiana's defensive line coach, a group that accounted for over half of IU's sacks in 2014 and over 40 percent of the Hoosiers tackles for loss. This season, his players return to spring practice with a familiar face at the helm, which should yield even higher returns.
"It's amazing, the strides they've made from this time last year when we implemented the defense to where they are now," McDaniel said. "They've done a nice job of getting better every day."
With a year already under their belt, the Hoosiers defensive front is able to focus on a more advanced level of training than last year, when many of the guys were still learning the basics of the defense.
"Stance, alignment, and all the little things we taught last year are a foregone conclusion now," McDaniel remarked. "Now we can concentrate on things like hand placement, eye placement and doing the things we need to do to be successful."
Watch Coach McDaniel's interview following IU's seventh practice here:
Nate Hoff returns in 2015 from an outstanding freshman season, in which he recorded 29 tackles, 3.5 sacks and 8.5 tackles for loss. Hoff's efforts helped him receive Freshman Honorable Mention All-Big Ten and All-America honors last season. As a sophomore, Hoff will resume his role as nose tackle, one of the pivotal positions in Coach Brian Knorr's 3-4 defense.
One of Hoff's biggest takeaways from the team thus far is the overall competitiveness throughout practice.
"We're big on competing against each other," Hoff said. "We've been competing pretty well, and we've gotten a lot better."
It's no secret that Hoff is a dominating physical presence. During the offseason, Hoff posted outstanding numbers in the weight room, recording a 500-pound bench press and a 655-pound squat. Despite those measurable offseason gains, Hoff knows that being strong isn't everything.
"I want to improve my technique," Hoff said regarding his main goal for the preseason. "Being the strongest guy on the team is a great thing, but if you don't have really good technique, that won't transition well on the field."
Watch Hoff's full post-practice interview here:
Adarius Rayner saw an increase from two starts in his sophomore season to seven starts and 12 appearances last season as a junior. Rayner returns for his senior season, and he will assume an even greater role as an upperclassman on a young defense.
"I feel like we're going to have to carry the team," said Rayner of himself and the other upperclassmen in the trenches. "It starts up front, and we have to go hard every day to be an example for the rest of the team."
Rayner can speak to Coach McDaniel's claims that the defensive line feels more comfortable in their second season with this coaching staff.
"It has a better feel to it," Rayner said regarding their comfort in the 3-4. "We have our steps down better, our hands are better. Now we just have to play hard and run to the ball."
Watch Rayner's full interview with IUHoosiers.com here:
CREAM & CRIMSON SPRING GAME IN 9 DAYS
The Hoosiers kick off the 2015 Cream & Crimson Spring Game at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, April 18. They will also host a Little 500 pre-bash evening open scrimmage on Thursday, April 23.
