Kane Wommack To Put His 'Twist' on Indiana Defense
3/6/2019 2:45:00 PM | Football
By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Kane Wommack once thought he had it figured.
Hey, you're in your 20s and already a college defensive coordinator, well, you might feel a little bullet proof.
Wommack certainly did.
"No question, I thought when I was a defensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois, I was like, 'Man, I'm ready. I've arrived.'"
As he soon realized, he hadn't.
"It so happens the next year I became a better coordinator and a better coordinator after that."
Wommack has improved enough that Indiana head coach Tom Allen trusted him to the point he turned over the Hoosier defense to him.
Trust comes from Wommack's deep familiarity with Allen's 4-2-5 defensive scheme and a long-time connection. Wommack was a graduate assistant at Ole Miss for the 2012-13 season while Allen was the linebackers coach there for Wommack's father, and defensive coordinator, Dave.
The younger Wommack later became the defensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois and South Alabama before spending last season coaching IU linebackers.
When Allen decided in December to give up his defensive coordinator role to focus on his head coaching duties, Wommack was an obvious replacement choice.
"It's interesting in this place because you were here as a position coach before," Wommack said. "I've run the same system I've run at two different places as defensive coordinator.
"Everybody has his own twist on things. That's how this defense has evolved over the years from when Tom and I were under my dad at Ole Miss, and then Tom branched out and I branched out.
"I'm starting to feel those different nuances in the things that we do, but at the same time, we are who we are. This defense has been really good in the last few years.
"We've got a younger group of players. Their bodies are at a different level. Watching them come out and see how they execute is pretty exciting."
How much of an edge does he get from his previous defensive coordinator jobs?
"From an organization standpoint I know exactly what I want off the field, what we want on the field," he said. "There was very little talking it through that this is how we have to do this or that. That transition is even less because we've already done a lot of the same things for the last three years here."
Allen likes what he's seen so far.
"Kane does a really good job. There's very clear direction of what we want.
"I love the energy. That was something I brought here and want that. He understands that. He has his own ways of doing things. There are some differences in how you motivate guys and get takeaways, the effort you play with. Coaches play a huge role in that. But it's very early and hard to tell in those things.
"We've made some minor adjustments, but I feel zero concerns of what we're doing. I'm still involved with that. It's our same defense. They're really flying around. Our speed in the backend really shows up. A lot of that is maturity and confidence. We have a chance to be a pretty good defense."
SWIFT SECONDARY
Forget slow and steady winning the race.
For the Hoosiers, especially in the secondary, it's all about speed.
They've recruited for it, and developed it.
Benefits have arrived.
"When those guys started moving around (during Saturday's spring practice debut)," Wommack said, "and then we saw it on the film, it was pretty exciting to see that come to fruition."
In this wide-open college football era, where every offense seems to feature up-tempo, spread-the-field attacks, fast secondary players are crucial.
The Hoosiers have them as never before.
"I think our team speed is tremendously improved from a year ago," Wommack said. "You have to credit (athletic performance coach) Matt Rhea and (director of athletic performance) Dave Ballou and what they've been able to do in the weight room. Credit the job we've done in recruiting the last couple of years. Now we're starting to see that on the field."
Allen also credits intangibles such as experience and familiarity with the system. Andre Brown Jr., Noah Pierre, A'Shon Riggins, Marcelino Ball, Bryant Fitzgerald, Reese Taylor and Cam Jones are showing spring practice promise.
"Part of it is confidence," Allen said. "They're a year older. We played so many young guys last year.
"There are some really fast guys there. And when you understand your role better, you have a good foundation.
"We've made some adjustments to get guys spread out. Get Cam in the back end higher up so he's not playing behind Marcelino Ball. I'm encouraged about that. Noah Pierre is one of the guys who has stood out. (Fitzgerald) has stood out. I can go on and on. There's no question the speed of our secondary stands out the most."
WON'T BACK DOWN
Reese Taylor's do-it-all athleticism leaves him as a defensive and offensive threat. Last season he played cornerback, receiver, running back, back-up quarterback and on special teams.
The former Indiana Mr. Football out of Indianapolis Ben Davis High School totaled seven tackles, 28 catches for 174 yards, and 15 carries for 83 yards last year as a true freshman.
For now his focus is at cornerback. In practice, the 5-11, 183-pounder goes at receivers Nick Westbrook (6-3, 216 pounds) and Donavan Hale (6-4, 225).
"He has great feet," Allen said about Taylor. "Great quickness. He has a good football IQ. We're trying to get him solidified in one area so he can get really good at it. That's
our objective for the spring for him.
"He didn't back down from those guys. They're big old guys who have proven to be good Big Ten receivers.
"He's another of the many guys we have in the secondary who are very athletic and move extremely well. It's a matter of getting the technique. We're emphasizing the techniques and we're already seeing the benefits of that emphasis."
BACK UP TO MOVE FORWARD
What happens when you take a defensively disruptive force such as Cam Jones (2 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery as a true freshman last season) and move him away from the line of scrimmage so he can get a full view of what the offense is trying to do?
Mayhem, the Hoosiers hope.
"Cam played so many different positions in high school," Wommack said, "that he never got to settle into one position. Last year was like, 'Wow, I only have to learn one spot, Husky.'"
How versatile is Jones? Consider he led Saint Benedict at Auburndale High School in Memphis, Tenn., in tackles, sacks, tackles for loss, receptions, rushing yards, all-purpose yards and touchdowns in his last two seasons.
IU coaches hope moving him away from the line of scrimmage will help him make more plays.
"Now, when he's backed off (from the line of scrimmage)," Wommack said, "when you take a guy who has so many ball instincts like he does, and such a feel for finding the ball, and back him up 12 to 14 yards and let him fix things on the fly….
"In two (practice) days, they all make mistakes, but he looks like a different dude back there."
BIG BOOST
The defensive line could get a huge boost from Juan Harris.
A really huge boost.
Harris is listed at 6-3 and 350 pounds. He's a transfer from Independence Community College in Kansas. He actually played in three games for IU during the 2017 season before suffering a season-ending injury.
Harris spent last year at Independence -- totaling 38 tackles, 4.5 for loss -- before rejoining the Hoosiers for this spring semester.
"There's no question it's the best shape he's been in since I've been at Indiana," said Allen, about to start his fourth season in Bloomington and third as head coach. "He's trimmed himself down. He's worked extremely hard.
"He is a very big human being. He's very difficult to block. He's gotten his body in shape where he can play consecutive plays. You can't tell much without pads on, but you can tell enough.
"He'd been here before, but he has a different mindset this time around. He's shown growth and maturity. He has to keep getting better. I'm encouraged by his growth."
SEE THE BALL
So often you see defensive backs not turn around to see the ball during a pass play.
Why is that?
Wommack has some thoughts.
"There are different types of coverages. You have match coverages and vision coverages. Zone coverages can be both match and vision.
"When you have vision on the quarterback there's a place for (looking for the ball). You can see the quarterback's eyes, can see where he wants to go with the ball. You match the routes he's going to see, and then break on it.
"At other times you have more match coverages where we're not so much worried about the ball, we're trying to match the route and take away the space. Some times what you see is a vision coverage where you can attack the ball, and other times a match coverage where we tell them put our eyes on the man. It varies."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - Kane Wommack once thought he had it figured.
Hey, you're in your 20s and already a college defensive coordinator, well, you might feel a little bullet proof.
Wommack certainly did.
"No question, I thought when I was a defensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois, I was like, 'Man, I'm ready. I've arrived.'"
As he soon realized, he hadn't.
"It so happens the next year I became a better coordinator and a better coordinator after that."
Wommack has improved enough that Indiana head coach Tom Allen trusted him to the point he turned over the Hoosier defense to him.
Trust comes from Wommack's deep familiarity with Allen's 4-2-5 defensive scheme and a long-time connection. Wommack was a graduate assistant at Ole Miss for the 2012-13 season while Allen was the linebackers coach there for Wommack's father, and defensive coordinator, Dave.
The younger Wommack later became the defensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois and South Alabama before spending last season coaching IU linebackers.
When Allen decided in December to give up his defensive coordinator role to focus on his head coaching duties, Wommack was an obvious replacement choice.
"It's interesting in this place because you were here as a position coach before," Wommack said. "I've run the same system I've run at two different places as defensive coordinator.
"Everybody has his own twist on things. That's how this defense has evolved over the years from when Tom and I were under my dad at Ole Miss, and then Tom branched out and I branched out.
"I'm starting to feel those different nuances in the things that we do, but at the same time, we are who we are. This defense has been really good in the last few years.
"We've got a younger group of players. Their bodies are at a different level. Watching them come out and see how they execute is pretty exciting."
How much of an edge does he get from his previous defensive coordinator jobs?
"From an organization standpoint I know exactly what I want off the field, what we want on the field," he said. "There was very little talking it through that this is how we have to do this or that. That transition is even less because we've already done a lot of the same things for the last three years here."
Allen likes what he's seen so far.
"Kane does a really good job. There's very clear direction of what we want.
"I love the energy. That was something I brought here and want that. He understands that. He has his own ways of doing things. There are some differences in how you motivate guys and get takeaways, the effort you play with. Coaches play a huge role in that. But it's very early and hard to tell in those things.
"We've made some minor adjustments, but I feel zero concerns of what we're doing. I'm still involved with that. It's our same defense. They're really flying around. Our speed in the backend really shows up. A lot of that is maturity and confidence. We have a chance to be a pretty good defense."
SWIFT SECONDARY
Forget slow and steady winning the race.
For the Hoosiers, especially in the secondary, it's all about speed.
They've recruited for it, and developed it.
Benefits have arrived.
"When those guys started moving around (during Saturday's spring practice debut)," Wommack said, "and then we saw it on the film, it was pretty exciting to see that come to fruition."
In this wide-open college football era, where every offense seems to feature up-tempo, spread-the-field attacks, fast secondary players are crucial.
The Hoosiers have them as never before.
"I think our team speed is tremendously improved from a year ago," Wommack said. "You have to credit (athletic performance coach) Matt Rhea and (director of athletic performance) Dave Ballou and what they've been able to do in the weight room. Credit the job we've done in recruiting the last couple of years. Now we're starting to see that on the field."
Allen also credits intangibles such as experience and familiarity with the system. Andre Brown Jr., Noah Pierre, A'Shon Riggins, Marcelino Ball, Bryant Fitzgerald, Reese Taylor and Cam Jones are showing spring practice promise.
"Part of it is confidence," Allen said. "They're a year older. We played so many young guys last year.
"There are some really fast guys there. And when you understand your role better, you have a good foundation.
"We've made some adjustments to get guys spread out. Get Cam in the back end higher up so he's not playing behind Marcelino Ball. I'm encouraged about that. Noah Pierre is one of the guys who has stood out. (Fitzgerald) has stood out. I can go on and on. There's no question the speed of our secondary stands out the most."
WON'T BACK DOWN
Reese Taylor's do-it-all athleticism leaves him as a defensive and offensive threat. Last season he played cornerback, receiver, running back, back-up quarterback and on special teams.
The former Indiana Mr. Football out of Indianapolis Ben Davis High School totaled seven tackles, 28 catches for 174 yards, and 15 carries for 83 yards last year as a true freshman.
For now his focus is at cornerback. In practice, the 5-11, 183-pounder goes at receivers Nick Westbrook (6-3, 216 pounds) and Donavan Hale (6-4, 225).
"He has great feet," Allen said about Taylor. "Great quickness. He has a good football IQ. We're trying to get him solidified in one area so he can get really good at it. That's
our objective for the spring for him.
"He didn't back down from those guys. They're big old guys who have proven to be good Big Ten receivers.
"He's another of the many guys we have in the secondary who are very athletic and move extremely well. It's a matter of getting the technique. We're emphasizing the techniques and we're already seeing the benefits of that emphasis."
BACK UP TO MOVE FORWARD
What happens when you take a defensively disruptive force such as Cam Jones (2 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery as a true freshman last season) and move him away from the line of scrimmage so he can get a full view of what the offense is trying to do?
Mayhem, the Hoosiers hope.
"Cam played so many different positions in high school," Wommack said, "that he never got to settle into one position. Last year was like, 'Wow, I only have to learn one spot, Husky.'"
How versatile is Jones? Consider he led Saint Benedict at Auburndale High School in Memphis, Tenn., in tackles, sacks, tackles for loss, receptions, rushing yards, all-purpose yards and touchdowns in his last two seasons.
IU coaches hope moving him away from the line of scrimmage will help him make more plays.
"Now, when he's backed off (from the line of scrimmage)," Wommack said, "when you take a guy who has so many ball instincts like he does, and such a feel for finding the ball, and back him up 12 to 14 yards and let him fix things on the fly….
"In two (practice) days, they all make mistakes, but he looks like a different dude back there."
BIG BOOST
The defensive line could get a huge boost from Juan Harris.
A really huge boost.
Harris is listed at 6-3 and 350 pounds. He's a transfer from Independence Community College in Kansas. He actually played in three games for IU during the 2017 season before suffering a season-ending injury.
Harris spent last year at Independence -- totaling 38 tackles, 4.5 for loss -- before rejoining the Hoosiers for this spring semester.
"There's no question it's the best shape he's been in since I've been at Indiana," said Allen, about to start his fourth season in Bloomington and third as head coach. "He's trimmed himself down. He's worked extremely hard.
"He is a very big human being. He's very difficult to block. He's gotten his body in shape where he can play consecutive plays. You can't tell much without pads on, but you can tell enough.
"He'd been here before, but he has a different mindset this time around. He's shown growth and maturity. He has to keep getting better. I'm encouraged by his growth."
SEE THE BALL
So often you see defensive backs not turn around to see the ball during a pass play.
Why is that?
Wommack has some thoughts.
"There are different types of coverages. You have match coverages and vision coverages. Zone coverages can be both match and vision.
"When you have vision on the quarterback there's a place for (looking for the ball). You can see the quarterback's eyes, can see where he wants to go with the ball. You match the routes he's going to see, and then break on it.
"At other times you have more match coverages where we're not so much worried about the ball, we're trying to match the route and take away the space. Some times what you see is a vision coverage where you can attack the ball, and other times a match coverage where we tell them put our eyes on the man. It varies."
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