i have no real defense of hemphill except that it seems clear to me that talent is the primarily culprit on defense. there were some dumb plays for sure, but i think that’s unsurprising given some of the guys in. we are literally starting a true freshman walk-on.
I’m going to disagree with you here, with the exception if LB. We don’t have a LB that excels on space and pass coverage. I was excited about DJ Taylor coming back because I though he would be an upgrade at MLB, but he hasn’t beaten out Smenda. Smenda is great at inside run stopping, but his coverage and angles are bad when going to space.
Otherwise, I think the talent is close.
Our biggest issue is communication. I like what Nick Anderson brings to the table, but you can tell that his grasp of what needs to be communicated backfield wasn’t at the level of Masterson, especially the first half. I’m not sure if he settled in the second half, but it did not look as egregious to me. he does seem to be a better player physically than Masterson, which helps.
But what I see on defense isn’t as much a matter of talent, as it is a matter of an understanding of roles. We don’t have a good understanding of who has contain on outside runs, and are often confused about where we should line up until just before the ball is snapped. And this puts us half a step behind the play.
That could be an issue of communication from Hemphill to the defense, or an issue of on field communication and at the line playcalling. But we are missing responsibilities, either by an oversight on defense of design, or not understanding where our players are supposed to be. Hey