Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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bend-but-don't-break approach em- ployed by former coordinator Bob Diaco (2010-13), but it could also lead to more turnovers. Under Diaco, Notre Dame commit- ted six more turnovers than it forced, with a minus-15 margin in 2011 its worst. While some of that is certainly due to offensive struggles, the previ- ous defensive system was not designed to emphasize turnovers. VanGorder's system does the opposite. "I think it's definitely more exciting," senior Matthias Farley said. "It defi- nitely lends itself to bigger play oppor- tunities. At the same time, it's 11 guys counting on every single person out there. While there is an element that allows you to go make a play because you can trust the people around you, you still have to make sure you're do- ing your role like in the other defense. "It's exciting when you can get pres- sure and the ball's going to come out quicker." With Notre Dame's youth in the secondary — Luke, Butler and start- ing safety Max Redfield are all soph- omores, and Watkins is a freshman — there hasn't been much of an "un- learning" process from the previous scheme, Cooks said. It also helps that Riggs comes from a similar system at Florida. "Those guys didn't really have to get familiar with the previous system," he said. "Now they're coming in and it's fresh and we've had some time to teach it and walk through it and get everyone on the same page. In fall camp, you can see the growth from the hesitation in the spring to now, 'I've got this. Let's go and play fast.'" Speed and pressure are emphasized, with the hope being that big plays and lockdown coverage are the results. ✦