The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/698673
90 ■ THE WOLVERINE 2016 FOOTBALL PREVIEW BY JOHN BORTON N ew Michigan defensive coordinator Don Brown is following head coach Jim Harbaugh's frenetic pace. The architect of the top de- fense in the nation a year ago at Boston College, Brown has now settled into Michigan, but "settled" isn't quite the word. He hit the ground running, and went from spring football to being out on the road to launching full bore into satellite football camps. Brown did take a few minutes out of his schedule to appear on "The Huge Show" across the radio airwaves in the state of Michigan, giving a glimpse of what to expect in The Big House this fall. Here's what he had to say to host Bill Simonson. Q: How long did it take to decide to come work for Jim Harbaugh, and why did you choose to work on this staff? BROWN: "About 10 minutes. Face to face, we had a conversation, and I could just tell, philosophically, that he likes it aggressive. That's right up my alley. He loves physical football. He loves aggressive football. That's also up my alley, so it was a great fit." Q: Did Harbaugh reach out directly to you? BROWN: "Coach reached out, I came to campus, we sat down and it was a perfect marriage. Ten minutes. "He had done his homework, I could tell that. He had certainly done his homework and had talked to people we were very common with in the business. There was no question he had a feel for what I did schematically and how I went about doing my business." Q: Did you know you were his first choice, and did that make you feel comfortable wanting to come work for him? BROWN: "Yes, and he's kind of easy to get to know anyway. He's down to earth. It's just a great group of people, easy to get to know. That's Coach Harbaugh." Q: Can you describe what a Don Brown defense will look like at Michigan? BROWN: "We'll start with four down guys, but we're not a uniquely just four-down defense. We'll get into multiple substitution groups. But I'm also a big believer that you've got to stop the run. "Make them one-dimensional, and then chase that quarterback as hard as you can. That's really what it comes down to. "We're going to stop the run, and they're going to have to solve their problems through the air, then we're going to go ahead and attack those protections, deny free access in the throw game, get up and cover people, challenge every throw. "We'll be highly competitive on every play. We're not going to take a back seat. We're not going to read and react. "When I talk about pressure, there are two things you need to understand about pressure. You can either feel it, or you can apply it. I'm of the second category. I want to apply it." Q: You want to hit the quarterback? BROWN: "As many times as I can." Q: Is hitting the quarterback designed to make him think about it on the next throw? BROWN: "It's human nature. You're setting yourself up for negative-yardage plays. You're PHYSICAL AND AGGRESSIVE First-Year Coordinator Don Brown Brings His Unique Style To Michigan Brown takes over a unit that ranked fourth nationally in total defense (280.7 yards allowed per game) and sixth in scoring defense (16.4 points allowed per game) last year. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL