Northwestern University Athletics
Cover Story From Sept. 11 Game Program
10/14/1999 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 14, 1999
BY SCOTT KITEI
They call themselves "Death Row."
They're full of intensity and feel a need for dominance when they step onto the field.
They constantly fight their way through 600-plus pound walls called double-teams in their quest to tackle or divert whoever has the ball.
They're Northwestern's defensive line, and they put their bodies on the line for the betterment of the team.
"Nobody wants to mess with 'The Row,'" says fifth-year senior Darryl Hodge. "We just have to be ridiculous. On fire all the time. We're in the trenches. We have 300-plus pound guys coming at us. We can't care about anything. We just have to throw our bodies around and be crazy and mix it up a little bit."
"A defensive lineman needs to be different in everyway," says defensive line coach Jack Glowik. "It's not normal to be a defensive lineman. You're asking them to do a lot of hard things, and to excel they must be willing to go beyond what is normal. They have to appreciate mayhem and like causing it."
Offensive linemen aren't the only people who stand in the way of a defensive line's success. Once defensive linemen get past the front line, they have to deal with quarterbacks and running backs.
"Once we get by the big guys, we still have to catch the little guys," says Jeff Dyra, a fifth-year senior from Chicago.
This year's defensive line has experience, which will only increase its productivity. With the exception of Thor Schmidt, every defensive lineman who started a game last season returns. Jeff Dyra started the first eight games before suffering a knee injury, Darryl Hodge started 11, Dwayne Missouri started all 12, and Salem Simon started three.
"It eases my mind a lot," says Missouri, a senior from San Antonio. "I know what I'm going to expect from guys, I know the tempo of the game, and I know what's expected of me. Last year I was still a bit nervous and unsure about what was going on, but this year I can relax and just do my job."
Being surrounded by experienced teammates also helps to put Missouri's mind at ease.
"It's a little something extra when you know they have been in there fighting with you before and they have seen all the top teams," he says. "You don't have to worry about them when it comes down to crunch time."
This season the Wildcats have a new coaching staff, and with it comes a new philosophy.
"This year, a lot more guys will play," says Missouri. "The coaches want us to be our best for eight or nine plays at a time. They don't want us to save anything for the end of the game because we know we're going to get a rest. The new staff's philosophy is a lot more attacking and to go after the offense. If we get tired they'll get somebody in there for us."
Rather than change a lot of the defensive strategy week in and week out, the 'Cats have a similar defensive game-plan each week.
This gives opposing teams a good idea of what they will see on the field, but it doesn't worry the players.
"With the old coaching staff, we adapted to the other teams' schemes, said Dyra. "This year, we're going to keep more of a base defense which is much more simplified and then add a few wrinkles in each week. Even if the offensive linemen know what we're going to do, they still have to stop us."
"We stick to what we know," says Hodge. "If you're good at something, then you don't change what you do. We make the other people adjust to us. For an opponent we might put in a special package to match up with something that might hurt us. But other than that, we don't specifically try to throw out different things just to throw off our opponents. If we're good at something they just have to stop us."
It can be frustrating for a defense to play a solid game, only to lose if the offense fails to rack up enough points. However, the defensive linemen know it's their responsibility to keep the opposition's point total below their own.
"It's tough when you feel like you've done your job but end up on the short side of the stick," said Dyra. "But if the offense scores seven points it's our job to hold the other team to six. That's our job. It's a challenge."
Defensive linemen work together to achieve common goals - bringing down ballcarriers, pressuring quarterbacks, and holding offenses to as few points as possible. However, while football is a team game, the sum of individual accomplishments helps make a defense successful.
"It's each player's responsibility as an individual to win their battles with the guy they're playing against," says coach Glowik. "They are also working together as a unit to be productive, and to avoid being non-productive and being a detriment by giving up big plays."
"Once I'm out there," says Dyra, "It's me against the other person. I have to take care of my job and my teammates take care of their jobs and it all fits into the defensive scheme."
Darryl Hodge likes to think of the defensive line as a porous oak wall that requires teamwork to stay strong and plug up each of the holes.
"The wall has holes in it," says Hodge, "and each hole is a different shape. The ball carrier is like water trying to get to one of those holes, and every time he goes to a hole, a pegs gets slammed through it, and that forces him to the next hole and the next hole, until the tackle is made. So the guy who ends up making the tackle may get the credit in the books, but more often than not it's the result of other guys doing their job.
"Sometimes you don't even have to make a play," says Hodge. "When I'm in position, I may just make a ball carrier cut back which allows the linebackers to make the play."
Preparation for a defensive lineman begins early in the week, watching film of Saturday's opponent. Each player knows who they will be going up against, and they spend the week preparing themselves both physically and mentally.
"If you watch enough film of an opponent, you know exactly what they're going to do every play," says Hodge. "I take home some film on Monday and start watching it. I like to watch the opponents at least twice before a game."
In addition to watching the film individually, the linemen watch the tapes together to help each other pick things up that they may have missed the first time around.
"We pick each other's brains," says Hodge. "It's better than looking for things yourself."
Off the field, the defensive line is together just as much as on the field. Missouri, Simon, Hodge, and Javiar Collins all share an apartment which helps them bond more as a unit.
"We're one of the closest units on the team," says Missouri. "This past year we've gotten really close."
Defensive linemen face difficult opponents each game. With a tough Big Ten and nonconference schedule, they must be up to the challenge every week.
"You look for the best people out there," says Missouri. "We don't want to play against some scrub every week. We want to play against the best. That's why we came to the Big Ten to play football, to play against some of the best offensive linemen and the best teams in the country. We look forward to the challenge."
