Northwestern University Athletics
Spring Session Six in the Books
4/10/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 10, 2003
EVANSTON, Ill. - Another day, another spirited spring practice for the Northwestern football team. The defense continued to impress, collecting four interceptions in seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 drills. NUsports.com chatted with junior safety Dominique Price and assistant head coach Jerry Brown after practice.
NU lost Raheem Covington and Mark Roush from last season's defensive backfield, but returns several other key players, including Price.
Jerry Brown, Assistant Head Coach/Defensive Backs Coach
NUsports.com: How significant are the losses of cornerback Raheem Covington and safety Mark Roush from last season's unit?
Jerry Brown: Raheem (Covington) was a lock-down corner. We put him on all the good receivers, so that will be a big loss. However, we played a lot of guys last year. There's really no substitute for going out there and playing. I expect guys like Herschel Henderson, Marvin Ward and Jeff Backes to step up. Will they be as good as Raheem? I don't know, but I expect them to be pretty darn good.
Mark (Roush) started a lot of ball games, but once again we played a lot of safeties. I think we have good safeties that will step in and probably even be a little more physical.
NU: How is Jeff Backes adjusting to his new role?
JB: He's done a heck of a job. He's played really smart football. He obviously has great speed, good feet and good hips, and he learns really fast. He is starting to see things clearly.
NU: Last season, Torri Stuckey made the switch from offense to defense. How is he progressing at the safety position?
JB: He's a lot better. He had to go through a significant learning curve to learn how to play in the secondary. He learned a lot through trial and error last season. Now he is used to hearing the calls, and he can process the information in his mind before the snap. That allows him to get from point A to point B a lot quicker.
NU: What's it like having a physical presence like Dominique Price in the backfield?
JB: Dominique's played for two years now. He should be at the stage where he is a major contributor. His forte is being close to the ball to hit people, and we are going to try to put him in better position to do that.
NU: What are your overall expectations of the defensive backs this season?
JB: My expectations never change; they're always high. I want to have the best secondary in the Big Ten, and if you're one of the best in the conference, you'll rank right up there nationally. Those were my expectations last year. It never changes.
Dominique Price, Junior Safety
NUsports.com: You've had some hard times with injuries since coming to NU. How are the ankle and shoulder doing?
Dominique Price: I'm full go right now. I got a lot of rest in the winter, and now I'm back to 100 percent.
NU: After having a strong year individually in 2002, can you talk about your mindset heading into this season?
DP: I don't really think about it individually. I think about how disappointing of a year it was last season for our team. The thing that motivates us is that we don't want that to happen again. We want to take what we have done and build off that for next year.
NU: In 2002, Raheem Covington took on a leadership role. Is that something you plan to do in 2003?
DP: It's time for some guys to step up. A couple of guys are in the same position that I'm in. We have a lot of playing experience but have never really taken a leadership role. Now we'll have to take that position.
NU: How much progress has the defensive backfield made since the last game of 2002?
DP: We've made a lot of progress. We want to be known as a tough secondary that can come down and hit, but we also want to make plays on the pass and get interceptions and cause turnovers. That's the identity we want as a team.
Practice Six Notes
Senior tailback Jason Wright (Diamond Bar, Calif./Diamond Bar) suffered a sprained left ankle and is expected to miss Saturday's practice. The injury is not serious ... Backes, a sophomore, continued his strong play at cornerback, leading the defense with two interceptions in seven-on-seven drills ... Sophomore cornerback Sundi Brewer-Griffin (St. Paul, Minn./St. Paul Academy) and sophomore linebacker Tim McGarigle (Chicago, Ill./Saint Patrick) also picked up one interception each ... The 2003 Spring Coaches Clinic is set for 9 a.m. Saturday at Trienens Hall. It will include drill demonstrations, an NU spring practice/scrimmage and guest speakers from area high schools. More than 100 coaches are expected to attend. Registration for the event begins Saturday at 8 a.m. at Trienens ... NU's Saturday practice is slated to begin at 11 a.m. ... A reminder that the Wednesday, April 16 practice has been canceled, and replaced with a 4 p.m. practice on Friday, April 18.
