Northwestern University Athletics
The Skip Report: Competition Breeds Success
10/28/2017 12:36:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
THE BAND: Marty Long, the 'Cats defensive line coach, is explicating the work ethic and the leadership skills of defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster, and explaining how the others in his position group listen to him and follow him. Now the specter of Michael Jordan is raised, and Long is told how other Bulls would practice hard so they wouldn't tick that leader off, and he is asked if a similar dynamic is present with his group, where no one wants to disappoint Lancaster by not working as hard as he.
"They don't want to disappoint each other," Long replies.
"It's like a bunch of brothers, and they're all working to get the job done. Everybody wants to grab a shovel and dig. They are ultra close. Thursday night they go out to dinner. Every Thursday night they choose a different restaurant, and go and eat all the food in the restaurant. They watch video together. They're a close-knit group, probably the closest-knit group I've ever had in my nine other seasons here."
"No one's out for himself," says one of that group, the defensive end Trent Goens, when told of his coach's appraisal. "When we're getting sacks, no one goes, 'Oh, I should have had that sack.' We're trying to make plays for each other, with each other. There's no selfishness at all in the room. We're working all the time, day in and day out. That brotherhood and camaraderie has grown outside of the facilities too. We're going out, connecting with each other, and it shows on the field. It's something we stress as a football team and the D line's really taken that to heart. We really pride ourselves on being very close as a unit."
STINGY: Over the past month, as the 'Cats split their first four Big Ten games, that band of brothers has been the spine of their defense, a line of annealed steel that has limited their conference foes to 2.9 (Wisconsin), 2.5 (Penn State), 2.7 (Maryland) and 2.7 (Iowa) yards per rushing attempt. It has done that, true to its character, with a rotating cast of characters, with (as the old saying goes) two pair and a spare getting time at each position.
This rotation of 10 not only does the obvious and keep them fresh (or as fresh as one can be when operating in a place called The Pit). It is also, says Long, "Better for team morale. If they know I'm going to play them, they're going to practice harder. They know they're going to get the chance."
"You know we're going to roll guys and you're going to contribute in the game," echoes Goens, who on the depth chart is listed as backing up Samdup Miller at one end spot. "So in practice, honestly, I'm going to terrorize the offensive line as much as I can. That's going to make them better, first of all. Then second of all, it's to have fun and get myself better. I feel in the last couple of weeks what we've produced on the field, myself included, is a product of how we've practiced. We've been getting after it, playing physical in practice, and we've shown that in games."
EARNING IT: "It goes back to the way they're practicing, man. They're practicing really hard," Pat Fitzgerald himself said earlier this week when asked the reason for the defensive line's recent success. (In those practices its ones go against the offensive line twos, and its own twos go against the starting offensive line.)
"Tyler Lancaster has really taken on that leadership role and Jordan (Thompson's) right there with him. That group, we're able to have a couple different waves that are able to play. So we have great confidence in everyone who's going out there on the field."
"I totally agree with that," Marty Long says when told his boss extolled his group's practice habits. "It's just the hard work the guys are putting in. If they play 75 snaps, they're going to hit somebody 75 times. It's not like they're going to take a play off. It's like being in a car and the car going"—and here he drives a fist into an open hand once, twice, three times.
"They're going to get shook every time they're out there," he then goes on. "I'm just proud of them for using base technique, playing with their hands, face behind their hands, hips behind their face, feet behind their hips, and just attacking and playing technique, fundamental football."
"Competition breeds success," Trent Goens will soon conclude. "So guys competing everyday in practice, twos on ones, ones on twos, is a factor we can use to our advantage."
QUICKLY NOTED: Michigan State fell apart last season and finished it 3-9 overall, 1-8 in the Big Ten. But the Spartans visit Ryan Field Saturday 6-1 overall, 4-0 in the Big Ten and ranked No. 16. "They're executing," Fitzgerald said when asked the keys to their rebound. "You see cohesiveness. They don't have the quarterback flux they had a year ago. They're running the ball. You have really talented wide receivers. Defensively, you don't see them making communication mistakes. I remember getting ready for our game a year ago reading (Spartan coach) Mark (Dantonio's) comments about mistakes they had been making just from a communication standpoint. You don't see that happening now. Take last year out of it. The last handful of years you could say they've been as consistent as anybody in the Big Ten.". . . The Spartans lead the Big Ten in total defense, surrendering an average of just 262.3 ypg. Their rushing D is number two (93.6 ypg), their passing D is number 3 (168.7ypg) and their scoring D is number four (16.9 ppg). Their own offense, in stark contrast, ranks 12th in points scored, averaging just 22.7 per-game. . . . Their biggest threat is sophomore quarterback Brian Lewerke, who is averaging 239.3 yards of total offense per game (194.6 passing, 44.7 rushing). Still, speaking of his offense this week, Dantonio moaned, "Brian Lewerke has not been on fully. We've not run the ball fully. We've not gone through a game where everything is going right for us. We need to have one of those football games.". . . Coincidentally enough, the 'Cats and the Spartans both topped Iowa 17-10.
AND FINALLY, Trent Goens, on the defensive line's favorite dining spot so far this season: "The Cheesecake Factory. (Redshirt first year) Mark Gooden's a bread monster and he'll get four loaves of bread for himself. But it's all good stuff. It's a time to relax a little bit when you're not talking about football as much and are just hanging out. It's a good time."
