Minnesota DC Danny Collins on Gophers defense: 'We have to eliminate explosive plays'
Last week against Northwestern, it was a day to forget for Minnesota defensive coordinator Danny Collins, and the Golden Gophers’ defense had their worst performance of the season, allowing 525 total yards of offense to a Northwestern offense that was among the worst in the country.
The Wildcats entered the game with the No. 107 total offense, averaging just 340.7 total yards per game.
On Wednesday, Minnesota defensive coordinator Danny Collins met with the media for the first time since the performance and was asked about what he saw live and on tape.
“We have to eliminate explosive plays,” Collins simply put. “We gave up four explosive plays — defined as 25 yards or more. Our goal is two or less.”
“When you give up four, you don’t give yourself a chance to have great success,” he continued. “Of those four explosive plays, they scored four touchdowns. Those were the four touchdowns they scored in the game. Limit two of them, and who knows what happens.”
Notably, only one of the four explosive plays was a touchdown in itself, the opening score of the game, a 46-yard touchdown run from running back Caleb Komolafe.
Notably, Minnesota this season is middle of the pack in explosive plays allowed, allowing 19 plays of 30+ yards and 13 of 40+ yards.
“They happened, and we have to get them corrected,” Collins continued. “Each one was a different thing. We go back and look at coaching, scheme, personnel — we have to be better at all three.”
If there is one excuse the Gophers don’t have, it’s scheme. While some smaller aspects of the Minnesota defensive scheme may change year-to-year, the overall scheme has been the same since P.J. Fleck’s first year at Western Michigan, 13 years ago.
“We’ve been running the same defense for 13 years,” he continued. “There are wrinkles and new people, but whoever is in the game, we trust them to execute. It’s our job as coaches to put them in great position.
“If a guy doesn’t make a play, that’s not just on the guy — that’s on us. How well did we get him ready for that exact moment? What can we do to get him better? We’ll continue to learn and grow from those moments.”
Of course, that is sometimes easier said than done with younger players, and bridging the gap from coaching to execution is not always seamless.
“It goes back to the next-man-up mentality,” Collins said about bridging the gap. “You always have to have that.”
When younger players enter the game, especially due to injury, Collins noted that it does change how he can call the game defensively.
“You have to shrink the menu down a little bit,” he said. “Don’t give them everything. Our job as coaches is to put them in the best position to be successful.”
Collins also noted that it’s a portion of his game that he has to continue to improve in himself.
“That’s what I have to continue to do a better job of: What can this guy handle? It’s not his fault. At the end of the day, I’m responsible for the defensive performance for 60 minutes every single game.”
“We have to keep getting better and growing from moments like those. Everybody has growing moments — players and coaches. You use those dark times, those scars, to create your future.”
The Gophers’ defense, which has now allowed 450+ yards in each of their last three games and five of their last seven, will look to finish the regular season off strong on Saturday afternoon when they host the Wisconsin Badgers at 2:30 p.m. with the game televised nationally on FS1.
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