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Narduzzi on the safety competition and more

Pat Narduzzi sees a lot of competition at safety, and he talked about that and more in his post-practice briefing Thursday.

Narduzzi: Today we had 23 guys on the ground. Our guys did an excellent job of trying to stay up off the ground. 23 might be an all-time record as far as guys on the ground. We’re just trying to stay healthy or get as healthy as we can get and we’ll liven it up on Saturday for our first scrimmage.

That’s a record low?
Narduzzi:
Record low. When we say it’s ‘thud’ and we try to stay off the ground, guys falling down, getting over-aggressive, it’s the hardest thing to control. Because they just want to go.

Focusing on that more, is that because it is about trying to stay safe and stay healthy this time of year?
Narduzzi:
It’s always a concern, just trying to teach them how to - when you’ve got young guys, you’re trying to teach them to practice the right way. We don’t want it to be live every day because then you’re going to get really banged up. And we’re not banged up right now, so we’re just trying to keep - again, it’s amazing, some of the injuries you do get, it’s non-contact, guys just jumping up in the air and falling down. So just a matter of teaching them how to play with their feet up underneath them.

What has Quintin Wirginis brought to the linebacker group now that he’s back in the mix?
Narduzzi:
A ton. He’s just so composed at that spot. He can make a lot of different calls. He can get us lined up a little bit better than what we were last year. He’s a leader and he’s a great communicator.

Cory Sanders is coaching safeties; is it as simple as him focusing on that group under Archie? Or how do you look at their responsibilities?
Narduzzi:
Those two are like brothers. I watch how they - it’s like they’ve worked together for ten years. They work so well together, from what I’ve seen so far, in the classroom and on the field. But he’s in charge of those guys. He’s taking accountability for what they do and how they do it, so we split that group up in half and Archie’s got the corners and they work together. So we really have two secondary coaches; I wouldn’t say one’s in front of the other. They work well together, they both run similar stuff and we’re trying to compare it together and then bring in all the Northwestern stuff that we’re doing that’s different. It’s been fun to watch.

Did they bring any new philosophical changes with what they do in the secondary? They talk a lot about going for the ball, takeaways and trying to increase that.
Narduzzi:
I think everybody brings some of that: you’re always trying to take care of the ball. And it’s all what your focus is. You can coach fundamentals and get the ball back, so I like when I’m sitting there watching tape with the defense, it’s consistent; it’s not, you know, one day we’re talking about getting turnovers and then the next day we forget about that and we’re worried about something else. It’s just the consistency that, really, Coach Bates has brought in that room consistently through every meeting I’m in. There’s talk about the same things every day; it’s not, ‘well, we focused a lot on that yesterday; let’s move to this.’ I’m not seeing as much of that. I think it’s consistent daily.

In terms of the guys Cory is coaching, I think I read you put that starter tag on Damar; is that settled?
Narduzzi:
Who said that?

I think I read that on ESPN.
Narduzzi:
Oh. You are a starter by day, but Damar is having a great spring, so I would say he is a starter today and he’s really having a nice spring. He’s smart and he’s doing a lot of good things.

This is as settled as he’s been, I guess, health-wise and positionally.
Narduzzi:
Yeah, you guys haven’t watched him in pre-practice warming up in a separate line trying to get healthy, so he’s stronger than he’s ever been - it’ll be a different year for him, for sure.

He used the phrase ‘It’s about time.’ Have you tried to stress that to him?
Narduzzi:
He used that.

Yeah.
Narduzzi:
Well, you know, when you’re Damar Hamlin, when you’re the player, they get frustrated and impatient. I don’t have to use that; I’ve thought that a long time. But it’s been frustrating for him, so for him, it is about time. I mean, think about coming out here every day and not getting to do anything and being behind because of an injury that you really had no control over. So I’m just fired up he’s back.

Opposite him at the boundary spot, is it Phil Campbell leading the charge among those guys?
Narduzzi:
I would say it is. I feel really good with our safeties. You talk about the depth we have there with him and Bricen’s playing well, Stocker’s playing well - I’m going to miss somebody here; who else is back there? There’s six of them, really, five or six of them that are playing, but those are the guys that are in the mix. Who am I missing? Dennis Briggs is doing a heck of a job; he’s really one of those starters that, if you had pick three guys, it’s Dennis Briggs, really does everything right, Phil Campbell and Damar. And like I said, Bricen and Stocker are right there. There’s a lot of competition in the secondary, period, even at the corner position.

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