q & a :
d e f e n s i v e
c o o r d i n a t o r
g r e g
h u d s o n
work in progress
Defense learning to play aggressive, sound
BY STACY CLARDIE
SClardie@GoldandBlack.com
G
reg Hudson admits he may
never be satisfied with his
defense's execution.
Though Hudson saw glimpses
of Purdue being the aggressive,
swarming, havoc-causing defense
he'd like it to be in his first training camp in West Lafayette, he
knew there was still plenty of work
to be done prior to the Boilermakers' opener at Cincinnati.
"There's an old (saying), 'The
hay is in the barn.' To me, the hay
is never in the barn," he said. "I
hope I get that feeling, but this
is probably as big of a week, even
though you make some decisions
after this scrimmage, we still have
to keep drinking water from the
firehose. We really have to absorb
some things and iron out some
wrinkles to get right."
But Hudson has had some talent to work with, namely a deep
Tom Campbell
defensive front and a secondary Greg Hudson is watching his defense evolve into the type of unit he hopes it can
be: An aggressive, attacking group that forces turnovers.
that returns experience.
One day after the Boilermakers finished camp with their jerEspecially when Bruce (Gaston) is out there. We've
sey scrimmage, Hudson talked extensively about his got eight guys that we're rolling with. We've got a
group. Here are excerpts from that conversation:
couple young kids who are really coming on, so the
Gold and Black: What are you feeling the most numbers are positive up front and now hopefully
confident in coming out of training camp, wheth- those equate to disruption."
er it's a position group or just an overall grasp of
Gold and Black: People know what to expect
your system, etc.?
out of those first four guys, maybe. But when you
Hudson: "I think probably our numbers up front, look at those next four — Ryan Isaac got some
which is the most critical area, are good. I don't know snaps with the 1s inside while Gaston was out,
how productive each guy can be overall, but the num- Eric McDaniel is a big body in the middle and
bers up front, we feel like we've got a true two-deep. Jules Williams and Jalani Phillips give you some
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