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Gold and Black: It was your first time working with this defensive staff. Did you work well together? Hudson: "Yeah, we did. You look at continuity and everybody is back and I think that is important. Coach (Jon) Heacock brings so much to the table because of his experience and the secondary play is not easy to organize and to coach in this day and age. He is as good as anybody in the country and we are lucky to have him. "Coach (Marcus) Freeman is exactly what you want in a linebacker coach. He brings a lot of energy and he is close to the kids because of his age and he is very approachable to them, but he knows football. And he is very passionate. That is one thing we need, relentless passion, and he brings that. "Coach (Rubin) Carter brings a lot of experience and can show these guys the way it needs to be done at a top level. "I have to do a better job with the outside linebacker(s) and get them to play better. Every position has to play better. Probably the most consistent group was the secondary, but we made it harder on Heacock to get his job done because we had to put little guys out there and ask them to play big. We had to use the playground mentality. 'Who is the best guy?' You are at the playground and who are you going to pick?" Gold and Black: You mentioned earlier that you are coaching those outside linebackers, the Jack guys. Did you start doing that once you moved to the 3-4 or was that something you had been doing all along? Hudson: "Once we did the total shift, we did that. Even in the 4-3, when you are dropping in coverage, that defensive end doesn't get a lot of coaching in that, so we are going to get better at those positions and we are going to be more effective there. "We are going to be primarily a 3-4 team, but were going to play all the looks. Just because a 3-4 team puts four guys down in a stance, doesn't mean we are switching to a 4-3. People go crazy that don't know what is going on. The 3-4 is the most multiple defense that there is. It is the spread of the defense. That is the beauty of it is that you can be a three-down or four-down team instantly." Gold and Black: It was a difficult season. What sort of gives you hope or leads you to believe that things are heading in the right direction? Hudson: "No. 1, Purdue has had success before. You are not working at a place where you are trying to do something that has never been accomplished. No. 2, it is a national product. Purdue is coast-to-coast and it is easy to sell and it sells itself and it is going to attract good players. I think our leadership with Coach (Darrell) Hazell, his attitude and his demeanor through this whole year has been reassuring that we are on the right path. I have been with head coaches that have flinched and changed things, but the best ones I have had the fortune of being around had their plan and stuck to it and they win. "I like our young guys. I like our whole roster. But I just like the mentality that we're going to have as we head into turn two. Right now in recruiting, I am not surprised, but I am very pleased with the production that we are having in that game. It is encouraging." j For daily headlines on recruiting and other Purdue sports news, check out f IllustrateD volume 24, issue 3 45