Q. Coach talked about the secondary being a concern, probably not what you want to hear in your first month on the job.

    A. "I don't know if I heard that before I got here. I'm looking forward to working with these guys. There is always going to be a position you're working with that has some losses because of seniors graduating, but so far watching them in the weight room, watching them workout, they have a good attitude. They are coming to work everyday. Coach (Todd) Burkey is doing a great job with those guys. I'm looking forward to seeing what they can do out there on the field this spring. They all seem real bright-eyed and ready to learn. It's time for them to step up, some of these guys."

Q. Do you think your approach this spring differently maybe than the other members of the staff?

    A. "For me its becoming familiar with them as a group and what they can do and maybe what some of their limitations are. That's a trait of a good coach, to make sure you put them in a position to make plays and utilize their abilities to the best that you can. The situation with us right now, I'm looking first of all to try to figure out what their name is, so I'm not calling them the wrong name. I'm saying hi to people in the facility I think they are sometimes basketball players or from other sports. I'm not sure if they are on the team. Familiarization with them and seeing how much they can grasp this spring as far as scheme and technique. What it comes down to, the bottom line is I just want to see their effort. See if they are going to play hard and see if they are going to run to the ball on defense. That's the measuring point we always start out with on defense is what their efforts are like. Are they running to the football and making plays because of it? I talk to them all the time, the secondary, as far as accountability. I really believe that you have to look at your actions off the field, because those will be the same type of actions you have on the field. If I can trust you off the field to make good decisions, I can trust you in the fourth quarter to make good decisions. It's all about discipline in the secondary, making sure you're stopping the big play and a lot of that goes back to doing what you are supposed to do and doing it consistently for four quarters. You can't separate a person from off-the-field habits to on-the-field habits in my opinion. So as I told them, I'm evaluating that daily. It's choices they make. They're excited and I can tell already they are ready to get to work."

Q. Do you have a certain style or philosophy as a defensive coordinator?
    A. "I really believe nowadays with everything that is presented to you from the offenses you have to be very multiple, but at the same time you've got to evaluate and evaluate three things on defense. Are there missed assignments? If they're missed assignments then you are probably doing too much on the defensive side of the ball. So trying to keep it simple where they can play fast will be one of the first things. Evaluate that by their assignments. Missed tackles and tackling. Obviously it comes down to fundamentals and part of Spring football is just making sure you are working hard on fundamentals. We need to make sure we are a great tackling defense. The final thing that I mentioned early is your effort. That you're playing full out no matter what the scheme is. No matter if it's a blitz, if it's a zone coverage, if its a man coverage that all 11 guys are playing hard to the ball. When I put that tape on, my expectation is for the YSU football team on the defensive side of the ball is that people see 11 guys flying around. They know where to get lined up, they know their assignments, they tackle well and they run to the football. Schematically I think lots of times people put a big emphasis on do you blitz a lot, do you play zone, do you play man. In college football and in professional football you're going to do all of those things. You have to be able to pressure, you have to be able to play man, you have to be able to play zone. The gauge is how are you executing by assignments, how are you tackling and what is your effort like. That is what we will evaluate in each of the scrimmages this spring, in each of the games this fall."

Q. You have probably seen some of that already when watching film while you were evaluating this job.

    A. "No question. It stood out on tape that you could see this is a tough group, they run to the ball, they hit. There's not going to be a lot of teaching in some regards. Some of the new players have got to get up to what some of the veterans have done. They've got to learn. That's a great mark of a great program is that the younger players see the older players and they feed off of that energy, they feed off of that example. So they learn what it takes to be successful. No question it's exciting to me to get the opportunity to come here and I appreciate the opportunity that Coach Heacock has given me to come and work with a successful program and it is on tape. You put it on there as a coach and say it's either there or it isn't. If it's there, then you are coaching it. If it isn't, you're allowing it to happen. It was when I showed up and that's a reason why this team was so successful this past year."

Q. What attracted you to this position?

    A. "There is a tradition I have being from the Midwest and growing up in the Midwest with football in Ohio and how important it is. I can remember in 1991 when I was at the University of Washington I met Coach Tressel and I got to get a chance to find out a little bit about Youngstown State football. Over the years just following it and the success that's happened through Coach Heacock and just the tradition here. So that's one of of the things, the tradition of football in Ohio, the tradition of football here at Youngstown State. Then I look at things for my family. As I come out and evaluate what's most important for me is my faith and my family. As I came out and spent time with Coach Heacock and the staff, I said I think this is a perfect fit for us. For my wife and my two kids to be in a great community where family is important. It really was apparent when I came out on my interview people made it feel like when I grew up in Iowa and Indiana. In the couple days that I was here just the friendliness and just the warmth and the welcomeness I felt from everybody out here. You're always going to look at things for your family first. Then you look at football. This is a great place to be. I'm excited about that."