J.P. Pelzman

@JPPelzman

Aaron Henry recently gave an assessment of Rutgers’ defensive performance last season.

“Very, very horrible,” the assistant defensive backs coach said.

Harsh? Yes. Inaccurate? No, not at all.

The Scarlet Knights ranked 112th in total defense out of 128 FBS teams a year ago, yielding a whopping 462 yards and 34.9 points per game. Rutgers was 117th in passing defense, allowing 275.9 yards a contest. Even worse, only two teams in FBS allowed more yards per pass attempt than the Scarlet Knights, who permitted 9.0 yards per throw.

Henry, who concentrates on working with the cornerbacks, is part of the new coaching staff that is trying to modify those dreadful numbers.

“The reason that happened,” Henry said, “is because 5-yard gains, or supposed 5-yard gains, turned into 60-yard gains” because of missed tackles, both near the line of scrimmage and farther downfield.

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“If you can tackle well,” Henry said, “those numbers are going to [improve] drastically.”

Toward that end, coach Chris Ash and defensive coordinator Jay Niemann have instituted a new style of tackling. Rutgers, as have other programs, is switching to rugby-style tackling, in which defenders focus on stopping the ballcarrier’s legs. It’s a major departure from the Scarlet Knights’ previous style of “bite the ball,” in which tacklers tried to put their helmet on the football.

But to be in position to execute those tackles, Rutgers will need much better play from its secondary, particularly the cornerbacks. Youngsters Isaiah Wharton and Blessuan Austin had to learn on the job last season after off-field incidents led to player dismissals that decimated the depth chart at corner.

“Last year they were puppies thrown into the fire,” Henry said.

“From where we were when I got here to where we are now, they’ve moved mountains,” Henry said of incumbent starters Wharton and Austin. “They’ve gotten that much better, but I still think they’ve got a ways to go.

“They’re very eager to learn,” Henry added. “If I can make them smarter players in the [football] classroom, their skill sets are going to speak for themselves.”

Rutgers’ new defensive scheme includes a lot more press coverage than the one of the previous regime, which utilized a lot of zone play. Wharton and Austin both have expressed their approval of the new system.

When is was mentioned to Henry that fans are excited about the new emphasis on man-to-man coverage, he laughed and said, “Everybody is excited until you get beat.

“The key to a really really good cornerback in press is confidence,” said Henry, who played both cornerback and safety at Wisconsin. “He may be lining up against a 4.2 track guy who’s lightning fast. Well, how do you negate his speed if you’re playing press coverage on him and he’s running go routes?

“I negate his speed,” Henry added, “by moving laterally. Believe it or not, with press coverage, you don’t have to be fast. You’ve got to be quick more than fast. You’re trying to force a guy off [his] landmark. He may be much faster than you but if you’re quick and you can get your hands on them, you can slow them down, no matter how quick or fast they are.”

And of course, Wharton, Austin and safeties Anthony Cioffi and Saquan Hampton will have to be sure tacklers.

“Tackling has been tremendous for us,” Henry said. “Obviously we haven’t been in a game, but we try to recreate those live situations. … If you’re tackling as much as we do [in practice], you’re going to get better at it.

"I’m hoping it carries over” to games, he added.

The linebacking corps in front of the secondary has been somewhat unsettled during August practices. Although Najee Clayton, Trevor Morris and middle linebacker Deonte Roberts came out of spring ball as the clear first-stringers, there has been some shuffling at times because of injuries. Ash named Morris (weakside) and Roberts as starters Friday, but said Clayton and Greg Jones still are competing for the starting strongside spot.

The starters on the line appear set, with Sebastian Joseph and star Darius Hamilton at the tackles and Dorian Pinnix-Odrick and Quanzell Lambert at the ends. Niemann said recently that he would prefer to be able to generate heat on opposing quarterbacks with the front four, rather than having to blitz extensively. Thus, the pressure will be on Hamilton and Company to put pressure on quarterbacks, or else Niemann will have to dial up more blitzes. Rutgers had only 14 sacks last season.