Colorado University Athletics
DC Summers Believes Buffs Defense Ready To Hit Next Level
June 11, 2020 | Football, Neill Woelk
BOULDER — While there is indeed a new head coach at the helm of the Colorado Buffaloes, not all of the continuity on the CU coaching staff took the midnight train out of Boulder in February.
Instead, one very important piece of the CU puzzle — defensive coordinator Tyson Summer — is back for a second season with the Buffs. Summers' defense finished strong last season, and he firmly believes his bunch is ready to take the next step in the initial year of the Karl Dorrell era.
"The way that we played defense the last three or four games of the year gives them a lot of confidence," Summers said in a conference call with the media Thursday. "It gives them a lot of confidence in the process that we take and how we do things and why we do things … The fact that they've seen it, the fact that they know it, the fact that they know there's not huge question marks on how everything's going to be, and hopefully with the relationships they've already had on our staff — I think all those things give our players confidence moving forward."
CU's defense no doubt improved down the stretch last season, particularly over the last three games, and they did so despite a rash of injuries, particularly in the secondary.
But even with three true freshmen playing the majority of the defensive snaps in that late-season span, the Buffs played their best overall ball of the year in those games, collecting wins over Stanford and Washington in Weeks 10 and 11.
The numbers showed huge improvement.
After giving up more than 426 yards in each of the first nine games, the Buffs held their last three opponents under 400. That included limiting UW to just 238 total yards (only 32 rushing) while recording five sacks against the Huskies. CU finished the season with 26 sacks, and 11 of those came in the last three games.
Colorado also held Stanford and Washington to 13 and 14 points, respectively, while also holding those two squads to a combined 33 percent third-down conversion percentage (9-for-27).
"One of the biggest things that jumps out to me watching film as the season progressed is that we really tried to never lose our focus on fundamentals," Summers said. "I think you see us playing at a very high fundamental rate at the end of the season. Schematically we had a lot of moving parts and a lot of that came because we had a lot of moving parts within our roster, particularly in the secondary … But we never took a step back from trying to figure out what is going to be best for this group. Now we're going to continue to progress in a lot of the same direction as we move to 2020."
Summers said there will be plenty of similarities between the 2019 CU defense and the 2020 version under Dorrell. But he also said there will be some differences, particularly up front, where the Buffs will be more multiple in the looks they present.
Perhaps most importantly, the Buffs will aim to be more aggressive. That attitude started to manifest itself at the end of last season — thus the 11 sacks over three games — and it is one Dorrell and Summers want to increase in 2020.
"I think you're going to see us be more attacking," Summers said. "We feel like that's what gave us our edge in the latter half of the year and we certainly feel like that's what gives our players the best chance to be successful. As we move forward under Coach Dorrell's direction, I think those are the three things you're going to see. There's going to be some similarities, but I do think we will be more multiple and I know for sure we will be more of an attacking mindset. I think that's going to give us the best opportunity to be successful."
The Buffs did lose a handful of key players to graduation, including outside linebacker Davion Taylor (a third-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles) and safety Mikial Onu, who led the team in interceptions.
But they do have plenty of horsepower returning, beginning with inside linebacker Nate Landman, who led CU last year in tackles (137) and third-down stops (15). New defensive line coach Chris Wilson also has every starter from last year returning in Mustafa Johnson, Jalen Sami and Terrance Lang (team-leading six sacks), while returning outside linebackers coach Brian Michalowski will have the services of Carson Wells, who was fifth on the team in tackles (57).
One question mark will be the secondary, where new cornerbacks coach Demetrice Martin and new safeties coach Brett Maxie will have some holes to fill. CU does have one returning starting safety in Derrion Rakestraw, while Tarik Luckett and K.J. Trujillo — both of whom started as true freshmen at corner by season's end — also return.
Meanwhile, Summers will take a long look at former cornerback Chris Miller at both safety and the star position. Summers is high on Miller, whose season was cut short by injury last year but is an ultra-talented player.
"Chris is a guy that's very talented," Summers said. "He has size, he's got a lot of God-given ability in his ability to move and run, and he's in year two of the system. His ability gives him the versatility to really play a safety position, play a star position, and obviously he can go play corner, where he's played in the past."
The star position — manned by Taylor last year — is a hybrid spot that requires a player be able to play in coverage, rush the passer and also play against the run. Sophomore Mark Perry, another player who gained plenty of experience last year as a true freshman, is another candidate for the spot.
"We're looking for a star that can really be dynamic as a coverage guy and has the ability to pressure quarterbacks as well and be very stout in the run game," Summers said. "It is a position that you are looking for a very specific person and there's a lot that comes with it. That's the beauty of playing in this system, is being able to find guys and recruit guys that you feel like have done that."
Along with his athletic ability, Summers said Miller has taken a big step in the maturation process.
"What you're seeing in him is a tremendous amount of growth and maturity over the last six to eight months," Summers said. "I can pull up my phone where he literally texts me every day about what he can do to get better. Where is this film, where is that film? What do I need to focus on today?"
Another change Summers made as the season progressed last year was a slimming of the playbook. As the year went on, he continued to stress fundamentals from the base defense, and concentrated on getting CU's best players in position to make plays. It's one reason Taylor finished with 20 tackles and a sack and Landman had 28 tackles and an interception in the last three games.
Like every other coach in America, Summers is anxious to leave the world of Zoom meetings and get to a point where he can get his defense out on the field and actually work on the schemes they've been studying.
But he also said his players have been extremely attentive during the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown, when almost all contact was limited to virtual meetings.
"I think our players have done an outstanding job," he said. "I can't say enough about the outstanding job that they've done to stay locked in, stay focused, to ask good questions. The fortunate part is there's a lot of carryover from last year as we're moving into this new fall. We're making sure they know that understanding the material and what we're trying to get out of our meetings is ultimately going to give them the best opportunity to be successful."
Contact: Neill.Woelk@Colorado.edu
