Lobo defense aims to cause confusion
PULLMAN — Forgive the cackling laugh that’s coming from Gabriel Fulbright. He’s having fun, and isn’t afraid to say it.
“We blitz a little bit. Maybe not a little bit. Maybe a lot,” said Fulbright, a junior cornerback on the New Mexico defense.
That laugh has Washington State fans a little edgy heading into Friday night’s nationally televised season opener. Not only do the Cougars have to hit the road to open the 2004 season, but they’ll also have to do it against a Lobo defense that has been in the top 30 of Division I-A in each of the last four seasons.
New Mexico, a second place finisher in the Mountain West Conference last season, is a lot like WSU in that it’s replacing almost all of its defensive starters from a year ago. But under head coach Rocky Long, entering his seventh season, it’s been the scheme and not individuals playing a starring role.
The Lobos attack opposing offenses with a complicated blitz package designed to befuddle and overwhelm from the opening snap.
New Mexico gave WSU all it could handle in Pullman last season, holding the Cougars without a touchdown until late in the third quarter. (The Lobos led 13-12 at the half.) But even with the new personnel in 2004, the same obstacles will be laid out in WSU’s path.
“It’s kind of like a blitz-oriented attack. As a defense, we try to confuse offenses. That’s what it’s based around,” said Nick Speegle, a senior outside linebacker. “They saw it last year; it’s the same type of thing. We’ve changed a few things around, but it’s basically the same type of thing. We just try to catch you off guard and make the offense make mistakes.”
Speegle will be a primary concern on Friday night, as the 6-foot-6, 250-pounder will line up all over the place to blitz Cougar quarterback Josh Swogger, making his first career start.
“We can bring him from anywhere in the box,” second-year Lobo defensive coordinator Osia Lewis said. “Any time you get a linebacker who’s 6-6 and 250 and he can blitz up in there, get off blockers, (it’s a good thing).”
But the blitzing does have one drawback — it leaves Fulbright and his fellow cornerbacks in man-to-man coverage for a large portion of each game. That means the potential for big plays is always present, provided that the quarterback can actually deduce when those plays are an option. And that the offensive line can actually block all the pass rushers trying to bury the signal-caller first.
“It’s pretty hard, and it takes a lot of focus,” Fulbright said. “We get a lot of time to ourselves over there on that island. We’re usually by ourselves, pretty much.”
In order to bypass the confusion, the Cougars might want to depend on their running game against a three-man defensive line that averages just 248 pounds. Once again, though, the Lobo defensive scheme could make life difficult there. Technically, New Mexico plays a 3-3-5 defense, but one of those defensive back positions is reserved for a rover who is allowed the freedom to make plays all over the field, particularly in run support. (Creatively, the position is called “Lobo” by the New Mexico staff.)
Regardless of what or where the Lobo is, the Cougars know this defense provides a stiff test out of the gate.
“They blitz gaps and got guys running all over the place,” WSU quarterbacks coach Timm Rosenbach said. “It’s really just a matter of trying to stay calm and understand where they’re leaving from.
“We got to watch a lot of film and kind of get used to it.”
After years of confusing opponents, though, the Lobos sure sound like they plan on messing with Cougar minds on Friday night. And doing it with a smile.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Lewis said. “With all the blitzing, we don’t sit, read and react. We attack and react. It’s a little different.”