Q and A with Bulldog defensive coordinator Matt Brock

Following Monday’s practice session, Mississippi State defensive coordinator Matt Brock met with the media. Brock discussed the issues with the pass defense and the adjustments made recently to help offset several key injuries:

Q: Were you satisfied in general with the changes you had to make against Alabama due to injuries?
Brock: I don’t know if you are ever satisfied after losing a game like that. Obviously, I want to give our guys credit because I thought they went out there and battled. But satisfied? Nah, not satisfied by any stretch of the imagination. The result was not what we wanted no matter who we put on the field.

Q: With the injuries piling up and nearing the midway point of the season, how difficult are the decisions to keep redshirts on some true freshman or not?
Brock: There’s always those ongoing conversations. I think right now we are trying to find value in anybody we can that we feel like can physically do it, number one, and then mentally, has the mental toughness to go in there and battle. To me, Donterry Russell is a great example of that. He goes out there. He does things and you look at him at 215-220 pounds and we asked him to do some things and he held up pretty well. So it’s just finding guys like that and what value can they bring, and then putting them in the best possible situation.

Q: How do you feel like Donterry has approached his time here and then taking advantage of the opportunity he had on Saturday?
Brock: I think he’s grown. I think it has been an up and down process for him but hopefully what he did the other night (gave him more confidence). I know we gained more confidence in him. Hopefully he continues to gain confidence in himself and in how he prepares and doing things right on a consistent basis so he can go out there and make more plays on the field.

Q: How much can you point to Donterry as an example to some of those younger guys who may not be playing that much?
Brock: I think it is pretty easy for those guys to see it on the field. He gets an opportunity, goes out and makes plays and all of a sudden, he shows flashes that he can go get the job done and execute on a big stage. Obviously, if you do that you are going to get more playing time. To me that’s just a perfect example of taking your opportunity.

Q: How did you feel John Lewis did against Alabama?
Brock: He did well. The thing about John is he is always going to play extremely hard. John is always going to play hard. John has to make sure he is going in the right direction all the time. But again, finding value in what John Lewis does. But you know what you are going to get from an effort stand point every time. Now it is just cleaning up the fundamentals and you have to do that to be successful.

Q: The last three weeks incompletions from opposing quarterbacks have been hard to come by. What are you seeing on film with those coverages?
Brock: That’s a valid question. I think there’s different breakdowns. Sometimes it’s a guy not making a play on the ball. Sometimes it is a schematic breakdown. Sometimes it is the pass rush not getting there. It’s all three levels, to me, as well as coaching, too. So we’ve got to look at how we are getting attacked, how can we adjust the coverages we play to better suit what people are doing to us.

Q: When you use four linebackers on the field, does that add any increased communication responsibilities to Jett Johnson and Bookie Watson?
Brock: I think we put a lot on those guys anyways in communication. I don’t know if it was a huge difference, to be quite honest with you. Those guys have been around forever and they understand the system, on the front and on the second and third levels. It was really just a continuation of what we already ask them to do.

Q: Does it seem to you that Nathan Pickering has raised his game this season?
Brock: I would agree with that and it needs to continue for us to be successful. But he has definitely played tougher and he has played more physical inside and we need to continue to have that from him.