Pete Kwiatkowski's field-level view saw defensive improvement in 2022, provides front row seat for Washington

Last season, Texas defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski called plays from the press box with safeties coach Blake Gideon at his side, leaving linebackers coach Jeff Choate, secondary coach Terry Joseph, and defensive line coach Bo Davis at field level to instruct the Texas defense.

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The results were poor by any standard, and atrocious by Texas’. The Longhorns were No. 100 in total defense, No. 114 in rushing defense, No. 62 in passing yards allowed, and No. 99 in scoring defense.

Ahead of the 2022 season, UT head coach Steve Sarkisian brought Kwiatkowski down to the field. The decision quickly paid dividends, as evidenced by the performance against then-No. 1 Alabama. The Longhorns limited the Crimson Tide to 20 points and made life difficult for the Bama offense, save for two key plays.

Being on the field helped Kwiatkowski understand what his players were feeling and thinking more so than when he simply communicated with them through a headset, even if it cost him an elevated viewpoint.

“I’m there,” Kwiatkowski said. “I can go walk up to them and talk to them, whether it’s a player or a coach.”

It was one of many several factors that contributed to the improvement of the Longhorn defense, and the players who were a part of it said as much on Monday.

“When you do have a problem on the defense where you need to talk to the defensive coordinator, it’s easy when he’s right there,” defensive lineman Keondre Coburn said. “He can make adjustments right there instead of sending it down with a mic and you’re hearing it from somebody else. When you’re hearing it from your actual defensive coordinator, it’s cool.”

“If we mess up on the field,” said linebacker Jaylan Ford. “We can come back and everybody can be on the same page. I think that was one plus from him coming from the booth to the field.”

Added defensive back Anthony Cook, “I felt like him being down there, we could feel his energy.”

Kwiatkowski’s side of the ball was anchored by Ford, who had 109 tackles, two sacks, two forced fumbles, and four interceptions this season. On Thursday, Kwiatkowski will be able to look Ford, Coburn, Cook, and several others in the eye on the sidelines of the Alamodome during the Longhorns’ Alamo Bowl matchup with Washington, Kwiatkowski’s former employer.

The Huskies will be a formidable foe for the Texas defense as they enter with the No. 1 passing offense in the country.

“I think as we watched film, we noticed that Washington has a lot of creativity,” Ford said. “As coach said, they’ve got a great quarterback, and I think they just do a great job of creating mismatches for their receivers or just getting even their running backs involved in the pass game.”

The quarterback is Michael Penix Jr., a 6-foot-3 left-handed transfer who passed for 4354 yards and 29 touchdowns in his first season in Seattle. They weren’t the only players singled out by Texas on Monday. The UW receiving corps composed of thousand-yard receiver Rome Odunze, thousand-yard receiver Jalen McMillan, and native Texan Ja’Lynn Polk was described by PK as part of the “huge challenge” in front of the Longhorns. All three are at least 6-foot-0, and have won plenty of 50-50 balls this year in support of Penix.

“The quarterback trusts No. 1 and 2,” defensive back Jahdae Barron said. “He loves to get them the ball. They’ve both got a lot of receptions and stuff like that. They’re trying to hit them on fades and big posts. They’re trying to just expose us.”

The Longhorn defense will be without senior linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who opted out of the bowl game in order to begin preparation for the NFL draft. Ford said Monday that David Gbenda, Diamonte Tucker-Dorsey, and Morice Blackwell have rotated alongside Ford at the other middle linebacker spot.

They’ll be backed by a defensive back group that will be tested constantly by the Huskies offense. When asked for a comparison, Coburn and Ford said the UW offense reminded them of Texas Tech’s system.

“They definitely throw the ball a lot, and they work a lot in space with their receivers,” Ford said. “I think one thing that stands out is they’re really good on being ahead of the sticks when it comes to like 3rd down, kind of like what he said. They have a lot of 3rd and shorts and manageable stuff, not too much where they’re backed up or anything.”

The challenge of the No. 1 passing offense and No. 2 total offense (behind only Tennessee) will be a significant one in the first bowl game for Kwiatkowski and Sarkisian at Texas. If they are able to meet it, Kwiatkowski will have a front-row view, just as he has all season.

“One of the sayings we use that is practice execution become a game reality,” Kwiatkowski said. “The guys have really bought into it, and they’ve seen the success that they’ve had when we execute at a high level, and it’s because of how we prepare and practice, taking it from the meetings, the film study, and then going out into practice and doing it in practice.”