Pronschinske expects Saluki defense to build off Purdue performance

CARBONDALE, Ill. — Southern Illinois limited a Big Ten opponent to 385 yards of offense, but SIU defensive coordinator Lee Pronschinske would like to see the defense improve upon its third-down success rate this week at UT Martin. The Boilermakers converted 9-of-14 third-down opportunities, and several penalties extended Purdue drives. Still, there were plenty of positives the Saluki defense can build upon in the upcoming weeks.

Coordinator’s Corner with Lee Pronschinske

SD: You had to be pleased with how your defense made Purdue work for everything.

LP: Every drive besides the takeaway was nine plays or more, and so good things are going to happen when you keep making teams snap the ball. It was good to see that we weren't allowing explosive touchdowns. We made Purdue be fine with their details, execution, and put together really long drives. Now, we have to find ways to force field goals and get some timely takeaways.

SD: There were some tough breaks with third-down penalties that kept the defense from getting off the field.

LP: There's areas we came up short, no doubt about that. We have to do a better job as a staff with our mixture of calls on third downs and fourth downs, so we can get off the field. We had a lot of third-and-shorts, and it becomes hard to defend that many of them. Leading up to the game we talked about, we were going to have to respond to adversity. I think we got a lot of tangible, teachable moments, where our guys had to respond to some calls on the field or some plays not going their way.

SD: Devin Mockobee ran for over 100 yards, but only averaged 3.9 per carry with a long of 12 yards, so you had to feel good about making him earn those tough yards.

LP: We don't want to talk about moral victories, but you go into a Big Ten stadium, a Big Ten offense that's clearly leaning into that identity, and handing the ball to Mockobee 32 times. I truly believe as an offensive staff, they weren't sitting there on Wednesday saying, ‘hey, we got to give Mockobee the ball 32 times before we play USC, Notre Dame, and Illinois in a row.’ I think it was a testament to our guys, and their physicality, making them put together long drives. They're pulling out brand-new plays and 13, 14 personnel to try to pick up first downs in the fourth quarter.

SD: The longest play you gave up was a 29-yard touchdown pass, and you had a true freshman in coverage on that play.

LP: I think Coach (Josh) Henson at Purdue, he had a better play call than I did in that situation. We ended up getting Cam (Cason) on an island and the (receiver) ran a really good route. Cam competed his butt off, made an attempt to finish through the end zone and knock the ball out. Purdue had a better play call than we had dialed up at that moment. Monday morning quarterback, you maybe call a zone or something different, but those are moments that we're going to grow and get better from. It also shows the amount of confidence that we have in Cam. He's going to be a really good football player for us for a really long time. We're not going to shy away from our identity as a defense just because he's on the field and that goes for anyone and any position. That's the standard that we're building, that's the depth we want to have. We have to continue to find ways to challenge our guys and put them in those competitive situations.

SD: Linebacker Andrew Behm had 16 tackles, the most by a Saluki in 23 years. Incredible story for a guy who’s been hurt for the majority of his last two seasons.

LP: I think that speaks volumes of who Andrew is, the job that Coach Mac (McCleran) does in that room. Andrew played all 79 snaps defensively, which is hard to do with that position, especially with a Big Ten-style game, where they hand the ball off 53 times, to play every single snap. He only had one MA (missed assignment), and it was kind of a nitpicking MA on a run-fit where we still get it fitted up, and I think it was a gain of one yard. It just shows that, doing your job, competing at a high level, it's going to pay off. And I thought he did a really good job on coverage, too.

SD: It was an interesting call on the pass interference penalty against Behm.

LP: I wouldn't change anything about the way he covers that down. What's a PI in the Missouri Valley one week and a PI in the Big Ten one week? It's going to change. It’s the stuff between the ears after the whistle that we can control, and we will continue to fine-tune that. We just want guys to play extremely hard. And I think Andrew did that all day.

SD: I thought the tackling overall was solid, but especially by the defensive backs.

LP: The D-line and linebackers being definitive in their fits gave our DBs a clean look at it, and then you tip the ball cap to guys like Vinny (Pierre Jr.), Cejai (Parson), Jagger (Williams), J Black (Jeremiah McClendon), Gavin (Shepard) — when the opportunity was there, they did their job. I think those guys didn't shy away and craved the contact.

SD: Where do you see the defensive unit's confidence level at heading into UT Martin?

LP: I think it's going to be fun to watch our guys continue to build off a performance where there's a lot of stuff for us to clean up, but then a really good measuring stick ahead of us with a perennial playoff FCS team that wins their league at a high rate. (UT Martin) Coach (Jason) Simpson does a phenomenal job with their offense.

SD: The two Sam Houston transfers, quarterback Jase Bauer and running back John Gentry, have been impressive for UT Martin so far. What’s your assessment of those two players?

LP: Bauer is an elite athlete and a winner. He was a state champion quarterback in Iowa, a coach’s kid. He's tough as nails. He took a rough, horse-collar tackle early in that game against Oklahoma State, where he kind of gets rolled up on, he pops back up. He took a tough hit against UTEP, where there should have been yellow laundry on the field and he pops right back up. He's very gifted with his legs, not just a quarterback run, but extending plays. And I think he's a really good passer. He does a great job of fitting the ball into tight windows, knowing where he wants to be with it. When you turn on UT Martin film over the last 20 years, Coach Simpson does a great job with his quarterbacks. And then Gentry is a physical, downhill back, does a great job catching the ball out of the backfield. Obviously, there's some chemistry between those two coming from Sam Houston together.

SD: UT Martin is 0-2, but they’ve played two FBS games. Considering they’ve won four-straight league titles and now they’re at home, you know it’s going to be a battle.

LP: I think this is what makes college athletics exciting. This is what gets you out of bed in the morning when you sleep for three, four hours coming off a road trip, and you're pumping coffee in your veins. This is a great opportunity. It's their home opener. I'm sure that place is going to be jumping. I believe last year they started 0-2 and reeled off a bunch of wins, won a playoff game, so there's no sense of concern down there. They're trusting their process just like we're trusting our process. We’re both playing our first FCS game, so I think it's going to be a big measuring stick for the both of us. Anticipating a lot of fireworks and a really fun environment down there.