Saluki defense expects SEMO to bring its typical, physical brand of football

CARBONDALE, Ill. — SEMO has a new offensive coordinator this season in Brendan Boylan, but don’t expect the nature of their offense to change much when the War For The Wheel rivalry resumes on Saturday night at Saluki Stadium.

Southern Illinois defensive coordinator Lee Pronschinske said the Redhawks (1-1) have always reflected the toughness of their head coach, Tom Matukewicz.

“It starts with Coach Tuke and the culture they have at SEMO,” Pronschinske said. “They understand that a winning formula is to run the ball successfully, so I think they're going to try to establish a physical brand of football up front and then take some timely shots.”

Memphis transfer running back Khyair Spain is the downhill runner, and the quarterback taking those timely shots will be Alabama State transfer Braylen Ragland, who is completing 74 percent of his passes, which ranks sixth in the nation.

“(Ragland) does a good job of dissecting pre-snap, post-snap looks, and understanding where he's supposed to get the ball to,” Pronschinske said. “He's extremely accurate. Anytime you're at 74 percent, it's safe to say you're an accurate quarterback.”

It’s only a two-game sample size, but the Salukis (1-1) rank among the top 20 teams in the FCS in several key, defensive categories, including yards allowed per game (303.5), turnovers forced (4) and tackles for loss (7.0). Will that success carry over into rivalry week?

“Any time there's a trophy at the end of it, you're kidding yourself if you don't say it means a little bit more,” Pronschinske said. “Every year is a fresh year. More than anything, it's another opportunity for us to put together 60 minutes, or however long it takes, of a better brand of our DNA.”

StrongDawgs conversation with Defensive Coordinator Lee Pronschinske

SD: The defensive line graded-out especially well last week at Samford. Start with the edge rushers, what did you like there, particularly Abe Sanogo and Lukus McDaniels?

LP: I think last Thursday night was an example of what the whole D line is capable of, once we get people in pass-heavy situations. I think those two guys were easy to spot on tape, but the D-ends, and specifically those two, did a really good job against the run as well. If you can defend the run and affect the passer, that's when you become a dynamic D-end. It's really hard to be good at both.

SD: Explain why you expanded the rotation at the tackle spot, playing six guys in the Samford game, including the two freshmen, Jaden Hudgins and Caillou Robinson.

LP: Originally, the plan was for those two guys to play at West Florida, and then the way the game played out, it just didn't work for them rotationally to get into the game. Those two guys showed during fall camp in scrimmage situations that they can help us, so I was really excited for them to get the opportunity. Jaden ended up playing 24 snaps and graded out really well, and then Caillou played six snaps and was out there on the last third down of the game when we were able to get that big stop. You're always in a good spot when you can rotate up front, keep those guys fresh. It's going to be exciting to see those guys continue to grow each week and when we look up at the end of the season, we're probably not going to be thinking of them as freshmen anymore.

Freshman DT Jaden Hudgins played 24 snaps at Samford.

SD: I thought the series toward the end of the second quarter was so important, because after a great punt, you push them back to the 2 and positioned the offense to score heading into halftime. What stood out about that series?

LP: You rep that situation in fall camp, offense backed up. I think they started at the minus-6. From an offense’s perspective, a win is getting  two first downs and a chance to flip the field. On first down, they called a run that got us earlier in the game, and then we played it right this time with a different call and (Ben) Fiegel got the tackle for loss. Then they took the deep shot and Naz (Hill) did a really good job of winning his opportunity with two athletes and one ball. On 3rd-and-14 from their own 2 yard line, they don’t have a lot of options. It was just a good example of complementary football, with special teams pinning those guys back, and the defense giving the offense a short field.

SD: Another key series was the final defensive stand when you’re protecting a four-point lead and just over two minutes remaining. You forced a 3-and-out. What was the key to shutting them down in that situation?

LP: It was a fun series for someone who watches the game with attention to detail, which I think a lot of the people who read StrongDawgs do. The first play that resulted in a TFL was a play they ran earlier in the game and got six yards on it. I’m sure it was a play that they circled and said, “hey we got to get back to this.” They felt like they could out-leverage us, get some yards, get out of bounds, stop the clock. We just did a really good job of executing it.

On the headset, you're going into that drive understanding that you obviously need a stop. When it got to the 3rd-and-13 situation, we came with our fastball. It's one of those empty-the-clip moments — what's our best 3rd-and-long call right now? We got a look we had practiced to during the week. Samford gave us a funky look, we communicated, then they motioned out of it, and the guys just executed their 1/11th. We ended up getting a little pressure on the quarterback that forced him to be on the move when he tried to throw the ball, and we did a really good job covering it down.

SD: Only seven missed tackles last week and no one with more than one. Pleased with that number?

LP: Overall, we did a better job tackling. We did allow those two explosive runs. One, we just kind of misfit it and they get 31 yards on the toss play. The other, they had a really good play call versus our play call, and the quarterback kept the counter-action and got loose for 24 yards. That’s 55 of the 70 yards they finished with in the game. So the other 20 carries of the game, you're allowing about one yard per carry. There's still some clips where we can clean some stuff up, and that's definitely still a point of emphasis for us this week, is to continue to improve our tackling.

LB Chris Presto has the speed to cover a slot receiver.

SD: You were in your base defense on 96 percent of the snaps. Is that accurate, and if so, that’s an impressive feat to operate so efficiently in your base package.

LP: That's probably accurate. I think there were only two reps where we weren't in our base package. A lot of that has to do with the game plan that we put together. We felt good about some of the matchups versus their schematic approach. A lot of the credit goes to Chris Presto, who can do a good job of matching a wide receiver in the slot, even being a linebacker himself. It also speaks about the way the defensive line was playing, and the way the corners were winning one-on-one matchups. We didn't have to get to much of our sub-package stuff. Also, we didn't see heavier personnel packages from them, which usually gets us into some different sub-packages. So a little bit of it was schematic, and a lot of it is a credit to Chris Presto and the corners doing a really good job of covering.

SD: It's rivalry week, of course. When speaking to the defense, how much do you build up the rivalry aspect versus maintaining a consistent approach?

LP: Both things can be true there. First, we have another opportunity to master our process of getting to Saturday. That holds true no matter who you play, but I think any time there's a trophy at the end of it, you're kidding yourself if you don't say it means a little bit more. It's been a back-and-forth rivalry since Coach Hill's been the head coach, but every year is a fresh year. More than anything, it's another opportunity for us to put together 60 minutes, or however long it takes, of a better brand of our DNA.

SD: What style of offense do you expect from SEMO under new offensive coordinator in Brendan Boylan?.

LP: They’re a physical team. I think a lot of it starts with Coach Tuke (Tom Matukewicz) and the culture he has over there. Their wide receivers do a really good job, not just in the pass game, but they’re physical, willing blockers. They bring guys in motion to kick-out D-ends. They're a physical, gritty group. The running back (Khyair) Spain, the Memphis transfer, runs downhill. We're all familiar with Payton Brown and how dynamic he can be with the ball in his hands. Tyrell Reed does a really good job of running it. Starting with Coach Tuke and everyone in that building, they understand that a winning formula is to run the ball successfully, so I think they're going to try to establish a physical brand of football up front and then take some timely shots.

SD: SEMO quarterback Braylen Ragland has been pretty efficient in completing 74 percent of his throws and only 1 INT. What’s the scouting report on the Alabama State transfer?

LP: He does a good job of dissecting pre-snap, post-snap looks, and understanding where he's supposed to get the ball to. And he just trusts it. He cherishes the football and makes sure he takes care of it. He has a really good arm. He's extremely accurate. Anytime you're at 74 percent, it's safe to say you're an accurate quarterback.