Re-tooled Northwestern defensive line disruptive early

Northwestern’s first football play of the 2015 season has proved to be an accurate summation of the team’s first three games.

Junior defensive end Logan Rudolph burst past the Byrnes offensive tackle on a designed screen pass, quickly blocking the view of Rebels QB Micah Young, who tried to tuck the ball at the last second but lost his grip. Rudolph recovered the fumble and running back Jerry Howard scored two plays later to give the Trojans the lead within 33 seconds.

“Logan did what he was asked to do, which is haul tail up the field and go get the quarterback,” said Northwestern defensive coordinator James Martin. “He did exactly what he was asked to do and I think it surprised their quarterback.”

The Northwestern defense - especially its front line coached by longtime assistant coach David Pierce - hasn’t let up from that frantic start. Right defensive end Rudolph has been having conventions at the opposing quarterback routinely with left defensive end, senior Trae’von Hinton.

“Hinton and Logan are just really physical guys,” said Northwestern coach Kyle Richardson. “When you put them down at defensive end and they’re going against a tackle, it’s a huge mismatch, and it’s all because of their speed and their athleticism, and their motors.”

Consider them the Harley Davidsons.

Defensive tackles Jamah Mitchell, Winston Daniels and Daquan Brown gum up the works in the middle, allowing Rudolph and Hinton to unleash their edge-rushing holy trinity. Daniels and Mitchell, both 300-pounders, are the tar pits. Everything sticks to them, blockers and running backs alike.

Rudolph, Hinton, and Caliph Brice and Tyler Pierre - the two backup defensive ends - are all new to the position. Several other players, including starting cornerbacks D.J. Williams and Davion Blake, were moved from the offensive side of the ball during the offseason.

“We didn’t feel our defensive group was as athletic as we wanted it to be,” said Richardson. “For them unselfishly to go to those spots, that really helped the team out. And obviously you’re seeing that result in some of our play.”

Later in that Byrnes game, Hinton - who has offers from a number of schools including Charlotte, Towson and Marshall - swam past the right tackle then launched himself at Young, dragging the beleaguered QB to the ground for one of the Trojans’ five sacks in the contest. It was the odd instance in which Hinton left his feet; he’s excellent at waiting out offensive players trying to put a move on him in open space, staying balanced before striking and taking the guy to the deck.

“Trae’von played linebacker in the past so you take those skill sets he’s already acquired and you put it back on the line of scrimmage, he hasn’t really lost that,” said Martin. “That’s the advantage of having Trae’von up there at the other defensive end.”

Much of Mitchell and Daniels’ work goes unnoticed; such is the lot of defensive tackles, whose job is to free up players around them. The linebackers, led by Rock Hill transfer Da’Chon Witherspoon, have been aggressive and effective thanks in part to the tar pits in front of them.

“Being as big as they are and physical and strong, you can’t just single block those guys,” said Martin. “They can eat you up if you attempt to.”

Northwestern’s defense has 10 sacks and 15 tackles-for-loss in three games, and has forced 10 turnovers. Rudolph - holding scholarship offers from East Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia State and others, as well as heavy interest from SEC schools, including Tennessee - leads with three sacks and three tackles-for-loss, plus a forced and recovered fumble, and an interception. His previous offers came from schools considering him as a tight end, but he’ll likely receive a new batch based on his defensive end film.

“He’s just a superior athlete,” said Martin. “He could go play right guard and be just as effective as he is playing defensive end or wide receiver. He’s just that valuable type of person and he’s very unselfish.”

Eight other Northwestern defensive players have at least a half sack, and nine have tackles-for-loss. Against Irmo, the Trojans returned a pair of interceptions for touchdowns, including one on a botched punt snap in which the clearly rattled punter - harangued by Pierre’s burst off the edge - flicked the ball right into the waiting mitts of Rudolph, who rumbled in for the score.

To play on the defensive side of the football at Northwestern in recent years has been to perform in relative anonymity because of the attention paid to the Trojan air raid offense. That’s another defensive change Northwestern has made this fall.

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 7:27 PM with the headline "Re-tooled Northwestern defensive line disruptive early."