[Fuller/MGoBlog]

Talk about what Ryan Glasgow’s meant to you, and any update on his status?

“Ryan’s a tough, hard-nosed player and he epitomizes what we stand for. Blue-collar, tough guy, so he’s been doing a great job for us all year long.”

He was in a sling today. Is that an indication of his status for Saturday?

“Ryan, like a lot of guys, are working through things. It’s that time of year. It’s that part of the season where guys get a little banged up, especially as physical as he plays. He’s just- he’s working through some things.”

Talk about that time of year for a minute. Everybody’s banged up some, you’ve been at it for a while; is it easier to coach because you’re in a conference race at this time of year?

“I just think when you’re coaching the right group of guys, which I believe we have- I mean, they love what they’re doing. Obviously it makes it a little better when you’re in the thick of things, but it’s part of the game. We have an experienced group that’ve been through seasons before and when you get to November your guys’re banged up a little bit; there’s been a lot of football played, but this is when you’ve got to play your best, so we’ve just got to fight through it and keep going.”

If Ryan can’t go, you’ve already lost Mone at that position. Is there any concern about being a little bit thin at the nose tackle spot?

“I mean, that’s…at every spot on the field you could say if someone wasn’t there- that’s part of the game. You know, you’re never going to be three or four deep at any spot, I don’t think. We have a lot of guys that have played well for us, especially at the defensive line, and we just keep rolling guys in.”

After Hurst, who else would be at nose? Where would that position go after Ryan and Maurice?

“Um, I mean, we’ve played a lot of guys along the defensive front at multiple positions. You know, Wormley’s played both inside and outside, Willie Henry’s played both inside and outside, so I think those guys. We’ve doing it all year long anyways in the rotation, so no matter what’s going on, that’s always how we’re going to play. Whoever’s healthy up front, we’re pretty deep up there, we’re going to play them all.”

[After THE JUMP: The Jabrill Formula]

You’ve had several players express disappointment in their own performance against Minnesota. What’s been the response to that in the days that followed?

“Yeah, you know, I think guys responded the right way last week in practice and went and played a good game on Saturday, and we’ve got a whole new challenge this week with a great offense we’re facing. They can put up a lot of points and yards and everything else and a unique style, how they play. So, I think our guys, their focus has been really good. They understand the challenge ahead of them.”

How do you prepare your defense to face an uptempo offense like Indiana?

“You practice uptempo. We don’t huddle ever anyways, and it’s kind of something we’ve been starting on since way back in spring because of the teams we were going to face this year. We faced some tempo teams earlier in the year. They’re probably the fastest-tempo team that we have faced, and so I don’t think it’s anything brand new in what we’re doing. It’s always something we prepare for each week. They do a really good job of it.”

Going back to the challenge thing, it sounded like Chris Wormley was one of the guys mentioning the arm tackles, not running to the ball hard enough; it was almost like he challenged himself and teammates. What does a guy like Chris do for a defense right now in this phase of the game?

“Chris is playing really well for us. He’s a prideful guy, like I think most of our defense is, and so that’s been a good thing. When we’ve had times where myself or our coaches have not been real pleased with their performance, it’s been one of those deals where you go in the meeting room and they feel the same way. It’s not like they’re looking at you like you’re crazy. They agree and understand what the film shows, and so that’s the best part about our guys. They take pride in their performance and it matters to ‘em, and so when you have that guys are willing to go correct it.”

He mentioned the second half of Rutgers and said ‘I think you guys saw we’re getting back on the right track.’ As a defensive coordinator, when you see those guys be able to flip a switch like that…

“Yeah, it’s not so much flip a switch. It’s just kind of about what you do and how you play. You play a certain way no matter what the situation, what the game is. You don’t let anything else change what you do. When you’re on the field you do it a certain way. So, we’ve done it for the most part this year a large percentage of the time. There’s always going to be ups and downs and you learn from them and grow, and we’ve got to play our best now.”

Have you ever had an All-American on the staff that could help like Will [Carr] is for you guys, and how much of an impact does he have?

“Will Carr? Yeah, he does a great job. I mean, he’s obviously knowledgeable and the guys have respect for him because of what he’s done on the field, but he does a great job with them off the field. He coaches our guys hard. He’s a great asset to our coaching staff. It really matters to Will and he takes great pride in what he does.”

Is he a natural teacher or is that something he’s still learning?

“Yeah, no no, he’s really good. Will’s got a bright future in coaching ahead of him and he’s got a good relationship with the kids, and, like I said, he pushes them hard and they respond.”

How closely do you monitor Jabrill given his expanding role beyond the defense?

“Yeah. [/chuckles] That’s one of those things where coach Harbaugh’s obviously in charge of that, and it’s something that he has done many times with other players. I’ve done it as well with him, and we have a formula for that and we know how many plays he’s playing and what’s too much. You know, Jabrill’s fun. He’s really helping us in all three phases of the game.”

How many guys have you had that have had instincts like that so young, that can sniff out the screen pass or the bubble screen, things like that? Is that just inherent?

“Yeah, I think so. A lot of things Jabrill does are things you’re just naturally blessed with. I think the great part about him is he’s a really hard worker, so the stuff he’s been blessed with is really, really good and he works hard to improve that. It’s a work in progress. He’s got a lot of great football ahead of him. He’s just scratching the surface of what he can do.”

What are some of the film sessions like? Going back to Chris mentioning the missed tackles and stuff like that, what are the film sessions like specifically as far as concentrating on?

“I feel like the best way to deal with players is very directly, so we’re very direct about things. Not a bunch of sugar-coating about anything. If you did something right you’re going to get praise for it. If you didn’t it’s going to get called out in front of your teammates. I think the guys respect that. They always know where they stand, and that’s how we deal with things on a day-to-day basis.”

Do things get recycled all the time? Do you have like, ‘This is the play where you missed this tackle’? Do they watch it a few times? How often do you go over things?

“No, we don’t keep bringing it back up. We watch it, we address it, and we learn from it in the film room and go on the field and practice what we need to get better at and keep moving forward.”

Jedd was just saying that the defensive guys may have a better perspective on John O’Korn based on seeing him everyday as a scout team player. What has he meant to the defense in terms of preparing you guys?

“Yeah, that’s a great question. He’s been awesome. Yeah, we see him every day and John, he’s a great competitor, a great quarterback. He doesn’t take any BS from the defense at all. That’s what I like about him is he’s got a little feistiness to him. I think he’s got a really bright future at quarterback. That guy’s a good player.”

MGoQuestion: Is pressuring the quarterback on rollouts an area where you’re looking for improvement, or is that a situation where you’re okay with giving up a little bit of pressure if it means defending better elsewhere?

“I think it just depends on call. There’s times where we’re going to pressure and we’re thinking the pocket’s moving and we’re going to get there or we’re maxing up our coverage. We just try to mix it up and not be predictable.”

What specifically is the biggest challenge Indiana presents to a defense?

“I think their tempo is unique. The style they play with is not something you see week in and week out. They have an experienced quarterback who knows where to go with the football. He gets rid of the ball really well, doesn’t take a lot of sacks so not a lot of plays for loss when they’re playing. You can see they’ve really moved the ball well on everyone they’ve played. They’ve scored points. It should be a really big challenge for us. We’ve got to tackle well, we’ve got to get lined up and execute our defense and not let the tempo and other things affect us.”

Is it harder to substitute when they’re moving that fast?

“Yeah, sure. You can only really substitute when they substitute, so if they’re going to sub guys in then that gives us the ability to, but if they don’t then we don’t. Again, we’ve played other teams similar to this. Not quite the same, so we have a little preparation that way but they bring some unique things to the table we have to be ready for.”