Mike Bobo on defense: Alignment, assignment and attitude

Only 10 days remain until Colorado State football kicks off their 2015 season against Savannah State. Progress has to be made quickly, and head coach Mike Bobo is seeing it all over the place.

For an offensive-minded head coach, it only makes sense the offense would be ahead of the defense in terms of learning schemes. A lack of tenacity was seen in spring by the defense, but they’re continually improving, even if they might not be where the coach would hope by Sept. 5.

“I’ve seen progress,” Bobo said of his defensive line. “Probably not where we want to be right now but I think we’re making more plays up front. Getting our stunts and alignments right. And we just have to get a little better every day.”

Colorado State’s defensive line has been a weak point of the team for years. Whether it means rushing the quarterback – their stronger suit – or stuffing the run. In 2014, the Rams allowed opponents to rush for 200.8 yards per game, which is simply far too much.

But, coach remains positive in what he’s seeing on the practice fields.

“Today was a better day defensively,” Bobo explained. “Coming out and flying around to the ball, trying to make plays, communicating, come out here with a little energy and the right mind frame. It’s about attitude on defense. It’s ‘alignment, assignment and attitude.’ And we’re doing a better job of that.”

Onto the offense for a second. We get a check in on how Nick Stevens is handling the starting quarterback role.

“A little bit up and down,” Bobo said of Stevens’ practices. “We’re struggling a little bit to make the routine play. If we miss a play we’ve got to let it go. I’m seeing a little bit of pressing on occasion. We’ve got to go out and play our next play. We’ve got to have confidence in ourselves…And we’ve got to be more consistent at that position if we want to be where we want to be offensively.”

For a QB, the ability to forget a bad play and move forward is key. It’s a learning hurdle for all young players at the position, a characteristic Stevens needs to work on. The same can be said of consistency, which will only come with repetition and game play.

With defensive players out to meet with the media, it was a defense-heavy interview with Bobo post-practice on Wednesday. He goes on about the importance of having a stout run defense, how he wants to see both sides of the ball execute plays in practice and how practicing against his up-tempo offense will help that D be ready for other quick attacks.

Watch the entire interview here: