Gattuso relies on D-line for pressure
Coach, who played the position, looks to unit to get after opposing QBS
University at Albany football head coach Greg Gattuso won a national championship as a Penn State defensive lineman in 1982. He knows what he wants out of that position.
He expects his linemen to get after the quarterback with as little blitzing help as possible.
“We just turn them loose,” Gattuso explained. “The philosophy I’ve always had as a defensive coach is, why gamble with pressure when I can just let the front four go.”
This season, that quartet has given their coach exactly what he craves: total disruption. Ualbany defensive end Eli Mencer leads the team with 61/2 sacks and 13 tackles for losses. Defensive tackle Mazon Walker is second on the Great Danes with nine tackles for losses.
They saved their most impressive performance for one of the program’s biggest wins in recent memory last Saturday. The Great Danes bottled up Towson quarterback Tom Flacco, the reigning Colonial Athletic Association Offensive Player of the Year, in a 38-21 victory at the ninth-ranked Tigers.
Ualbany (4-3 overall, 2-1 CA A) will try to deal with Rhode Island’s high-f lying passing attack on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. in Casey Stadium for Homecoming.
“We’re on a roll, thankfully,” Walker said. “We knew (Flacco) was one of the most mobile quarterbacks we’ve played against. He’s really a threat on his feet, so we knew we needed to contain him and make sure we just stayed where we were supposed to.”
Flacco managed only 187 yards passing and 32 rushing against a Ualbany defense that he decimated with 306 and 80, respectively, in Towson’s 56-28 win in Albany a year earlier.
“Our D-line was good last year, but we were not fast and we weren’t athletic,” Gattuso said. “We are fast and athletic this year and that ’s the biggest difference.”
Mencer moved from linebacker to the “dog ” end, giving the Great Danes a speed rusher from the outside. Walker, though undersized at 5-foot-9 and 268 pounds, can outmaneuver the centers and guards trying to block him.
“I try not to make it any more difficult than it needs to be,” Walker said. “I try to get to the backfield as quick as I can. …
Penetration and havoc.”
On Saturday, Ualbany sacked Flacco three times and hurried him on seven occasions. Mencer had a pair of sacks and end Anthony Lang had a sack and four hurries.
With the front four swarming Flacco, Ualbany could drop seven men into coverage. On one play, Flacco scrambled in his backfield for 13 seconds, eluding Great Danes rushers, but still had to throw the ball out of bounds.
Mencer said his group appreciates the fact Gattuso expects them to generate a rush without help.
“It shows he’s trusting us a lot more than he’s trusted defensive lines in the past,” Mencer said. “If you’ve looked back, we’ve blitzed a decent amount. So for him to say that we’re going to blitz less is huge for us and it gives us more confidence going into games.”
Gattuso is as hands-on with the defensive linemen as any group in practice, though they do have a position coach in Bill Nesselt.
Mencer said Gattuso made it clear in training camp he expected more this season.
“He definitely made an emphasis on getting in the backfield and penetration,” Mencer said. “He’s about TFLS and chaos, really.”
The Great Danes defense has 15 sacks, 51 TFLS and 19 hurries through seven games, almost matching the 20 sacks, 52 TFLS and 22 hurries it had in 11 games a year ago.
Ualbany is enjoying the luxury of depth on the defensive line it hasn’t had in the past. Defensive end Nick Griffin of Shaker, tackle Nick Dillon and end Isaiah Watson afford the Great Danes an eight-man rotation that keeps everyone fresh.
On Saturday, the Great Danes will face a URI offense led by quarterback Vito Priore, much more of a pocket passer than Flacco. Priore leads the CA A with 2,003 passing yards.
“We’re really trying to make sure we bring the pressure like we’re supposed to,” Walker said. ■ ■