It’s rare that Emporia State defensive coordinator Ken Gordon ever lowers his voice to make a point, or lets his defense walk through any sort of drill.
Gordon is better known for striking fear in 300-pound men and making sure everyone — and he means everyone — runs to the football.
But to make a point this week, Gordon calmly went over the key to stopping Augustana’s offense with his defense.
“Whatever you do, you keep everything in front of you. Do not let anything behind you,” Gordon preached to his defense.
“We did a lot mental work, a lot of walking and talking and making sure everybody knows where their positions are, everybody knows where they’re supposed to be and make sure you’re there.”
The lessons were obvious when the ESU defense watched the tape from Augustana’s season-opening 38-16 win over St. Cloud State. Augustana quarterback Luke Butler threw five touchdown passes, including passes of 61, 36, 28 and 21 yards.
“That’s scary,” Gordon said.
It’s especially scary for an ESU defense that has been susceptible to big plays the last few years. The Hornets limited the big plays for the most part in their opener, but they did give up a 27-yard touchdown pass on a blown Cover-2 — Gordon said getting beat over the top on Cover-2 should never happen — and Southwestern Oklahoma State also had a touchdown run of 38 yards.
Other than those two plays, the Hornet defense was sound and looked much improved at every position.
The defensive line controlled the line of scrimmage and also got to SWOSU’s quarterback, hitting him 15 times and sacking him three times.
Gordon credited a change in philosophy with rotations. The Hornets subbed every three downs last year, but this year their best d-linemen are playing until they are tired.
“We’re going to give them a break, but 85 percent of the time they’re going to be on the field,” Gordon said, “and I think that right there really helped out.”
By taking up blockers, the d-linemen also helped free up the ESU linebackers to make plays. Gordon’s defense is built around letting his linebackers run free to the football, and it worked perfectly against SWOSU — the top four tacklers were all linebackers.
“That’s the way I like it,” he said.
One of the only blemishes was the 38-yard touchdown pass when safety Shaunquez Powell let a receiver slip behind him in Cover-2, but the Hornets’ young secondary improved during the game and limited SWOSU to 131 passing yards. The Bulldogs didn’t do much on the ground against ESU either, running for only 95 yards.
“I don’t see a lot of weakness in their defense,” Augustana coach Brad Salem said. “If you just look at position groups, their linebackers can run. It’s an athletic group that can run, and then up front they’re very physical and have great size.
“Then they have very good man cover guys that aren’t afraid to get up in your face and challenge your receivers.”
Although the Hornet defense looked great against SWOSU, it should be noted that SWOSU went 3-8 last year, has a new head coach and was running a new offense.
The Vikings also had an offense in transition last year when they lost at Emporia State 27-14. Butler was playing in only his second game with the Vikings after transferring from Idaho State. The Hornets knocked him out of the game early with an injury, but not before he threw an interception, one of two key Augustana turnovers that ended up being the difference in the game.
Butler and the Viking offense is obviously improved this year — and they weren’t horrible last year, they went 8-4 and beat Missouri Western 37-16 in the Mineral Water Bowl.
But compared to early in the season last year, they’re much improved. They put up 38 points against a St. Cloud State team that went 7-4 last year, and they only scored 13 against St. Cloud in an overtime win in the 2008 opener.
Butler’s five touchdowns and 209 yards passing were both career highs last week.
“He was kind of banged up with some injuries last year, which hampered him,” Salem said. “I just think he’s much more comfortable with the people around him and understanding timing with receivers and understanding scheme.”
The key to stop Butler for the Hornets will be limiting his time to throw, which St. Cloud State struggled to do, and making sure they know where Butler’s go-to receiver, Tyler Schulte, is at all times.
“We want to make him make decisions that he doesn’t want to make,” said defensive end Daniel Webb, who had two sacks last week. “Make him feel like he’s flustered and can’t stay in the pocket, make him roll out.”
The Vikings also have running back Joe Clark, a 1,000-plus yard back last year, but their biggest weapon is Schulte. He caught five passes for 61 yards and threw for 124 yards as the back-up quarterback last year against ESU. The Vikings will line him up on the end at receiver, in the slot, at running back or at quarterback.
“With him, you’ve got to make sure you know where he’s at at all times,” Gordon said. “Whatever coverage we’re in, and he is around you, you know where he’s at.”
And that’s where the discipline for the Hornets becomes a major factor.
As for talent and hustle, the Hornets have improved in those areas and that’s why Gordon was able to save his yelling voice this week for Saturday.
“One thing we did do is we played hard,” Gordon said. “That’s the thing I look for. We played hard and we played fast, and we got pressure on the quarterback.”