Purple Dogs’ defensive overhaul from 3-5 to 4-3 still progressing
Last season Fayetteville traded in the 3-5 for the 4-3 mid-season. There wasn’t much time to learn the ins and outs of every aspect of the new defense and Fayetteville defensive coordinator Wendell Harris said his players have labored diligently in the spring and summer to implement a more complex version of the defense to achieve more pressure on the quarterback.
“We had to stay extremely basic when we went to the 4-3 last year,” Harris said. “You couldn’t teach an entire defense in four days. We didn’t think we got enough pressure on the quarterback so we’ve added a lot to this defense in the off-season and the kids are doing a good job. I think the biggest thing is the kids just need to start playing. The kids get tired of hitting each other. I think once we get on the field and then start looking at film and how they perform in games, I think their intensity level will pick up.”
Fayetteville had swapped out the 4-4 in favor of the 3-5 prior to the 2006 season.
“We had the personnel for it then,” Harris said. “But for whatever reason, the 3-5 didn’t work last year. Whether it was chemistry, coaching or whatever the case may be, so we switched. We contemplated going back to the 4-4 but we determined the 4-3 would be easier to teach in the middle of the season.”
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