Gophers football: Defense has ‘violent’ debut under Danny Collins

The season-opening win over Buffalo was coordinator Danny Collins first encounter calling the Gopher defense It didn t look like it Collins unit allowed only total yards across a paltry total plays in a - win at Huntington Bank Stadium They had seven tackles for lost yards and allowed only one explosive play Collins acted like he s done it for years head coach P J Fleck commented postgame He s so poised on the headsets He knows what he wants He s a great communicator He s a great trainer He s really good with the staff Gophers cornerback Za'Quan Bryan breaks up a pass in the second half against Buffalo in Minnesota's season opener Thursday Aug at Huntington Bank Stadium in Minneapolis Brad Rempel Gopher Sports Collins wants his defense to create HAVOC an acronym nickname for the unit where the V stands for violence We went into the competition looking to play minutes of violent football explained defensive tackle Deven Eastern who had four tackles and a half-tackle for loss That was our goal Attack every rep and be as violent as we can Fleck was particularly impressed with how the U defense responded after Drake Lindsey s weird interception was returned yards to Minnesota s -yard line Running back Darius Taylor s pursuit kept the Bulls from scoring a game-tying touchdown Then the defense gave up only five net yards and forced the Bulls to kick a field goal Last week Collins called running back Al-Jay Henderson the Bulls best participant He had rushed for yards per carry when going over yards on the ground last year but Minnesota kept him to per rush and total yards on Thursday In their first championship without leader Cody Lindenberg linebackers Maverick Baranowski and Devon Williams led the way with and eight tackles respectively Williams added a sack while Anthony Smith and Jalen Logan-Redding were credited with a half sack apiece Minnesota had total pressures on Buffalo s pass attempts That s our DNA Smith mentioned That is why we named our defense HAVOC A handful of personnel from NFL teams were in Minneapolis to watch Thursday s tournament and the -foot- -pound Smith was likely on the top of their must-see list On the day he added an another tackle for loss and a pass breakup in snaps Smith was demanded what was different about Collins compared to previous coordinators Corey Hetherman and Joe Rossi I would say FBI football intelligence Smith noted He definitely makes us learn a lot more about what is happening on the back end It makes us better players going to the NFL Smith explained an example would be understanding the width of a split for a receiver and how that might tip off a crack block is coming his way That is really special information to have Smith reported New starting cornerbacks Za Quan Bryan and Iowa transfer John Nestor each had a pass break-up as the Bulls passed for yards The Gophers defense played without two nickel backs Darius Green and Jai Onte McMillan and cornerback Mike Gerald Plus two backup defensive tackles are out Theoin Randle has a foot injury while Purdue transfer Mo Omonode is out for the season with a back injury We re gonna get a few guys back but I m glad we have a inadequate extra days as we keep going forward here Fleck noted with Northwestern La State next at home on Sept So rest up and go at it again Related Articles Gophers coach P J Fleck shares emotional message on Minneapolis shooting Gophers pull away for a - win over Buffalo in season opener Gophers defensive depth hit by absences in season opener Gophers to pay Buffalo million to play season opener Get to know new Gophers quarterback Drake Lindsey