April 3, 2007

The Baylor defense returns seven starters from last year's unit which ranked among the nation's leaders in turnovers forced, but that yielded 408.2 yards per game, including 191.1 on the ground. In his 33rd season of coaching and his fifth at Baylor, Larry Hoefer is serving as a defensive coordinator for the third time in his career, after holding down the position at both UTEP and Missouri.

The only remaining member of Morriss' original Baylor staff, the 2007 campaign marks Hoefer's seventh working alongside Morriss and his first as defensive coordinator. Here are Hoefer's thoughts on the development of the Bears' defense through the first two weeks of spring ball.

Baylorbears.com: What have you seen out of your defense over the first two weeks of spring practice?

Hoefer: "We are trying to develop some depth. The guys are coming around well. We lost a lot of seniors in the defensive line. Lamb (Jason) and Nelson (Geoff) are playing real well. Hardeman (Jameon) is coming along and having a good spring and really Leon Freeman was as well before he got hurt. We are anxious to see what Adam Geib can do.

"We are still trying to develop depth at linebacker. We still have four guys who played a lot last year, but we are still looking for a fifth player. At corner, when you lose C.J. (Wilson), Arline (Anthony) and James Todd, those are three really good players. Widemon (Alton) is playing well and Josh Bell is back. We are hoping that Braelon (Davis) gets back. Antareis Bryan's development has been hurt by him not being able to practice this spring, but we have high hopes for him.

"At the safety position, we've made a few moves and they look like they've been productive. We are trying to develop some depth at that position and we are getting there. I think it was good to move Dwain Crawford to rover. We are going to experiment with a couple of other things over the next few days.

"They are practicing hard, but we have to get better playing the run. Our upfront people are playing real well. They are attacking well. Our linebackers are coming down hill. We are trying to make sure we fit properly in all of our run defenses and that's coming around well. We always continue to stress turnovers. We finished second in the Big 12 two years ago and third last year, and we need to continue emphasizing that area. But, it's gone well.

Baylorbears.com: Are you on track to where you need to be with two weeks left in spring ball?

Hoefer: "You are disappointed when you don't get everyone out for every practice, but yes, we are on track. When that happens, younger players have a chance to step up and you need to kind of see how they are doing. So, that's good and bad."

Baylorbears.com: Have you enjoyed being in charge of the Bears' defense this spring?

Hoefer: "It has been good. Don Wnek has been really good to work with and Clay Jennings fits in well with our staff. He's made a lot of good suggestions, as has Don. It was good this week to get Coach (Gary) Kinne back. Bobby King has been a lot of help as our graduate assistant and having Maurice Linguist join us has been really helpful. That's made the adjustment easier. And, staying with the same style and terminology has been helpful to the players. It has been fairly smooth"

Baylorbears.com: Can you pick one or two players who have made good progress this spring?

Hoefer: "Hardeman (Jameon) has done well and it looked like Leon Freeman was picking up what we wanted from him. He's (Freeman) going to be fine and he doesn't need (knee) surgery. It looks like Leon will be able to help us next year and that's what we were hoping for. We got to see Dwain (Crawford) playing the weak safety position a little bit and he looks like he fits that position real well. Those situations right there have been good so far

Baylorbears.com: Talk about the improved defensive line play you've seen so far.

Hoefer: "The front has played well. We need to play better run defense. Trey Bryant and Vincent Rhodes inside have played real well. Connor Redfearn has had a really good spring. Rex (McDougald) as a freshman has come on. He's really strong and fits the nose guard position for us. He's done well. We've come along ways up front."

Baylorbears.com: Is there one or two areas that the defense must improve on before Sept. 1?

Hoefer: "We need to play better run defense. We need to continue working on takeaways. We need to prevent big plays, a long run or pass. We have to make people drive the field against us. Those are the things that we are working on each and every day."

Baylorbears.com: Baylor is still playing a 4-2-5 base defense, correct?

Hoefer: "We just looked at last year's film and tossed out a few things that didn't very good and we've added a few wrinkles which will help us. But, the philosophy and system are the same. Coach Goodner (John) and Coach Bradley (Bill) really set it up nicely and we felt confident in what we were doing with it."

Baylor Post-Practice Notes: The Bears worked out in full pads Tuesday afternoon on the grass practice fields ... 10 players missed the workout due to injury ... Baylor will take Wednesday off, then complete the last workout of the week on Thursday afternoon ... Baylor's spring game is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, at Floyd Casey Stadium ... The annual "B" Association golf tournament will be held on Friday, April 13, and among the lettermen expected to attend are Justin Snow, a member of the Indianapolis Colts' 2007 Super Bowl championship team, and Fred Miller, a starter on the Chicago Bears' 2007 NFC championship club ... As it has done in previous years, FSN Southwest will air a repackaged Baylor spring game later this month.