When Mike London and his coaching staff arrived in Charlottesville before the 2010 season, the shift to a 4-3 defensive scheme focused heavily on the front seven where roles would change dramatically. That view made sense. The secondary, meanwhile, featured some experienced players and the scheme shift was not expected to impact those units as much. Only, at least from a perspective focused on the whole defense’s success, it did.

So yes, Cover 2 or Cover 3 are the same for defensive backs in both schemes. Executing a coverage call in rhythm and cohesion with a front seven in transition is not as simple, though. Throw in a switch to a more aggressive bump-and-run technique with the corners and you’re bound to run into some timing, communication, and alignment problems at times.

The Hoos in the secondary are focused on correcting some of those issues this spring.

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