Meet The Press: Mark D'Onofrio Previews SSU

CORAL GABLES, Fla. – Prior to No. 16 Miami’s nonconference home game against Savannah State, assistant head coach and defensive coordinator Mark D’Onofrio met with members of the local media Tuesday afternoon. Coach D filled in for head coach Al Golden at the press conference.

In addition to Coach D’Onofrio and OL coach Art Kehoe (VIDEO), several players also met with the media, including Brandon Linder (VIDEO), Jon Feliciano (VIDEO), Denzel Perryman (VIDEO), David Gilbert (VIDEO), Clive Walford (VIDEO) and Stephen Morris (VIDEO).

On defensive improvements from last season…
“I think I see a lot better execution. That stuff is on everybody – it’s on me, it’s on the coaches, and it’s on the players to go back and look at last year and try to figure out where we fell short and try to get better. One of the areas that we really thought we fell short was that we had to play a lot of guys last year because of how we were playing. We probably played few too many, but then again, we wouldn’t have the experience we have this year. In the Florida game, we probably played 19 guys on defense. That was the right number for that game, because at this point, those 19 can execute at a high level and not have a drop-off – where you get gashed or someone isn’t in the right spot. Last year we probably played 25 to 28 in certain games, and had too many guys on the field. At the same time, we’re susceptible to a big mental error or missed tackle. But then again, we probably wouldn’t have won some of those games late like NC State or Georgia Tech, even though we were giving up points and yards, but we were fresh enough to win at the end. The guys this year are able to play longer, so we can play less [players]. I would like to play more [players], but I don’t want to play them unless they can execute at the level the 19 are executing at.”

On having more experience within the locker room…
“There’s leadership, there’s accountability, there are guys in the room that take a lot of pride in what they’re doing now as opposed to, ‘Hey I’m on the team and I’m starting.’ Like I mentioned yesterday, you were either a starter or a backup on a defense that wasn’t playing very well, so you can either pat yourself on the back for that or you can get better. I think the guys realize that – they realize they have to do their job and execute better. I’m just happy for them. I’m really happy for the players – they’ve put a lot of time and a lot of effort to improve. It’s a good start. By no means are we a finished product or are we satisfied. It’s a good start where we’re at – we’re 2-0. We’ll improve in some areas and I expect us to work hard and improve.”

On the importance of being 2-0 but also needing improvement…
“That’s the psychology of results. You want to be able to win, but still have things that they certainly got us on, or could have had us on, that we need to fix. Anytime you can win and have a group of guys that are positive after a big win, and start to see what we’re coaching and what we’re teaching, coupled with the fact they still have things they have to work on…that’s a coach’s best scenario during a bye week. They buy in and get things done the way we’re trying to get them done, but at the same time we have to improve.”

On what he has seen from sophomore cornerback Tracy Howard…
“The biggest thing, and I’ve been saying this since last year, is thatTracy is a football guy. He really loves football and really works hard at the game. He studies the game. He’s one of those guys you can have a conversation with and, if you want to make a slight adjustment, he gets it on the first try. He gets it on the first try. You don’t have to sit with him for the next three days and talk him through it. He understands football – why we’re trying to do stuff, how to disguise coverages, how to disguise looks, those sorts of things. He’s very savvy. He has been our most consistent corner since the preseason.”

On the importance of adding veteran presence to his defensive line…
“It helped us a lot. We were kind of missing that one layer of depth that I’ve talked about a bunch. [David] Gilbert, [Justin] Renfrow, [Ufomba] Kamalu – getting those guys in really created another layer of depth between the second-team guys – who maybe weren’t quite ready but had to play for us – who are now third-team guys. Some of them played 300 snaps as a second-team guy and haven’t played very much for us in our first two games. That doesn’t mean they won’t. I told the defense, I want to play more than 19, but you’re not going to play until you execute at the standard the 19 guys have played at in the first two games. That was huge for us because it also put our starters on notice, who maybe weren’t getting pushed, and also for the guys were back-ups and who are now [third-stringers] to say “I’m not guaranteed to play at the University of Miami, I better get going.’ It was really huge for us.”

On which defensive linemen have benefited from offseason strength and weight gain…
“I think all of them have done such a good job. [Anthony] Chickillo at 275 pounds has really helped him. He was 238 when he finished his freshman year. Curtis [Porter] has gone from 305 to 325. Olsen Pierre is up to 305. It has helped all those guys. I can’t really pick out one, but I certainly like the fact that Curtis is at 325 and [Justin] Renfrow behind him at 315 are playing nose tackle for us. That really helps to solidify the middle.”