BOBCATS BEHIND THE SCENES: Kwiatkowski Faces Rebuilding Task
8/5/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
It's early August. Montana State defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski spends most of his time in shorts and sandals, looking like anything but the architect of one of the best defensive units in Big Sky Conference history, and even less like a man with a tremendous professional challenge pending.
Yet that is Kwiatkowski's circumstance. His Bobcat defense, in the midst of a historic three-year run of dominance, faces a monumental challenge when MSU's fall training camp opens on August 17. The Bobcats will have to replace six defensive starters, including the entire secondary. Included among the losses is a third-round NFL draft choice, Joey Thomas,the Big Sky's most prolific tackler and an unquestioned team leader in Kane Ioane, and a pair of four-year defensive line starters (Adam Cordeiro, Jon Montoya).
If Kwiatkowski has spent his summer worrying, it doesn't show. "We feel pretty good about the (secondary) guys we have back from the spring," he says. "We have to find out about the new guys, how they pick up the defense and learn the calls. But we have some guys that showed us good things in the spring."
Mike Kramer brought Kwiatkowski to Montana State as his defensive coordinator in 2000, and Kwiatkowski began building a defense predicated on speed and pressure. Boiled down to its simplest formulation, the Bobcats "want to run to the football and out-hit the other team," said Kwiatkowski, a former All-America defensive lineman at Boise State. "We stress from day one that they play hard and never give up on a play. It's that simple."
Montana State relied almost exclusively on man-to-man coverage during Kwiatkowski's first three years, before becoming more multiple last season. "We're a lot more mix and match in our coverages now," he said. "Teams don't always know what coverage we're in. We're not 100% man any more," a trend the Bobcats are likely to follow again this year as the team's personnel has evolved.
While Kwiatkowski is enthused about this year's personnel, as inexperienced as it is, he is concerned about reviving MSU's defensive attitude of defiance and resilience. "I worry about the aura or the mentality of the defense," he said. "When something goes wrong, they have to pick themselves up and bounce back. That takes time for a group to develop. I also worry about getting lined up right, especially in the back end. That was one thing Kane (Ioane) was usually able to do, and when he couldn't he could adapt the way he played to cover what needed to be covered. You can't coach that."
While there will be a lot on the table when camp opens in August in terms of evaluating defensive personnel, particularly in the secondary, Kwiatkowski won't necessarily be looking for physical attributes. "I want to see how they compete and how they handle it when they get beat," he said. "Those are the big things."
Yet that is Kwiatkowski's circumstance. His Bobcat defense, in the midst of a historic three-year run of dominance, faces a monumental challenge when MSU's fall training camp opens on August 17. The Bobcats will have to replace six defensive starters, including the entire secondary. Included among the losses is a third-round NFL draft choice, Joey Thomas,the Big Sky's most prolific tackler and an unquestioned team leader in Kane Ioane, and a pair of four-year defensive line starters (Adam Cordeiro, Jon Montoya).
If Kwiatkowski has spent his summer worrying, it doesn't show. "We feel pretty good about the (secondary) guys we have back from the spring," he says. "We have to find out about the new guys, how they pick up the defense and learn the calls. But we have some guys that showed us good things in the spring."
Mike Kramer brought Kwiatkowski to Montana State as his defensive coordinator in 2000, and Kwiatkowski began building a defense predicated on speed and pressure. Boiled down to its simplest formulation, the Bobcats "want to run to the football and out-hit the other team," said Kwiatkowski, a former All-America defensive lineman at Boise State. "We stress from day one that they play hard and never give up on a play. It's that simple."
Montana State relied almost exclusively on man-to-man coverage during Kwiatkowski's first three years, before becoming more multiple last season. "We're a lot more mix and match in our coverages now," he said. "Teams don't always know what coverage we're in. We're not 100% man any more," a trend the Bobcats are likely to follow again this year as the team's personnel has evolved.
While Kwiatkowski is enthused about this year's personnel, as inexperienced as it is, he is concerned about reviving MSU's defensive attitude of defiance and resilience. "I worry about the aura or the mentality of the defense," he said. "When something goes wrong, they have to pick themselves up and bounce back. That takes time for a group to develop. I also worry about getting lined up right, especially in the back end. That was one thing Kane (Ioane) was usually able to do, and when he couldn't he could adapt the way he played to cover what needed to be covered. You can't coach that."
While there will be a lot on the table when camp opens in August in terms of evaluating defensive personnel, particularly in the secondary, Kwiatkowski won't necessarily be looking for physical attributes. "I want to see how they compete and how they handle it when they get beat," he said. "Those are the big things."
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