A new-look defense is the expectation with Ryan Walters as Washington’s defensive coordinator. Walters utilized the cover-one defense as the coordinator at Illinois from 2021 to 2022 and as the head coach at Purdue for the last two seasons. To project what the Washington defense might look like next season, we’ll evaluate Walters’ 2022 season in Champaign. That year, the Illini finished first in scoring defense (12.8 points per game), eighth in pass defense (174 yards per game), and third in total defense (274 yards per game). Walters’ cover-one defense was the strength, and he had the kind of athletes in the secondary to make it very effective.
Cover One Basics
Cover one is a man-free defense, meaning the outside defenders are in man-to-man coverage (“man”) with a free safety over the top (“free”). The cornerbacks are responsible for their man, and the safety is a “center fielder” of sorts, playing the eyes of the quarterback and helping over the top in passing situations. When run correctly, there are several advantages to this coverage. Number one is that it can allow a five-man pressure up front, with a more aggressive box. Man coverage is also a tighter coverage than zone. Moreover, every pass-catcher is accounted for and the defense can still create pressure up front.
Some of the weaknesses of this defense can include poor run support. With the cornerbacks playing man and a single deep safety, once a running back gets through to the second level there can be a lot of open space. Linebackers are sometimes responsible for tight ends in passing situations which can create mis-matches. And without speed and athleticism at cornerback, mesh route concepts can be difficult to defend.
Ryan Walters’ Cover One
On early downs, Walters’ base cover one is a five-man front with the free safety around 20 yards off the football and cornerbacks in man coverage. The five linemen are typically three down linemen consisting of two tackles and a nose guard, with EDGE rushers on either end in a two-point stance. With four wide receivers split out, the five-man front is routinely used and there’s normally one linebacker about five yards off the ball who plays the quarterback. Against 11 personnel the five-man front is still typical, but there will often be an additional linebacker or strong safety playing up in the box. When up against a heavier package like 12 personnel, Walters will sometimes utilize six players up on the defensive line, with a linebacker or defensive back as the sixth.
There are a couple of different looks that the Illini used on third-down passing situations in 2022. One is the usual five-man front with man coverage on the back end, similar to the base coverage. But Walters also utilized a three-man front with the nose tackle head-up on the center (zero technique) in a three-point stance. Two EDGE rushers would be lined up on the outside shoulder of the offensive tackles (five technique) in two-point stances. On the snap, this can transition into a four- or five-man pressure with a linebacker blitz. Or the linebackers can stay home and play coverage while the line rushes three. This generates confusion for the offensive protection while creating extra defenders in coverage.
But there’s still a large gap over the middle of the field. Linebackers can help the cornerbacks over the middle on crossing patterns. However, there are some wrinkles that assist with the middle of the field and run support.
Cover One Wrinkles
Walters isn’t afraid to be aggressive with his defensive front. Even on passing downs, Walters will send a single linebacker blitz on top of the five-man front. They did this several times in 2022, both successfully and unsuccessfully. At Michigan, it was against four wide receivers. The blitzing defender penetrated the line and made contact with the ball carrier, but he broke the tackle. The result was a large gain due to the wide open middle of the field. In the Iowa game it was against 11 personnel with three wide receivers. The blitz blew up the play immediately, generating a sack.
That aggressive front can also be dialed back to confuse the offensive protection. Against Iowa, the Illini showed their standard five-man pressure on third and long. They even crept a sixth defender towards the line. But on the snap, they backed out of it and brought just three, dropping eight into coverage.
Illinois also disguised its coverage. On passing downs, the defense occasionally showed cover two with two safeties deep. On the snap, they shifted back into a cover one. The strong safety moved up on the formation as an additional defender. The terminology some use for this wrinkle is “Robber.” The strong safety can now trap crossing routes and assist in run support in the event of a delayed run or quarterback scramble.
Against The Run
One of the weaknesses of a cover-one defense is run support because of the open middle of the field. The consistent use of a five-man front helps strengthen that first line of defenders to slow the run. But to further combat the ground attack in more obvious running situations, Walters uses linebackers in run fits and even adds to the already-heavy defensive front.
This is where Walters uses that previously mentioned six-man defensive front. It was mostly against 12 personnel, which is typically a run package. Linebackers line up closer to the formation so they can fit run gaps. Against Iowa in 2022, Illinois was up against heavy run personnel all game. There were plays where all 11 defensive players were lined up within eight yards of the line of scrimmage. Despite the typical disadvantage that a cover-one defense poses against the run, Illinois finished tenth in rush defense that season. The group allowed less than 100 rush yards per game.
Refining Skill in the Secondary
But the underlying foundation for all of this to work is confidence and consistency in the secondary. In the cover-one defense, cornerbacks are on islands. There is safety help, but coverage defenders have great responsibility. Strengthening the secondary for the responsibilities of cover one is where Walters has done his best work.
When Walters became the defensive coordinator at Illinois in 2021, safety Kerby Joseph had just come off a 2020 season where he played only 69 snaps. The following year, he had five interceptions and 57 tackles as the team’s starting safety. Joseph was a top 100 draft pick the following April.
Cornerbacks Devon Witherspoon and Quan Martin also took steps forward in 2021. Witherspoon started ten games that year as a sophomore while Martin started eight as a junior. The two recorded nine and seven pass breakups, respectively. They progressed again in 2022, both starting every game. Witherspoon had 14 pass breakups and Martin had 11. They both pulled down three interceptions that year and both became top 50 picks in the NFL draft the following April. Witherspoon was selected fifth overall.
Walters’ Outlook at Washington
Walters took over an Illinois roster in 2021 with athletic players in the secondary. Almost instantaneously, he was able to refine their skills and increase production. Not only did that defense become one of the toughest in the nation by 2022, it produced NFL-caliber defensive backs. Walters is now taking over a secondary at Washington with two veteran, 6’-4” cornerbacks in Ephesians Prysock and Tacario Davis. The latter just committed to Washington this week. At safety, the Huskies added CJ Christian from FIU with one year left, and Alex McLaughlin from Northern Arizona who has two. The outlook for Walters at Washington is promising.
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