Wisconsin safeties coach Alex Grinch spoke to the media during fall camp for the first time since the spring. He touched on plenty of topics, from his veteran leaders to how many safeties he's comfortable deploying and much more.
Here's everything Grinch said at his availability:
*Authors note: Some questions and answers are slightly rephrased for clarity.
Q: What have you seen from Preston Zachman this fall now that you have him back healthy?
"Yeah, I didn't get a chance to coach him much this spring. Obviously saw some video of him last year, I know he played a lot. I mean, he's had a really really good fall camp, and I try to be cognizant to temper expectations, but that's what the film suggests. He's been a playmaker for us on the back end, has a level of confidence, communicates well, has a great understanding of the defense. Not just the defense, but kinda how an offense might attack you in that. Puts pads on people, physical in the run game, moves well. And obviously it's gotta translate to Saturdays, but that's been a major addition for us this fall camp.
Q: As far as Austin Brown goes, what have you seen from him in camp in terms of maybe building on what you saw in the spring?
"I think he's one of those guys, from a cross-position standpoint, it's a critical one for his development, I think too for the position as a whole, not just Austin's case. Moving guys around; nickel, we describe field safety and boundary safety as having the ability to be interchangeable amongst that so you're making sure you get the best 11 guys at any time. He's one of those guys that's played some nickel, played some nickel towards the tail end of last season, so he has that experience that way, but also playing both safety spots. He had a good scrimmage the other night. Has done a nice job, he's got speed, he's got size, he's got physicality. And so, we get closer and closer, trying to find roles for those guys, but he'll certainly be a big piece for us in the back end."
Q: We've heard from the defense as a whole that turnover creation is a big goal for improvement this year. Does your group take that upon themselves because of the position they play?
"They need to. You're certainly involved — every position is, in theory, both in the run game and the pass game. But specifically the safety spot, once the ball is in the air, attacking from the top down, really making an emphasis, not being content being next to guys...getting hands on footballs, specifically in the pass game. And in the run game, it's the same. It's a great change in momentum, a play that breaks that would otherwise be a positive for the offense, you can flip it really fast, specifically if you're the second guy in. Throw a fist, try to punch the ball out. That's been a continuation all spring, and as we've gotten to fall camp, we've shown the ability to make some plays that way. It's obviously easy to say it as a coach, but they've gotta ultimately embrace it and have confidence in those moments, because so often it's an opening at that position. You're in space by yourself...having confidence in those ways to not just think about making a play on a ball-carrier but making a play on the ball. That's something we've gotta see this fall."
Q: What does the leadership of Hunter Wohler do, not just for your group but for the defense to have a player of that caliber?
"Just experience and being a good player doesn't necessarily mean you're a good leader. Sometimes we fall into that trap as coaches of almost assuming that. But in Hunter's case, he absolutely is. He walks it, he talks it, the guys respect him in that way. And one of the things we've talked about in the safety room is, how do you define what a standard is? Basically, it's your expectations minus the things that you tolerate. We can say we expect whatever we want from a performance standpoint, but ultimately what do we tolerate? And it's one thing for a coach to say it, it's another thing for a guy like Hunter. He doesn't tolerate a whole lot. Which is good, and a real nice position as a coach to have a guy like that in the room. But he's a dude in every way, we'll try to put him in the best position possible to make plays for us, but in the meantime, he's leading that group, leading that defense, leading that team."
Q: How do you talk with coach Mike Tressel about the best way to use the versatile players in your room?
"One of the things I've always been real sensitive too as safeties is, we're defensive backs...The safety can't be the trash position, the linebacker who's too small to be a linebacker. And it can't be a corner that's not fast enough to be a corner. It's a skillset and a job description that includes being vocal, it includes us showing up in the run game. Also you've gotta cover slot receivers and tight ends, and those skillsets are completely different. We've really made an effort in spring and in fall camp — obviously we've had some more bodies available in fall camp — to put guys in different spots, and identify some of the elite attributes that they have, what best fits them. And like you're saying, what best fits the defense. And still in that position where you're trying to move some checkers around and see and build some of those quality reps for the guys, because you never know. Week 1, you have best-laid plans, and as you go through a 12-game season, some things can get shuffled. As we get closer and closer, we have to define some of those roles."
Q: How many safeties are you comfortable putting into a game right now, and is that where you want it to be?
"Don't wanna quantify 12, 14 days into camp. Certainly more than three, and I'm including the nickel spot in there. Those roles are yet to be defined. Obviously, the messaging to the guys is, if you find yourself with the ones right now, your goal is to make it very very difficult for us to take you off the field. If you're not a one, the messaging there is there can't be a drop-off. It's equal opportunity only to a point, you've gotta make sure there's little drop off when you put the twos in. I envision that being the case, we'll have a couple guys, even if they're not starters, play one, can serve a role there at safety or nickel. Hopefully the number is greater than three, and I believe it is at this point."
Q: Kamo'i Latu has had the no-contact jersey on. Do you expect him back at some point?
"We absolutely expect him back. It's, unfortunately, as you go through camp, there's bumps and bruises and everything in between. He'll battle through it and we'll get him out here as soon as we possibly can."
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