Establishing an identity on third down

AUBURN | Defensive coordinators preach to get off the field on third downs and Auburn is one of the nation’s best at doing just that.

The Tigers are holding opponents to 27.9 percent conversions on third downs, which ranks 16th in the country and third in the SEC.

“We really have kind of built an identity we need to really keep going on the third downs,” defensive coordinator Kevin Steele said. “We were 70 percent this week and that now puts us I think 27 or right at 27 for the year, which is very positive. It’s going to be a challenge to keep it at that rate. We have to work diligently to make sure we do.”

A big reason for the success is the pressure being provided by Auburn’s defensive line. Auburn has nine sacks and 34 quarterback hurries, which Steele refers to as quarterback affects.

Auburn had four sacks and seven quarterback hurries in Saturday’s 18-13 win over LSU.

“That was 11 affects total in 31 called passes,” Steele said. “That's pretty efficient, really. We make a major emphasis on that.”

Steele said Auburn’s linebackers and secondary are also doing a good job of executing the defense.

“I think Coach (Wesley) McGriff has done a really good job of when we do our third down presentation and we present to them what they're going to see, I think these guys have done a really good job of understanding the concepts,” Steele said.

The players have responded well to Steele’s coaching style. He’s remained aggressive with blitzes and mixing up coverages throughout games.

“As a defense, you feel more concerned when you have a coach that's very, very conservative and you kind of feel like they don't really have confidence in you,” safety Nick Ruffin explained. “As a secondary, when your coaches are dialing up full blitzes and leaving you man-to-man, he's saying I have full confidence that you can cover any receiver in the country.”

Steele said his goal is to allow 30 percent conversions on third down, which is something that’s pretty standard and was developed in the NFL by Green Bay defensive coordinator Dom Capers and New England head coach Bill Belichick.

He sets aside a practice day each week to game plan and execute their third-down packages.

“Wednesday is our third-down day and we emphasize it in a great way,” Steele said.