On today’s Coach and Coordinator podcast, host Keith Grabowski talks with Ball State defensive coordinator David Elson for the first edition of our “Training Camp” series. Elson has served as the Cardinals’ defense coordinator since 2017 and has had other stints as defensive coordinator at Western Illinois, Southern Illinois and New Mexico State. Elson joins the podcast today to talk about how he installs his defense during camp as well as adjustments he may need to make during those dogdays of August.

Show Notes:

2:40 Coach’s Journey

6:22 Teaching his defense while having to adjust and add new players/parts

12:09 Making adjustments during camp based on what you see as a coach

19:19 Ideal time to install base defense in camp

24:16 Distribution of reps during camp

28:23 Making sure the staff stays sharp during camp

30:59 Balancing camp and family life

34:27 The Cardinal Way and recognizing it during camp

40:16 Blending and evaluating guys who buy into culture and communicating with players

46:42 Winning edge

Learn Defense: https://coachtube.com/courses/football/team-defense

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https://soundcloud.com/user-804678956/all-in-on-offense-the-installation-plan-and-execution-with-arizona-oc-noel-mazzone

https://blogs.usafootball.com/blog/7416/using-the-offseason-to-build-a-series-of-plays-for-your-offense