On this week's episode of Inside the Headset we speak with Tremaine Jackson, Defensive Coordinator for Abilene Christian University. We discuss how he's built a culture for the defense, including their mission statement, and we talk about his defensive philosophy and approach to game planning.

Coach Jackson's career began as a defensive line coach at Texas A&M-Kingsville in 2006. He also worked with the defensive line when he joined the staff at Trinity Valley CC in 2007. In 2008, Jackson went to Texas Southern University to coach the tight ends, but over his four seasons with the team he would also spend time working with the defensive line and was eventually named defensive coordinator. At Evangel University he worked as the defensive coordinator (2012), and he went to the University of Sioux Falls as a defensive line coach but was later promoted to defensive coordinator (2013-2016). Coach Jackson was named the defensive coordinator at Abilene Christian in 2017, and he was a member of the AFCA's 2018 class of the 35 Under 35.

• [0:24] Start of interview
• [0:45] Establishing defensive culture
• [1:56] The "212" mindset
• [3:19] The three weapons: eyes, hands, and feet
• [6:24] Coaching the "violations"
• [7:55] Unique defensive philosophy
• [12:32] Three takeaways per practice
• [15:42] Philosophy behind minimal scout cards
• [19:15] Taking the game back
• [21:22] The importance of creating a fun environment

You can follow Tremaine Jackson on Twitter.

Have any questions, comments, or ideas for the show? Send us an email at [email protected].