New LSU DC hopes to ‘pop’ the talent in the Tigers defense
It’s not very often defensive players credit their interceptions to somebody else, and fairly so. Interceptions can completely change games and are frequently celebrated by entire defenses (look no further than the New Orleans Saints)
But Tyrann Mathieu did exactly that when speaking with the Jordy Culotta show a few months ago. Mathieu believes that all of the interceptions that he had on first or second downs had nothing to do with him and it was due to the fact he “happened to be listening to Coach House.”
Matt House and Mathieu worked together the past two season while House was the linebacker coach for the Kansas City Chiefs, where the two won a Super Bowl together.
However, when given the opportunity to move to one of the biggest teams in college football, it “was just something you couldn’t pass up” for House.
Coming back from the NFL to college football is already a daunting task, not to mention going in to the SEC. But for House, he now just has a new understanding of how to approach and improve platers.
“One of the things you learn (in the NFL) is how to be a great teacher because you're with those guys so much,” House said. “when you're going through the the selection process in the NFL you know you yearn to prepare players because you see some of the guys that go through that process in the draft process that are are very well prepared.”
But now as a defensive coordinator, House will have a different role than when he was at the Chiefs.
House is not only expected to call the plays and know his opponents, but also bring a culture and structure to the Tiger’s defense, which is filled with young talent.
“I enjoy the process of putting together a game plan and a game week,” House said. “I enjoy the process of finding the strengths and weaknesses of your team…I enjoy trying to build that culture…it was absolutely intriguing to do that.
While going into this season LSU has significant talent, House knows there is still work to be done to fully mesh the team together. He knows that there is potential on the field but “you can't will that talent together, you got to mold the traits.”
House, along with new head coach Brian Kelly, have are also fighting to ensure players graduate as the best they can be, whether its on or off the field.
“If you just do what you're supposed to do, you're gonna leave out of there a great person you're going to develop” House said. “Our mission is to graduate champions and that's what everything's built on, whether it's athletically academically we're pushing to graduate champions.”
To hear more of Coach House and his preparation for this season, listen to the full interview with Jordy Culotta here.
Anthony Bailey
