Associate head coach/offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes met with the media on Tuesday. Grimes talked about what he’s seen from Illinois’ defense, his trust in his starting quarterback, how he manages the game from the sideline, and Kansas’ 1-2 punch at running back.
Illinois’ defense is unique and aggressive
Grimes called Illinois’ defense unique and he said he’s looked back at last year’s game to get a feel for how they’re going to play. However, he’s tried not to dwell on the past too much because “this year is this year and this game is this game.”
“There’s a saying, ‘no man ever steps in the same river twice because it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man,’ and I think that’s true in football as well,” Grimes said. “However, I do think there are lessons that can be learned, and I think one of those lessons is the fact that they’re very motivated to play this game.”
Schematically, Grimes called Illinois’ defense “a very aggressive brand of football.” The Fighting Illini will play five down linemen and be aggressive in the secondary. This creates a lot of one-on-one opportunities for the offense.
“And so what it will take in the pass game is guys winning those one-on-one matchups, both in the protection piece, one-on-one matchups up front, and then guys being able to shake one-on-one coverage and go win and then put the ball where it needs to be and let a guy make a play on it,” Grimes said.
Grimes added that Illinois does as good of a job disguising coverage as anybody he’s seen and has good speed in the secondary.
Grimes trusts Jalon Daniels to go off-script
Part of what makes Daniels so special is his ability to improvise when things go wrong. Daniels has the ability to scramble and extend plays in an effort to make something out of nothing.
“My message to him has been that I do trust him and, you know, trust ideally is a symbiotic relationship,” Grimes said. “And so I hope that he feels that same way about me and about Z [Zebrowski] and our entire coaching staff, and I think he does. And I think if you have that trust, then he understands that it’s his job to be the best version of JD that he can be within the system.”
Grimes doesn’t want to hamper Daniels’ creativity. He recognized that it’s part of what makes Daniels a dynamic player.
“If I tried to say this is exactly how the play has to be run, then I think it would really hamstring him,” Grimes said. “I think he would be unhappy and I think he would be less productive… I think you’ve got to allow for guys to play within the system but also within their personal ability.”
How Grimes handles coaching on the sideline and helmet communication
With Grimes coaching from the sideline, he’s left the helmet communication duties to Jim Zebrowski, who is up in the box. Grimes said because of how big the call sheet is, it’s easier for Zebrowski to use the walkie-talkie.
“It just worked really smooth, and so [we] kind of went back and forth on it after that between me and him, and I think we both agreed it was a very comfortable way for us to operate,” Grimes said.
Grimes said that he prefers coaching from the sideline because he thinks it suits his strengths better. He is big on the human element and relationship aspect of coaching, which is easier to do from the field level.
“I think my strong suits or my strongest gifts are being able to be down there in person, get a feel for the game, look in a player's eyes and see if he's in need of a challenge or a hug,” Grimes said. “If the offense needs to be challenged, if they're not playing up to their level or if there's something that's just not right, then I feel like I can. I've been in the box and felt frustrated seeing it down there and not being able to manage it the way that I felt like I could if I was down there.”
Grimes added that Zebrowski is good at reading the field from the upper level, so the two complement each other well.
Devin Neal, Daniel Hishaw use contrasting styles but work together
Kansas’ running back duo has differing but complementary skills. Grimes said Neal has the best make-you-miss ability of any big back he’s been around, while Hishaw doesn’t want to make defenders miss, but instead run them over.
Grimes said if you could combine the two skills, “you might have a superhero.” Therefore, he’s challenged the Jayhawks’ backs to be a little bit more like each other.
"The challenge for Devin was to, when it's there, put your foot on the gas pedal and go,” Grimes said. “And when you've been a guy who, for your entire life, has been a guy that you couldn't tackle in a phone booth and has always just, I mean, he's the guy that always wins in tag, right?
"I mean, nobody's ever going beat him in that because his lateral quickness and instincts are just too good. But he's also big enough, strong enough, and fast enough to just put the pedal down and go. But when you’ve been the other guy your whole life it’s kind of hard to lean into that.”
For Hishaw, it comes down to working angles and attacking the edge compared to running through defenders. Grimes said he thought both showed growth in Kansas’ opening win against Lindenwood.
