New Auburn Football Head Coach Hugh Freeze has hired the first defensive coordinator of his tenure on the Plains. Ron Roberts, who has spent the last three years as defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach at Baylor University under Dave Aranda, has accepted an offer to become the new defensive coordinator for the Tigers.
In an official statement from Auburn University, Coach Freeze called Ron Roberts “a great fit for what we are wanting to do on both sides of the ball.” Coach Roberts also said in this announcement that, “we want to be aggressive, put pressure on opposing defenses and fly to the football.”
What Auburn football Fans Should Expect from a Ron Roberts Defense
When looking at a defense that is coached by Ron Roberts, we can look no further than the 2021 Baylor defense, which gave up less than 350 yards per game and less than 18 points per game in an offensively oriented Big 12 Conference. Roberts has utilized a base 4-2-5 nickel defense throughout his career to allow for more flexibility in both pass coverage and run defense.
On the surface, the 4-2-5 is one of several forms of the nickel defense, which puts six defenders in the box and 5 defenders in the secondary. By balancing the number of defenders on the frontend and the backend of the defense, defenses do not have to commit numbers to either the run or the pass and can traditionally defend both out of the same coverage.
The 4-2-5 is the most popular defensive scheme in 2022 because of how well it translates to both spread offenses and smashmouth pro-style attacks. This is because there are theoretically as many as ten run defenders and seven pass defenders on the field at all times.
All four corners, including the nickelbacker, who is a cornerback/outside linebacker hybrid and traditionally plays in the slot, can fill the box. Both true linebackers can drop into coverage. This style of defense is extremely versatile for adapting to the many styles of offense that Auburn football will face in the 2023 season and beyond.
Run Defense
In the run defense, Roberts will use what he has endearingly called “creepers”, which are non-defensive linemen used to blitz and create pressure. The beauty of this is that there is an extra man in the box to stop perimeter run plays like outside zone and jet sweep so that the defensive line and linebackers do not have to pursue long distances. In a day and age where teams are looking to get the ball to the perimeter with all five eligible receivers, this can greatly help contain outside runs from turning the corner.
Utilizing a 4-2-5 with creepers also ensures that there are enough players in the box to stop both gap and zone blocking schemes. Traditionally, gap schemes are run against even front defenses, like 4-2-5, 4-3, 4-1 dime defenses, whereas zone schemes are typically run against odd fronts, such as 3-3-5, 3-2-6, and 5-2 defenses. By ensuring that a corner or nickelbacker, will always be entering the box, both gap and zone schemes are going to be choked off from finding space.
Pass Defense
Part of Ron Roberts’s defensive philosophy is choking off the run. In fact, many would argue it is the entire philosophy. Teams that win championships can do two things pretty well: run the ball and stop the run, and those will be major goals for Auburn football in 2023.
Winning up front is the key to winning Power 5 football in 2022. But what happens when teams are in passing downs or play a more passing-oriented style of offense, such as air raid teams like Mississippi State under Mike Leach and Texas Tech under offensive coordinator Zach Kittley? That is where the X’s and O’s of Robert’s defense begin to really shine.
Ron Roberts wants to force teams to pass. He wants to get teams into bad passing situations by creating pressure and either stopping the run or getting sacks. Then he wants to drop seven into coverage and force teams to complete passes against a team with more defensive backs than there are receivers in the pattern. It is rare that teams will put five receivers in the pattern against a defensive coordinator who blitzes as much as Roberts does from the perimeter, so oftentimes this drop seven coverage is only having to account for four receivers.
Looking back at the all-22 film from the Sugar Bowl against Ole Miss in 2021, the first two plays show exactly what Roberts wants to do: put seven in the box to stop the run on first down, then drop seven on second down in a 4-1-6 dime look knowing that Ole Miss doesn’t use their running backs in the pattern often. It immediately leads to a forced deep ball from Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral that is picked off.
Conclusion
Although Ron Roberts was let go by Dave Aranda this season, it was historically one of the few bad defenses that he has been responsible for. Roberts has consistently put out aggressive defenses that can stop the run and force mostly inefficient passing outputs from teams.
Hugh Freeze spoke in his press conference about coordinators who were big names and had a history of producing. It is fair to say that he has hired two of the best coordinators in the country in Philip Montgomery and Ron Roberts. Watching Auburn football this spring is going to be a pleasure with this coaching staff in tow.