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[00:02]
A
At dsw, we ask the important questions like what shoes are you going to wear? Whether you're prepping for wedding season, festival season, or just planning the ultimate vacay, the right shoes can make or break an rsvp. So own the moment. You've got big plans and we've got just the shoes at the perfect price, of course. Get ready to get ready with designer shoe warehouse. Head to your DSW store or dsw.com today and let us surprise you, everybody.
[00:31]
B
Welcome to the Saturday show where we study the must champ defense. We got an interesting topic today based off of Eric's insider notes. Those insider notes, you can find it inside Texas and you can join for just $1 right now. Then 50 off your first year. The season's about to start, guys. Take advantage of this link in the description. And then as always, our main man Paul dropped his annual Longhorn football prospectus thinking Texas football. It is the best preview in the world. The Texas Longhorns and our opponents and even wider sec. All the links to get that are down in the description. Go ahead and do so. And then also welcome back to Academy, everybody. Academy is bringing you these episodes from here on out through the season. Thank you, Academy. All right, gentlemen, Eric's notes, he opens on the defensive side with this statement. DTS are more active and penetrating. They run a lot of games, twistings and stunts. So pack, what's your first goes off in your head when you hear that.
[01:31]
C
Yeah, probably a lot more of a shade nose than a two eye, right? When we talk about a shade nose, we're talking about you being shaded up over the center instead of shaded up over the guard. And you'll notice that when you watch them in terms of, if you ever get a picture of the offensive line, you'll see that their hand to the side of the center is down and not the hand to the side of the guard. So if you were a two eye on the right hand side of the line of scrimmage, your right hand would be down and you'd be shaded towards the guard. And if you're a shade, you'd be having your left hand down and you'd be shitted up. You, you'd really want your head over the shoulder of the center. And so when you play an outside shade, you get to be a little bit more vertical, you get to play a little bit more upfield. Whereas when you're an inside shade or your head up, you're trying to mirror, you're trying to mirror the footwork of the guy across from you or the guy that you're keying, you're really trying to 2gap. Whereas when you're a shade, you're allowed to be a little bit more of a one gap attack react player where you're able to get up field and that helps with stuff like tackles for loss can help you cancel gaps a little bit faster. So those are the first two things that come to mind when you think of someone who's being a little bit more active and penetrative. And in terms of a team last year that did that a lot, Indiana was pretty played a lot of shade noses. Then Miami pretty much based out of a shade nose and a three technique. And they allowed those guys to get up field and get up field right now.
[03:01]
B
And so is he, is he nearer to the center so he can smack the center to try to open something up for someone else? Why does that shade help other guys at least?
[03:12]
C
Yeah, so it's really important for stuff like gap scheme because it stops the center from working up to a linebacker. Because when you have a shade on you, you have to block that. And then when you're, when you are an inside shade, whoever that guard is has a easier time of reaching you. Right. So he's going to be able to make contact with you. Whereas when that's a center, he's got to snap the ball and then get his head up. So it gives you a little bit more time to get up field. There's a, there's a little bit of a time element there. That center has to wait before making a move. So that helps with getting vertical. And really it's, it's an adjustment to if you're seeing a lot of gap scheme, you want to shade because it stops the center from being able to work up. It also makes it a little bit easier to work some of those tackle nose stunts because the path from the shade to the three technique is not as wide or it's not as long as, as if you had a two eye and then it's a little bit easier. If you're going to get up field on the center, well, that's going to really fully cancel the gap. And now you're going to be able to really have only three or four gaps that you have to play against.
[04:17]
B
Ian, any thoughts?
[04:21]
D
Well, it's a lot different than how it was with pk, whereas way more react, attack or react react. And it's very similar to how it was the last time must champ was here. If people don't remember what that was like, he Moved to Lamar Houston to defensive tackle year one from defensive end. And it was like, well, he's 275 must champ. Is that really a good idea? And it was a great idea. He had a good year and then the following year he was totally destructive. And before must, people may forget that Must champ moved Alex Okafor to defensive tackle as well for the same reason. And then Must Manadiaz moved him back to defensive end. But he was all about getting athletes down in shaded techniques in the first time around and letting them go up field. And that's how they, that's how they did things. That was also a big part of in 2008 when Sergio Kendall and Brian Iraqpo were piling up stat sacks. A lot of that was they had Roy Miller as a shaded nose and he was really good at getting up field and he would flush the quarterback out and then Kendall and Iraqpo would chase him down. So it was a big benefactor. This could be Colin Simmons because instead of having to win to a spot in the pocket and all that, he could be given the chance to chase quarterbacks that are flushed, which would be. That's child's play for him.
[06:04]
B
Yeah, cleanup. Another thing he states and we kind of hit it. They attack gaps rather than defending gaps. And what does that mean? Kind of quickly pack. What does it mean to attack versus
[06:14]
C
yeah, just get vertical. Your, your, your footworks a lot more getting up field than it is lateral footwork. That's really what that means, is it.
[06:24]
B
Does the nose, does the 330 pounder become less valuable in this scheme?
[06:30]
C
No, I would say just, I would say it's kind of the same level of importance because now you're now, instead of having to hold the point, now we're asking you to be a little bit faster and a little bit more twitchy. Right. So they have equal levels of importance because the shades can help cancel gaps and do some things where, you know, if you want to play split safety and you have a shade, you can set the bubble to the boundary. And because you are assuming that the, you're assuming that you're going to be able to get the nose to cut the play off from the boundary. Well, now that means your safety can play a little bit slower to fit the run. You can help with third level RPOs if you're seeing stuff like that. So it just changes up what's important for that nose. But it's still of equal importance.
[07:16]
D
It.
[07:17]
B
What's the risk? Because we've done a lot of shows on, hey, we There's a lot of teams that attack like this and it looks awesome in the tfl. Com column, but it can also give a 30 yard run. So what's the risk to this, this cool style?
[07:30]
C
Yeah. So if your nose doesn't get immediately vertical, if the center is able to block back on him or if it's a zone to that side and he's not able to, and he's not able to cut the playoff, well, now what you've really done is because you're, because there's no one over the guard, there's no one in his path. He's going to be able to work up to the linebacker immediately, he's going to maybe hip check the, the edge and then he's going to work immediately upfield. So you do, you do allow guys to work up to your linebackers a bit quicker. And what that means is you're gonna have to lose some overlap within your linebackers. They're not going to be able to play as slow or play as patient. They're gonna have to fill gaps a little bit faster. And as we've seen with teams like Texas A M, when you plug gaps and you don't have any overlap, you're gonna get a lot of tackles for loss, but you're also going to give up a lot of explosives. So that's really the fear is if you have a shade nose and he doesn't cut the playoff and he doesn't hold the point of attack, well, you're gonna have some trouble there. And then the other one is for outside zone. When you've got a shade, it's a lot easier to reach someone than it is to reach a two eye because that path for the center is much, much, it's much tighter, it's not as wide of a path. Whereas with a two eye, that center has to work a decent bit to try to reach, to try to reach that guard, to try to reach the 2i. So that's really, that's really the big one is you do, you do allow yourself a little bit more risk versus outside zone and then you do lose some overlap to your defense.
[09:03]
D
I, I can tell you though, the thinking at Texas is that they're going to command double teams across the interior because they'll be so disruptive and so fresh with all the substitutes that they can bring, with all the quality defensive tackles they have that the thinking is, is that teams are not going to be able to release linemen to linebackers because they'll take too many negative plays and so they'll end up doubling all the shaded players and then the linebackers will run free. There's a quote I heard that Mayor Mayoff come from a Texas staffer that was like something to the effect of my grandma could play linebacker behind these guys. No one's going to touch them. Famous last words.
[09:48]
B
But that's wonderful. Jet Bush. I'd be like, what was it like when they climb up on you in short yardage and you had to go against guards? He's like, never did Javandre sweat. Byron Murphy. He's like, I never had a D tackle get pushed back into me or anything. He said it was light work. So hopefully we have that again. Now we're talking about the front and the games, but it's really what they can unlock for the second level and even the third level. But before we talk about that, let's hear a word from Academy.
[10:13]
C
I call my style Skate to the party. Can't go wrong with Nike slides. Gotta show off the muscles. You gotta show a little bit of the thigh.
[10:21]
D
Right now at Academy, get up to 30% off Nike and Jordan clothes, shoes and backpacks.
[10:27]
B
I'm glad to see the kids still love Nike slides. Those were big when I was even in school. You had to get you if you were an athlete, you had to have Nike slides. So that still seems to hold up. So Eric says in the piece, the activity is designed to set up the extra guy. So what does that mean? Pack for the second level.
[10:46]
C
Yeah. So if you're blitzing, we'll say we'll talk about it in its most simple terms. So you're blitzing five. Well, anytime you bring pressure, you're trying to attack protection. And most teams are going to play a half slide. So they're going to slide to one side and then they'll play big on big protection to the other side. And if we're talking about with a, with a shade nose, well then really what you're going to see is they're going to have to, they are going to have to slide to the, to the one tech. Because if you don't slide to the one tack well, then you're asking a guard to have to come diagonally to block that one technique before he gets vertical. That's never going to happen. So what you're really doing is you're trying to attack the man side of the protection. And you can do that a lot of different ways. You can do that with overloads, which is the three on two stuff where you know you can spike the two, the three technique and the five. And then bring the linebacker off the edge in the C gap. Right? That's a three on two. You can run different games. You can do pick stunts. You can do the pop and jam stuff that we've talked about. You can do those and then ask a linebacker to be either the picker or the rapper. So a lot of it's just. Well, when you have some of it plays into what we were talking about earlier. When you have the shade nose, you force a lot of man protection towards the three technique and the five techniques. And then when you bring the linebacker that allows you to play three over two. And then when we're talking about four man pressures, it's kind of the same thing you're talking about now. When you have three guys, you're counting them in terms of the run fit, where two guys are responsible for blocking three guys. Well, now your linebacker can be free where he doesn't have to plug a gap immediately. He can be really patient. So that those are the two things that come to mind with that.
[12:33]
B
Yeah. Eric says must Champ wants three on two advantages and to get the blitzer free. Any thoughts there before we talk about files who's going to be electric? By the way,
[12:46]
D
this is more proof of something that Pax been kind of getting it over our series that in many ways must Champ is similar to Patterson and his philosophy where he likes to attack on early downs. As a defensive backs guru, Must Champs thinking is, I'm gonna carry stress in the defensive backfield and free up other positions to be aggressive. Which there's a lot of coaches that when they think that way. That was like a big part of what made Bob Stoop so good at Oklahoma was he was like, I'm gonna get awesome offensive coordinators and awesome offensive teams and I will make sure it works on defense. But y' all go for it on tempo and whatever else and be awesome on offense. And I will make sure it works. So this is sort of like a similar version of that. Like a must champ willing to carry a load for the sake of the team. And I, I am very enthusiastic about how this is going to go.
[13:56]
B
Eric says in the article that Biles is the perfect scheme fit we saw in the spring game on his blitz pads. I don't know how advanced they were. I just remember him firing through the line at will whenever he wanted to. Right. So Pack, what are you thinking of bio skill set here? Is he a. Is he gonna be a big factor in this style?
[14:15]
C
Yeah, if they're gonna blitz. And if they're gonna blitz a lot on first and second down, I do think so. Especially when we're talking about some of the different pressures that they'll ask on first and second down, or it'll be some. We'll ask you to plug the C gap, we'll ask you to plug the B gap. And then a lot of it when they're asking, even blitzing the A gap, a lot of it's reading whoever you're blitzing. So if you're blitzing the B gap, it's not just go plug the B gap, it's go read the guard. So if the guard works to you, you can cross his face. And if you watched pit a lot last year, that's the stuff he was really, really good at. He's got really good short area quickness. He's got a really good ability to sink his hips, turn his shoulders and get really skinny. And you see that when it's a really tight space with the amount of TFLs he got. So that's something he's going to be really good at. Is those reed blitzes, what people call vtex or blitzing the face, where you get. You get color to you. You cross face, you get color away. You're playing off his backside. So I think that's really where he'll excel. And then if you don't, if he doesn't need to take on blocks where he's not asking to take on a guard, I do think he'll be. When he's able to just read flow and stay untouched and use that quickness, I think that's really where he. He'll be. He'll be really good. It's more so when you start to ask him to take on blocks and have to hold the point that you get a little bit worried.
[15:44]
B
Ian, would you like to do five
[15:46]
D
minutes on bios, five minutes on biles? I think Miles is very well suited for this. To use the Patterson analogy again, the idea of having a small, fast linebacker that can blitz really effectively and cover so that he's just. You blitz him on rundowns so they have to deal with the speed. And then on passing downs, you could blitz him, but you can also cover with him and he's really hard to beat. That is a very proven formula in college football. Very effective. I reject this notion that I slander Rashim Biles. My only question is how this wonderful college prototype will translate to the NFL, which is a different game.
[16:35]
C
Sure.
[16:36]
D
It is not whether or not Biles could be devastatingly effective in college at Texas, especially in the manner in which they have described using him. And then in the spring also, I'll tell you, if he makes it in the NFL, it will be because of the same thing that I'm about to describe. His timing on the blitzes in the spring was impeccable. And guys that are really good at timing their pressures and taking a good path that. That will. That is like. Terrell Bernard was unbelievable at that for Dave Aranda at Baylor, so was Jalen Peter, but he was, you know, the defensive back. It's real. Bernard has made a nice career for himself in the NFL. If Biles can hit that same level where he just knows the blitzes backwards and forwards and he's good with the scouting, the cadence or whatever the offense and hitting the line at the right spot, then that he will do. He'll outperform my draft grade. But more importantly than that, he's going to have an amazing season if he can do that while at Texas, because that's so hard to stop for college protections.
[17:56]
B
Yeah, it's hard for our guards. I know that in the spring game. Right. All right. And so now we're going to the third level. So if, you know, linebackers are firing and you're losing guys to the second level, logic kind of goes, okay, well, then safeties are going to have to do some stuff, too. So Eric notes the source says safeties will have to play downhill. And he mentioned specifically that Jelani is going to have a big role. They named some kind of Georgia, Georgia guys, KJ Bolden, Malachi Starks, that kind of thing. But Jelani should also be an important factor here. So pack, what does that mean? What are the safeties now have to do to make up for some of the aggression up front?
[18:30]
C
Yeah. So if you're gonna blitz five, well, now, you know you're a little bit more limited in terms of what you can do on the back end. Right. You can. If you're bringing it from the boundary, your options are either to play really they're only one. It's to play Big 12 pressure or play a fire zone. And I don't know that you're going to see a lot of fire zones, given the teams that are on the schedule. And some of the issues that fire zones have with being really vertically stretched or being very horizontally stretched when you've got only what a fire zone is, is a three deep, three under concept and against some spread offenses, when you're asking three guys to cover the full 53 and a half yards. In terms of width, you're going to give up a lot of stuff like RPO hitches, RPO slants, some of that stuff. So I don't know that you're gonna see a lot of fire zones. So what that means is you probably see a lot of COVID zero, which is man free with no rats. So cover one just with a five man pressure, I think you see a lot of that. And that means that either Jelani or Derek, whoever the boundary safety is, they're going to play a lot of coverage. They're going to have to be really good in coverage. You're going to see them probably play then also some of the, in addition to the COVID zero stuff, some two trap pressures. And that means that one, they're going to have to be pretty good at moving horizontally because they're going to have to steal someone from the field. And when we say steal, you're going to the middle of the field and you're basically poaching it, you're robbing it, you're cutting it. So those are, that's kind of the big thing in coverage. And then from a runfit standpoint when they're not bringing five, it's if you're. It depends on what you're. If you're running a creeper like Winston, which we talked about in our creeper episode, well, that means that free safety has to fit an internal gap and really he's got to fit that a gap. So you need him to be able to get downhill and read flow just as well as a linebacker. Similar thing for a cheat safety where really what you're doing is you're asking him to key run pass and then fit the run light. And so a lot of, a lot of the stuff on their plate is you got to be a really good processor and you got to see the field and you got to see stuff really quickly.
[20:41]
B
All right, Ian, Anything about safety or just overall about this style before we
[20:45]
D
close it out, you end up with like a four corners philosophy again where you want like four guys in the secondary that can turn and run like corners. They actually had a good version of this in 24 with Makuba and Gilbo. Makuba and Gilba were not, you know, they were not going to make the all SEC team as cornerbacks, but they both had that. They could both cover well in man for a safety. And then they had, you know, Baron and Muhammad outside and then Taft was like always protected. So do you mean, what do you
[21:27]
B
mean Gilbo or Taff was protected. Okay, well, yeah, you said Gil. You just said Gilball at one point confused me.
[21:38]
D
So Pack, who's the more protected safety? Like, it could be either, but I. I guess the strong safety is more your actual true safety.
[21:48]
C
Yeah. In general, like, if you were gonna. Because most of the time, you know, when we're thinking about when you're the middle field safety, it's. We're thinking about like two by two. And most of the time the guy that's rotating to the. To the middle of the field is the strong safety. So the safety to the field. So he tends to be a little bit more protected in terms of coverage, but he's asked to do more in terms of the run fit. So it's a little bit of different stresses that are placed on both where one of them has to see it really quickly, the other one has to be a little bit more competent in coverage.
[22:24]
B
All right, y' all ready to close it out? I. This is gonna be a fun style. The fans are gonna enjoy this. There's some risks. There's some risks, but I think you'll have some exciting football to watch if this ends up being the case. Everyone head over to Inside Texas. Fall camp is about to start. It's fall camp, by the way. Join for $1 then 50 off your first year link in the description Buy our man Paul's latest book, the Best Preview. If you want to know your team and other SEC teams, this is your next read. Link in the description down below. And also this was brought to you by Academy Sports and Outdoors. Everyone have a great Saturday.

Summary7 min read

Inside Texas Football: Muschamp’s Texas Defense Is Ready to Attack

Podcast: Inside Texas Football
Episode Date: August 1, 2026
Theme: How Will Muschamp’s Philosophical Shift Shape the Texas Longhorns Defense in 2026?

Episode Overview

This episode dives into the core principles and tactical changes of Will Muschamp’s return as Texas defensive coordinator. Drawing from Eric’s “insider notes,” hosts break down how an aggressive, attacking front—featuring active, penetrating defensive tackles—will change the defense’s identity, impact key positions at every level, and shape the risks and rewards of Muschamp’s style. They compare this approach to previous regimes and examine which players and traits are best suited for the new system.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Philosophical Shift: Active Defensive Tackles and "Shade Nose"

Main Change: Defensive tackles (DTs) are more active and “penetrating” versus previous schemes, using stunts, twists, and “games” up front.
Shade Nose vs. 2i Technique
- Shade Nose aligns over the center’s shoulder, allowing vertical, upfield movement—a “one-gap, attack-react” approach.
- 2i (two-eye) aligns inside, mirroring the guard, usually for two-gapping and more lateral play.
Examples: Indiana and Miami in 2025 both utilized shade nose and 3-tech combos, generating disruptive interior play.
Quote:
“When you play an outside shade, you get to play a little bit more upfield... more of a one gap attack react player where you're able to get up field and that helps with stuff like tackles for loss.” – Pack (C) [01:31]

2. Why the Shade? Benefits and Tradeoffs

Gap Control: Shading occupies centers, delays their release to the second level, disrupts gap schemes.
One-Gap vs. Two-Gap: Allows for faster, more aggressive play but requires DTs to be twitchier.
Quote:
"When you have a shade on you, you have to block that. And then when you are an inside shade, whoever that guard is has an easier time of reaching you... So it gives you a little bit more time to get up field." – Pack (C) [03:11]
Historical Context: Muschamp’s previous Texas defenses (notably 2008) used shaded noses like Roy Miller to enable edge rushers to rack up sacks.
Quote:
"That was also a big part of in 2008 when Sergio Kendall and Brian Orakpo were piling up sacks... Roy Miller as a shaded nose... would flush the quarterback out and then Kendall and Orakpo would chase him down." – Ian (D) [04:20]

3. "Attack Gaps" – Making Plays vs. Holding Gaps

Key Point: The scheme’s about “attacking gaps” (penetration) not “defending gaps” (holding).
Risks:
- Can lead to tackles for loss but also to explosive plays if DTs fail to disrupt.
- Linebackers may be exposed if OL gets to second level easily.
Quote:
“If your nose doesn't get immediately vertical... what you've really done is... [the offensive lineman is] going to be able to work up to the linebacker immediately... you're going to get a lot of tackles for loss, but you're also going to give up a lot of explosives.” – Pack (C) [07:30]

4. How Depth and Substitutions Factor In

Texas’ Defensive Line Depth: With the ability to rotate quality DTs, Texas aims to keep players fresh and disruptive.
Double Teams:
- Idea is to force OL to double shaded players and keep LBs clean.
Staff Quote:
“There’s a quote I heard... from a Texas staffer...‘My grandma could play linebacker behind these guys. No one's going to touch them.’ Famous last words.” – Ian (D) [09:03]
Player Anecdote:
“Jet Bush... I never had a D tackle get pushed back into me or anything. He said it was light work.” – Host (B) [09:47]

5. The Impact on Blitzes and Second-Level Play

Setting Up the “Extra Guy”: The aggressiveness up front is designed to free a linebacker (or other blitzer) on early downs, creating “three-on-two” mismatches.
Protection Attack: Focusing on attacking the “man side” of pass protection, exploiting OL’s need to adjust to shade alignments.
Types of Blitzes: Overloads, pick stunts, “pop and jam,” and creative uses of LBs in the blitz package.
Quote:
“When you have the shade nose, you force a lot of man protection towards the three technique and the five techniques. And then when you bring the linebacker, that allows you to play three over two... your linebacker can be free where he doesn't have to plug a gap immediately. He can be really patient.” – Pack (C) [10:45]

6. Player Spotlights: Rashim Biles as the Prototype

Perfect Scheme Fit: Biles’ speed, quickness, and blitz timing are ideally suited for this system, as evidenced by his spring game performance.
Role: Will be used dynamically as an interior or edge blitzer and in coverage—much like successful modern college LBs.
Quote:
“If he doesn’t need to take on blocks... when he's able to just read flow and stay untouched and use that quickness, I think that's really where he'll be really good.” – Pack (C) [14:15]
Quote:
“His timing on the blitzes in the spring was impeccable... If Biles can hit that same level where he just knows the blitzes backwards and forwards... he’s going to have an amazing season...” – Ian (D) [16:36]

7. Third Level: Safeties in the New Scheme

Aggressive Front Increases Safety Responsibility: With more LBs committed forward, safeties (e.g., Jelani) must play “downhill” in the run game and be versatile in coverage.
Coverage Implications: Expect more Cover 1/zero with man-free and pressure looks—putting boundary safeties in high-leverage spots.
Processing Speed: Safeties must process quickly, recognize run/pass keys, and “rob” or steal routes across the field.
Quote:
“You need him [the safety] to be able to get downhill and read flow just as well as a linebacker... a really good processor...” – Pack (C) [18:30]

8. Secondary Structure and “Four Corners” Philosophy

Corner Skills in Every Safety: Texas wants four defensive backs who can “turn and run” like corners—emphasizing coverage versatility and speed, not just size.
Balance of Duties: Strong safety is generally more protected in coverage but heavier into the run fit; stresses differ across both safety spots.
Quote:
“A four corners philosophy... want four guys in the secondary that can turn and run like corners... Makuba and Gilbo were not... all SEC team as cornerbacks, but... they could both cover well in man for a safety.” – Ian (D) [20:44]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

Texas Staffer on D-Line Dominance:
“My grandma could play linebacker behind these guys. No one’s going to touch them.” – relayed by Ian (D) [09:03]
On Scheme Risks:
"You're going to get a lot of tackles for loss, but you're also going to give up a lot of explosives." – Pack (C) [07:30]
On Rashim Biles’ Fit:
"My only question is how this wonderful college prototype will translate to the NFL... But more importantly... he's going to have an amazing season if he can do that while at Texas, because that's so hard to stop for college protections." – Ian (D) [16:36]

Timestamps for Key Segments

00:30–01:31 — Intro to Muschamp’s defensive philosophy & Eric’s notes
01:31–03:01 — Shade nose breakdown, why it matters
03:01–04:17 — Shade technique’s impact on gaps and OL assignments
04:20–06:04 — Comparisons to Muschamp's first stint and historical examples
06:04–07:16 — Attack vs. defend gaps, nose tackle traits
07:16–09:03 — Risks of this aggressive style, Texas’ DL depth expectations
09:47–10:45 — D-Line’s role in keeping LBs free
10:45–12:32 — Blitz design, protection attacks, and “three-on-two” advantages
12:46–14:15 — How Biles’ skills make him the prototype fit
14:15–16:36 — Blitz timing and the modern linebacker, Biles’ NFL future
17:55–18:30 — Safety responsibilities in an aggressive front
18:30–21:47 — Adjustments to the secondary, “four corners” philosophy
22:24–End — Final thoughts on the style, optimism with risk, call to action

Conclusion

This episode offers a rich, insider-level discussion of how Will Muschamp’s aggressive, attacking defense will impact Texas in 2026. The hosts explain the technical changes up front, implications for the linebacking corps (with Rashim Biles as a rising star), and the added demands placed on versatile safeties. The overall tone is excited and analytical, acknowledging the risks inherent in chasing big plays and tackles for loss—but with Texas’ talent, depth, and coaching, the potential for defensive fireworks is high.

For more, get Eric’s insider notes and the “Thinking Texas Football” prospectus, and follow Inside Texas as fall camp begins!

Loading summary

Transcript36 lines

[00:02]
A
At dsw, we ask the important questions like what shoes are you going to wear? Whether you're prepping for wedding season, festival season, or just planning the ultimate vacay, the right shoes can make or break an rsvp. So own the moment. You've got big plans and we've got just the shoes at the perfect price, of course. Get ready to get ready with designer shoe warehouse. Head to your DSW store or dsw.com today and let us surprise you, everybody.
[00:31]
B
Welcome to the Saturday show where we study the must champ defense. We got an interesting topic today based off of Eric's insider notes. Those insider notes, you can find it inside Texas and you can join for just $1 right now. Then 50 off your first year. The season's about to start, guys. Take advantage of this link in the description. And then as always, our main man Paul dropped his annual Longhorn football prospectus thinking Texas football. It is the best preview in the world. The Texas Longhorns and our opponents and even wider sec. All the links to get that are down in the description. Go ahead and do so. And then also welcome back to Academy, everybody. Academy is bringing you these episodes from here on out through the season. Thank you, Academy. All right, gentlemen, Eric's notes, he opens on the defensive side with this statement. DTS are more active and penetrating. They run a lot of games, twistings and stunts. So pack, what's your first goes off in your head when you hear that.
[01:31]
C
Yeah, probably a lot more of a shade nose than a two eye, right? When we talk about a shade nose, we're talking about you being shaded up over the center instead of shaded up over the guard. And you'll notice that when you watch them in terms of, if you ever get a picture of the offensive line, you'll see that their hand to the side of the center is down and not the hand to the side of the guard. So if you were a two eye on the right hand side of the line of scrimmage, your right hand would be down and you'd be shaded towards the guard. And if you're a shade, you'd be having your left hand down and you'd be shitted up. You, you'd really want your head over the shoulder of the center. And so when you play an outside shade, you get to be a little bit more vertical, you get to play a little bit more upfield. Whereas when you're an inside shade or your head up, you're trying to mirror, you're trying to mirror the footwork of the guy across from you or the guy that you're keying, you're really trying to 2gap. Whereas when you're a shade, you're allowed to be a little bit more of a one gap attack react player where you're able to get up field and that helps with stuff like tackles for loss can help you cancel gaps a little bit faster. So those are the first two things that come to mind when you think of someone who's being a little bit more active and penetrative. And in terms of a team last year that did that a lot, Indiana was pretty played a lot of shade noses. Then Miami pretty much based out of a shade nose and a three technique. And they allowed those guys to get up field and get up field right now.
[03:01]
B
And so is he, is he nearer to the center so he can smack the center to try to open something up for someone else? Why does that shade help other guys at least?
[03:12]
C
Yeah, so it's really important for stuff like gap scheme because it stops the center from working up to a linebacker. Because when you have a shade on you, you have to block that. And then when you're, when you are an inside shade, whoever that guard is has a easier time of reaching you. Right. So he's going to be able to make contact with you. Whereas when that's a center, he's got to snap the ball and then get his head up. So it gives you a little bit more time to get up field. There's a, there's a little bit of a time element there. That center has to wait before making a move. So that helps with getting vertical. And really it's, it's an adjustment to if you're seeing a lot of gap scheme, you want to shade because it stops the center from being able to work up. It also makes it a little bit easier to work some of those tackle nose stunts because the path from the shade to the three technique is not as wide or it's not as long as, as if you had a two eye and then it's a little bit easier. If you're going to get up field on the center, well, that's going to really fully cancel the gap. And now you're going to be able to really have only three or four gaps that you have to play against.
[04:17]
B
Ian, any thoughts?
[04:21]
D
Well, it's a lot different than how it was with pk, whereas way more react, attack or react react. And it's very similar to how it was the last time must champ was here. If people don't remember what that was like, he Moved to Lamar Houston to defensive tackle year one from defensive end. And it was like, well, he's 275 must champ. Is that really a good idea? And it was a great idea. He had a good year and then the following year he was totally destructive. And before must, people may forget that Must champ moved Alex Okafor to defensive tackle as well for the same reason. And then Must Manadiaz moved him back to defensive end. But he was all about getting athletes down in shaded techniques in the first time around and letting them go up field. And that's how they, that's how they did things. That was also a big part of in 2008 when Sergio Kendall and Brian Iraqpo were piling up stat sacks. A lot of that was they had Roy Miller as a shaded nose and he was really good at getting up field and he would flush the quarterback out and then Kendall and Iraqpo would chase him down. So it was a big benefactor. This could be Colin Simmons because instead of having to win to a spot in the pocket and all that, he could be given the chance to chase quarterbacks that are flushed, which would be. That's child's play for him.
[06:04]
B
Yeah, cleanup. Another thing he states and we kind of hit it. They attack gaps rather than defending gaps. And what does that mean? Kind of quickly pack. What does it mean to attack versus
[06:14]
C
yeah, just get vertical. Your, your, your footworks a lot more getting up field than it is lateral footwork. That's really what that means, is it.
[06:24]
B
Does the nose, does the 330 pounder become less valuable in this scheme?
[06:30]
C
No, I would say just, I would say it's kind of the same level of importance because now you're now, instead of having to hold the point, now we're asking you to be a little bit faster and a little bit more twitchy. Right. So they have equal levels of importance because the shades can help cancel gaps and do some things where, you know, if you want to play split safety and you have a shade, you can set the bubble to the boundary. And because you are assuming that the, you're assuming that you're going to be able to get the nose to cut the play off from the boundary. Well, now that means your safety can play a little bit slower to fit the run. You can help with third level RPOs if you're seeing stuff like that. So it just changes up what's important for that nose. But it's still of equal importance.
[07:16]
D
It.
[07:17]
B
What's the risk? Because we've done a lot of shows on, hey, we There's a lot of teams that attack like this and it looks awesome in the tfl. Com column, but it can also give a 30 yard run. So what's the risk to this, this cool style?
[07:30]
C
Yeah. So if your nose doesn't get immediately vertical, if the center is able to block back on him or if it's a zone to that side and he's not able to, and he's not able to cut the playoff, well, now what you've really done is because you're, because there's no one over the guard, there's no one in his path. He's going to be able to work up to the linebacker immediately, he's going to maybe hip check the, the edge and then he's going to work immediately upfield. So you do, you do allow guys to work up to your linebackers a bit quicker. And what that means is you're gonna have to lose some overlap within your linebackers. They're not going to be able to play as slow or play as patient. They're gonna have to fill gaps a little bit faster. And as we've seen with teams like Texas A M, when you plug gaps and you don't have any overlap, you're gonna get a lot of tackles for loss, but you're also going to give up a lot of explosives. So that's really the fear is if you have a shade nose and he doesn't cut the playoff and he doesn't hold the point of attack, well, you're gonna have some trouble there. And then the other one is for outside zone. When you've got a shade, it's a lot easier to reach someone than it is to reach a two eye because that path for the center is much, much, it's much tighter, it's not as wide of a path. Whereas with a two eye, that center has to work a decent bit to try to reach, to try to reach that guard, to try to reach the 2i. So that's really, that's really the big one is you do, you do allow yourself a little bit more risk versus outside zone and then you do lose some overlap to your defense.
[09:03]
D
I, I can tell you though, the thinking at Texas is that they're going to command double teams across the interior because they'll be so disruptive and so fresh with all the substitutes that they can bring, with all the quality defensive tackles they have that the thinking is, is that teams are not going to be able to release linemen to linebackers because they'll take too many negative plays and so they'll end up doubling all the shaded players and then the linebackers will run free. There's a quote I heard that Mayor Mayoff come from a Texas staffer that was like something to the effect of my grandma could play linebacker behind these guys. No one's going to touch them. Famous last words.
[09:48]
B
But that's wonderful. Jet Bush. I'd be like, what was it like when they climb up on you in short yardage and you had to go against guards? He's like, never did Javandre sweat. Byron Murphy. He's like, I never had a D tackle get pushed back into me or anything. He said it was light work. So hopefully we have that again. Now we're talking about the front and the games, but it's really what they can unlock for the second level and even the third level. But before we talk about that, let's hear a word from Academy.
[10:13]
C
I call my style Skate to the party. Can't go wrong with Nike slides. Gotta show off the muscles. You gotta show a little bit of the thigh.
[10:21]
D
Right now at Academy, get up to 30% off Nike and Jordan clothes, shoes and backpacks.
[10:27]
B
I'm glad to see the kids still love Nike slides. Those were big when I was even in school. You had to get you if you were an athlete, you had to have Nike slides. So that still seems to hold up. So Eric says in the piece, the activity is designed to set up the extra guy. So what does that mean? Pack for the second level.
[10:46]
C
Yeah. So if you're blitzing, we'll say we'll talk about it in its most simple terms. So you're blitzing five. Well, anytime you bring pressure, you're trying to attack protection. And most teams are going to play a half slide. So they're going to slide to one side and then they'll play big on big protection to the other side. And if we're talking about with a, with a shade nose, well then really what you're going to see is they're going to have to, they are going to have to slide to the, to the one tech. Because if you don't slide to the one tack well, then you're asking a guard to have to come diagonally to block that one technique before he gets vertical. That's never going to happen. So what you're really doing is you're trying to attack the man side of the protection. And you can do that a lot of different ways. You can do that with overloads, which is the three on two stuff where you know you can spike the two, the three technique and the five. And then bring the linebacker off the edge in the C gap. Right? That's a three on two. You can run different games. You can do pick stunts. You can do the pop and jam stuff that we've talked about. You can do those and then ask a linebacker to be either the picker or the rapper. So a lot of it's just. Well, when you have some of it plays into what we were talking about earlier. When you have the shade nose, you force a lot of man protection towards the three technique and the five techniques. And then when you bring the linebacker that allows you to play three over two. And then when we're talking about four man pressures, it's kind of the same thing you're talking about now. When you have three guys, you're counting them in terms of the run fit, where two guys are responsible for blocking three guys. Well, now your linebacker can be free where he doesn't have to plug a gap immediately. He can be really patient. So that those are the two things that come to mind with that.
[12:33]
B
Yeah. Eric says must Champ wants three on two advantages and to get the blitzer free. Any thoughts there before we talk about files who's going to be electric? By the way,
[12:46]
D
this is more proof of something that Pax been kind of getting it over our series that in many ways must Champ is similar to Patterson and his philosophy where he likes to attack on early downs. As a defensive backs guru, Must Champs thinking is, I'm gonna carry stress in the defensive backfield and free up other positions to be aggressive. Which there's a lot of coaches that when they think that way. That was like a big part of what made Bob Stoop so good at Oklahoma was he was like, I'm gonna get awesome offensive coordinators and awesome offensive teams and I will make sure it works on defense. But y' all go for it on tempo and whatever else and be awesome on offense. And I will make sure it works. So this is sort of like a similar version of that. Like a must champ willing to carry a load for the sake of the team. And I, I am very enthusiastic about how this is going to go.
[13:56]
B
Eric says in the article that Biles is the perfect scheme fit we saw in the spring game on his blitz pads. I don't know how advanced they were. I just remember him firing through the line at will whenever he wanted to. Right. So Pack, what are you thinking of bio skill set here? Is he a. Is he gonna be a big factor in this style?
[14:15]
C
Yeah, if they're gonna blitz. And if they're gonna blitz a lot on first and second down, I do think so. Especially when we're talking about some of the different pressures that they'll ask on first and second down, or it'll be some. We'll ask you to plug the C gap, we'll ask you to plug the B gap. And then a lot of it when they're asking, even blitzing the A gap, a lot of it's reading whoever you're blitzing. So if you're blitzing the B gap, it's not just go plug the B gap, it's go read the guard. So if the guard works to you, you can cross his face. And if you watched pit a lot last year, that's the stuff he was really, really good at. He's got really good short area quickness. He's got a really good ability to sink his hips, turn his shoulders and get really skinny. And you see that when it's a really tight space with the amount of TFLs he got. So that's something he's going to be really good at. Is those reed blitzes, what people call vtex or blitzing the face, where you get. You get color to you. You cross face, you get color away. You're playing off his backside. So I think that's really where he'll excel. And then if you don't, if he doesn't need to take on blocks where he's not asking to take on a guard, I do think he'll be. When he's able to just read flow and stay untouched and use that quickness, I think that's really where he. He'll be. He'll be really good. It's more so when you start to ask him to take on blocks and have to hold the point that you get a little bit worried.
[15:44]
B
Ian, would you like to do five
[15:46]
D
minutes on bios, five minutes on biles? I think Miles is very well suited for this. To use the Patterson analogy again, the idea of having a small, fast linebacker that can blitz really effectively and cover so that he's just. You blitz him on rundowns so they have to deal with the speed. And then on passing downs, you could blitz him, but you can also cover with him and he's really hard to beat. That is a very proven formula in college football. Very effective. I reject this notion that I slander Rashim Biles. My only question is how this wonderful college prototype will translate to the NFL, which is a different game.
[16:35]
C
Sure.
[16:36]
D
It is not whether or not Biles could be devastatingly effective in college at Texas, especially in the manner in which they have described using him. And then in the spring also, I'll tell you, if he makes it in the NFL, it will be because of the same thing that I'm about to describe. His timing on the blitzes in the spring was impeccable. And guys that are really good at timing their pressures and taking a good path that. That will. That is like. Terrell Bernard was unbelievable at that for Dave Aranda at Baylor, so was Jalen Peter, but he was, you know, the defensive back. It's real. Bernard has made a nice career for himself in the NFL. If Biles can hit that same level where he just knows the blitzes backwards and forwards and he's good with the scouting, the cadence or whatever the offense and hitting the line at the right spot, then that he will do. He'll outperform my draft grade. But more importantly than that, he's going to have an amazing season if he can do that while at Texas, because that's so hard to stop for college protections.
[17:56]
B
Yeah, it's hard for our guards. I know that in the spring game. Right. All right. And so now we're going to the third level. So if, you know, linebackers are firing and you're losing guys to the second level, logic kind of goes, okay, well, then safeties are going to have to do some stuff, too. So Eric notes the source says safeties will have to play downhill. And he mentioned specifically that Jelani is going to have a big role. They named some kind of Georgia, Georgia guys, KJ Bolden, Malachi Starks, that kind of thing. But Jelani should also be an important factor here. So pack, what does that mean? What are the safeties now have to do to make up for some of the aggression up front?
[18:30]
C
Yeah. So if you're gonna blitz five, well, now, you know you're a little bit more limited in terms of what you can do on the back end. Right. You can. If you're bringing it from the boundary, your options are either to play really they're only one. It's to play Big 12 pressure or play a fire zone. And I don't know that you're going to see a lot of fire zones, given the teams that are on the schedule. And some of the issues that fire zones have with being really vertically stretched or being very horizontally stretched when you've got only what a fire zone is, is a three deep, three under concept and against some spread offenses, when you're asking three guys to cover the full 53 and a half yards. In terms of width, you're going to give up a lot of stuff like RPO hitches, RPO slants, some of that stuff. So I don't know that you're gonna see a lot of fire zones. So what that means is you probably see a lot of COVID zero, which is man free with no rats. So cover one just with a five man pressure, I think you see a lot of that. And that means that either Jelani or Derek, whoever the boundary safety is, they're going to play a lot of coverage. They're going to have to be really good in coverage. You're going to see them probably play then also some of the, in addition to the COVID zero stuff, some two trap pressures. And that means that one, they're going to have to be pretty good at moving horizontally because they're going to have to steal someone from the field. And when we say steal, you're going to the middle of the field and you're basically poaching it, you're robbing it, you're cutting it. So those are, that's kind of the big thing in coverage. And then from a runfit standpoint when they're not bringing five, it's if you're. It depends on what you're. If you're running a creeper like Winston, which we talked about in our creeper episode, well, that means that free safety has to fit an internal gap and really he's got to fit that a gap. So you need him to be able to get downhill and read flow just as well as a linebacker. Similar thing for a cheat safety where really what you're doing is you're asking him to key run pass and then fit the run light. And so a lot of, a lot of the stuff on their plate is you got to be a really good processor and you got to see the field and you got to see stuff really quickly.
[20:41]
B
All right, Ian, Anything about safety or just overall about this style before we
[20:45]
D
close it out, you end up with like a four corners philosophy again where you want like four guys in the secondary that can turn and run like corners. They actually had a good version of this in 24 with Makuba and Gilbo. Makuba and Gilba were not, you know, they were not going to make the all SEC team as cornerbacks, but they both had that. They could both cover well in man for a safety. And then they had, you know, Baron and Muhammad outside and then Taft was like always protected. So do you mean, what do you
[21:27]
B
mean Gilbo or Taff was protected. Okay, well, yeah, you said Gil. You just said Gilball at one point confused me.
[21:38]
D
So Pack, who's the more protected safety? Like, it could be either, but I. I guess the strong safety is more your actual true safety.
[21:48]
C
Yeah. In general, like, if you were gonna. Because most of the time, you know, when we're thinking about when you're the middle field safety, it's. We're thinking about like two by two. And most of the time the guy that's rotating to the. To the middle of the field is the strong safety. So the safety to the field. So he tends to be a little bit more protected in terms of coverage, but he's asked to do more in terms of the run fit. So it's a little bit of different stresses that are placed on both where one of them has to see it really quickly, the other one has to be a little bit more competent in coverage.
[22:24]
B
All right, y' all ready to close it out? I. This is gonna be a fun style. The fans are gonna enjoy this. There's some risks. There's some risks, but I think you'll have some exciting football to watch if this ends up being the case. Everyone head over to Inside Texas. Fall camp is about to start. It's fall camp, by the way. Join for $1 then 50 off your first year link in the description Buy our man Paul's latest book, the Best Preview. If you want to know your team and other SEC teams, this is your next read. Link in the description down below. And also this was brought to you by Academy Sports and Outdoors. Everyone have a great Saturday.