D.K. McDonald proud of goal-line stand against UCF, previews Texas Tech

Kansas’ defense had a goal-line stand late in the fourth quarter that helped the Jayhawks secure a come-from-behind win against UCF. Defensive coordinator D.K. McDonald spoke with the media Tuesday, discussing the goal line stand, what he sees from Texas Tech, and the growing confidence of the secondary.

McDonald proud of the defense’s goal-line stuff

UCF marched down the field late in the fourth quarter, having the ball on the five and on the verge of tying the game. Myles Montgomery had a four-yard run on first down, but then the defense got stops on three consecutive downs to keep the Knights out of the end zone. McDonald said his defense, which kept UCF out of the end zone the entire second half, embraced the challenge.

“Just really proud of the guys,” McDonald said. “There were no sour looks or anything like that. The guys were really excited about the challenge. You could just look in their eyes and see that they didn’t want that team to score on them. And we did a great job in the second half not allowing them to get in the end zone, and like you said, to kind of finish it with a goal-line stand, that’s really special.”

The defense was ready to stop the quarterback sneak, something McDonald talked about during Kansas’ timeout. The Jayhawks had prepared for the situation in practice, and McDonald said it was fun to see them trust their training.

“When the quarterback went under center, all four guys tensed in and we had a guy jumping over top, and that’s something we practice,” McDonald said. “So you just try to work in practice to prepare those guys for the moment. Then when that moment arrives, they’ve got to trust their training and go, and they did that. And as a coach, that’s really exciting to see when guys do that.”

McDonald said seeing his defense have success like that is one of the greatest feelings as a coach. He hopes the second-half shutout and goal-line stand gives them something to build on as they prepare for Texas Tech.

Texas Tech’s offense is ‘good at every level’

The Red Raiders rank second in the country in points per game, averaging 48.6 points in their first five games. McDonald said Texas Tech has a complete offense, led by Behren Morton who has been “like a coach on the field.”

“They’re good on every level,” McDonald said. “They’ve got a quarterback who’s really special — he’s like a coach on the field and he can move around and do some things. Their wide receivers [are] really special. The O-line is big and they’re able to move people. The running backs are running really hard right now, so they’ve got a lot of weapons.”

McDonald said the defense will have to be strong in every phase against the Red Raiders.

“It just comes down to every part, every phase,” McDonald said. “Up front, we’ve got to get after them a little bit and win that battle. I think we’ve got to do a good job of covering, but they’re a really good team… it’s going to take everybody, all of us, to contribute to trying to slow them down if we can.”

Secondary growing confidence in coverage

After Kansas’ loss to Cincinnati, Lance Leipold said he didn’t think the secondary played confidently in coverage. There was too much cushion that led to easy completions. McDonald said there’s a process of feeling out a coverage strategy.

“I think it’s about just, you know, as a DB, you always have to know your talent level and the talent level of the people you’re playing, plus the call, plus the situation,” McDonald said. “There’s a lot to take in there. So they’re younger guys — they’re feeling it out. And like I said, I think in the second half they kind of got the feel for what they can do.”

McDonald said his team has done a good job covering guys in matchups with tough receivers against Missouri and Cincinnati. He said the confidence will need to continue to build against another tough matchup against Texas Tech.

Austin Alexander was one player that showed flashes of increased confidence against UCF. He had a late pass breakup that McDonald said helped save the game.

“That’s just a great example of a guy throughout the game just gaining more and more confidence,” McDonald said. “That’s one of the best plays that I’ve seen so far this year. For a guy to be put on that island on an in-breaking route and to go without pass interference and break up a play like that is really special. We talk about the goal-line stand, which was great, but really that play helped save the game.”