DJ Durkin Q&A: Defensive differences from last season, perspective on recruiting and more
AUBURN — New Auburn defensive coordinator DJ Durkin met with the media on Wednesday as Auburn spring camp rolls along. Durkin was Texas A&M’s defensive coordinator last season. After Jimbo Fisher was fired, Durkin was a free agent in the coaching world.
Missouri wanted Durkin as their defensive coordinator during the offseason, Nick Saban interviewed Durkin at Alabama before Saban retired, but ultimately, Durkin ended up as the Tigers’ next defensive play caller.
We didn’t catch every word due to the roundtable nature of the interviews and multiple coaches being interviewed at a time, but here’s a good chunk of what Durkin had to say:
Will there be anything different about your defense than last year’s under Ron Roberts?
“I think there are some similarities and that will be good for our guys that they can draw from. A lot of times, it’s learning an ew language. We may call it this, you call it that, those terms, but I think for us, it’s focused on being better aggressive in everything we do. We want to apply pressure on the quarterback. Defense is so much about what is your effort, how do you tackle, how do you execute? It’s about how you do things than what you do? How are we going to do things? With a great energy effort, execution and tackling.”
Are you familiar with any of the current staff members?
“Crime (Wesley McGriff) is a guy, I followed him at Ole Miss. I’ve known and we know similar people. Charles Kelly, I feel like I know him because we know so many people in common. I have a great relationship with him, he’s fantastic. Technically, no, anyone on staff, I have not. There are some guys off the field I’ve brought with me. … but credit to those guys, it’s been really smooth. We have a great group of guys, really talented coaches, good people, and we’ve meshed very well.”
Durkin was asked why he deserved a second chance after being fired at Maryland. Here’s Durkin’s answer:
“All along, the people that know you and have been around you, they know you. Those opportunities are provided by people that have done their homework and know me as a person and what I stand for as a coach. That’s someone else’s question to answer, not mine.”
Durkin was then asked how he’s changed since his Maryland days?
“There’s evolution always in life and in coaching. I’m different this year than last year. You always look back, reflect, and think about things you could do differently or better. We always do it with our players, let’s do it for ourselves, too. If you aren’t growing and learning as a person, what are you doing?”
Early impressions of spring camp?
“It’s early. All of our guys are committed to trying to do things the right way. You can see the want to, the effort out there. They are very coachable. On defense, because we’re a new system, we’re not depth-chat based right now. We have groups rolling, giving guys opportunities to get out there. We are far from making those decisions. I like the mindset and the culture, and what we have with these guys right now.”
What are Durkin’s early thoughts on Eugene Asante and Austin Keys at linebacker?
“I feel good about those guys. Your mike linebackers, inside linebackers are the quarterbacks of the defense. We have good experience and the right guys there. Austin Keys, I coached him at Ole Miss as well, so Ive had a relationship with him. Eugene is awesome, he’s such a fun guy to coach. He’s got energy and a big smile, he goes 100 miles per hour. Dorian has been a great addition for us, experienced guy with really good knowledge of the game. I think all three of those guys are a major part of what we’re building.”
Durkin wasn’t a part of recruiting some of Auburn’s most talented freshmen, but from what he knows and what he’s seen, there’s certainly potential.
“We’re excited about that class. Those guys are so talented. At times they look like freshmen at times — the biggest thing is creating consistency. I know what I’m going to get from this guy, that’s what they are working on. We feel great about that class as a whole.”
How involved will Hugh Freeze be in the defensive game plan?
“Everything we do is under the direction of what Coach wants as a whole. Obviously, the majority of his time is built around the offense. Everything we do we run by him. We watch practice and watch both sides of the ball. I love getting feedback from him from an offensive standpoint. This gives us a problem, this, not so much. I love hearing those things. Those are good conversations for me.”
What’s Durkin’s perspective on recruiting and how he will go about evaluating talent?
“Not every guy fits a mold. It’s easier to have that in the NFL level. You’re now drafting guys that are grown man. They’ve gone through the maturity. For us, it’s a developmental game, developmental age for us. Guys are going to grow, guys are going to change — it’s more about when guys are on film, you want his effort level to show up, his competitive edge to show up. Guys that are competitive naturally will always find a way to rise to the top. You can take a talented guy that doesn’t have that fight in him and you bring him into this level, some point when it gets even with him, those guys fade away. That’s what we’re looking for on film. And then they have to have production. Some guys make plays, some don’t. We want the guys making plays.”
