Brick Haley teaches LSU's defensive line philosophy

Things fully got underway Sunday at the AFCA Convention, and I had the pleasure of sneaking in to hear Brick Haley disperse LSU's vision of defensive line play on Sunday evening. I was far from alone, as the Gaylord's Presidential A ballroom (capacity: 670) held close to 750 minds eager to borrow a bit of LSU's defensive line success for their programs.

Anyone who follows college football knows NFL rosters are stacked with former LSU players, but it really hits home when Haley acknowledges before his presentation that every player shown on LSU's game tape is either in the NFL or on his way there. That is a lot of talent.

One of Haley's key points of emphasis was to show players that what their coaches ask of them works on film. "It' important that kids see what you're doing, and that they can have success with it," said Haley.

Haley went through a number of drills LSU employs (heel line pursuit, six-point explosion) regularly in practice and provided answers throughout a lively question-and-answer session. One thing Haley, like all other coaches, stresses continuously is effort.

"I'm not going to spend an hour and a half every practice yelling at people to run after the ball," said Haley. "If you don't pursue the ball, you're not going to play. If you want to watch, sit in the stands."

Haley said that LSU stresses that each masters three pass rush moves instead of leaning eight or nine. "We don't ask a 300-pound player to learn a spin move. That's why they call us coaches."

With a handful of LSU's defensive lineman departing for the NFL knows he has a lot of teaching ahead of him. "I guess we'll find out how good of a coach I am."