Auburn Football: Inside the Tigers' Dramatic Defensive Turnaround

AUBURN, Ala. — Three days after Auburn's best defensive performance in three years, defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson was still frustrated.

Sure, the Tigers held then-No. 20 Kansas State to just 285 yards in a tight 20-14 road victory, but the veteran coach wasn't ready to crown his unit.

"There were some things on (the Kansas State film) that we have to clean up," Johnson said Sunday night. "We didn't play a real clean game from an assignment standpoint. A lot of times, if it wasn't a busted assignment, maybe it wasn't played as well as it could have been played."

Even after shutting down a Top 20 team on the road, Johnson still thinks Auburn's defense can improve by working on its technique and fundamentals.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

Gone are the days of lamenting missed tackles and repeatedly blowing coverages. Auburn's staff is now worried about perfecting its gaps and assignments after its return to being a top-25 defense nationally.

"So there were some mistakes, alignments and things that could be better, but I thought they competed and had some production," Johnson said of his defense's performance in Manhattan.

"Some production," in this case, was Auburn's best defensive performance in three years.

For the first time since a 17-6 home win against Florida in 2011, Auburn held a power-conference opponent to fewer than 300 yards of total offense by shutting down the Wildcats running game and limiting their effectiveness through the air.

Auburn SID Kirk Sampson put the defense's standout play against Kansas State in even more perspective after the game:

While the offense struggled to get into its usual high-scoring form last Thursday night, the Auburn defense recorded two interceptions off Kansas State senior quarterback Jake Waters, forced three punts and set up three fourth-down plays that turned into three missed field goals.

"As the game went on, we were getting stronger and more confident," senior cornerback Jonathon Mincy said after the game. "We played together, trusted coach, and went out there and had fun. We saw what we were made of mentally tonight."

The Kansas State game was a snapshot of what has been a 180-degree turn from the Auburn defense through the first three games of the 2014 schedule.

Statistic	2014 (FBS Rank)	2013 (FBS Rank)
Passing Yards per Game	224.7 (61st)	257.7 (102nd)
Rushing Yards per Game	86.0 (11th)	163.0 (63rd)
Total Yards per Game	310.7 (23rd)	420.7 (87th)
Points per Game	16.0 (13th)	24.7 (47th)
Yards per Play	4.50 (22nd)	5.96 (95th)

Johnson has seen that turnaround especially in the area of run defense, where Auburn has shut down each opponent since the halftime break of the season opener against Arkansas.

"We're kind of an opposite of what we were last year," Johnson said. "Last year, we struggled with the run, controlling the box. At times, didn't hold point well, got gapped out, and then on third down, we could get to the quarterback. We had great edge guys. This year, we've played really good against the run, especially inside."

Despite a few personnel switches inside Johnson's 4-2-5 system—most notably the flip of linebacker spots between Kris Frost and Cassanova McKinzy—the Tigers have consistently slowed down opposing offenses with solid play down the middle of the field.

Frost recorded six tackles, including a game-high two sacks, against Kansas State, while McKinzy is near the top of the tackle charts once again for the team.

Jamie Squire/Getty Images

"[Frost] is, you know, at the right place at the right time," Johnson said. "One of the [sacks] he got credit for Anthony Swain was right there too and did a good job on it. Kris has got two of those this year. Cassanova is one of our better outside pass-rushers and has had some good ones."

Auburn has also seen improvement in its pass defense, even with a major personnel change right before last week's trip to Manhattan.

After starting free safety Jermaine Whitehead was indefinitely suspended for what was reportedly a confrontation with an assistant coach, versatile defensive back Josh Holsey made a move from cornerback, which he hadn't played prior to last Thursday night.

"The free safety has to cover a little more field than the boundary safety does," Holsey said. "You have a lot more space, and you have to talk to the Star and the field corner instead of in the boundary you just talk to the boundary corners. There's a little more communication as well."

Those differences didn't bother Holsey. He left Bill Snyder Family Stadium with a career-high 11 tackles and received the SEC Defensive Player of the Week award Monday.

"I didn't even know I had that many tackles at the end of the game when they told me," Holsey said Tuesday. "As the game went on, I really was just focused on trying to do my job and make sure we came out with the W."

Auburn did come out with the win, a classic defensive performance that showed how far the defense has come in the span of a year.

“We have definitely improved," head coach Gus Malzahn said in his Tuesday press conference. "We are very good right now at stopping the run. We are working on improving in all areas and putting more pressure on the quarterback in pass situations. I like the direction we are going, and I think we are improving."

But, of course, there's still a lot of work to do in Johnson's eyes.

For one, the current defensive reversal includes a downturn in an area Auburn excelled at last season: the pass rush.

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Without the likes of Dee Ford and the injured Carl Lawson, Johnson doesn't think his defense is doing enough to put pressure on opposing quarterbacks.

The Tigers got a big-time sack against Kansas State from JUCO transfer DaVonte Lambert in his first career start, but the coaching staff will continue to go to the drawing board until a complete defensive improvement is made.

"We're still concerned we're not getting good pass rush out of our four-man rush," Johnson said. "We've got to look at who and we've got to look at how. We keep trying to give those guys some reps and develop a skill set to be able to do it. But we also have to get creative on some things and try to get pressure on the quarterback...we still need to improve a lot."

All quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All recruiting rankings and information courtesy of 247Sports. All stats courtesy of CFBStats.com.

Justin Ferguson is Bleacher Report's lead Auburn writer. Follow him on Twitter @JFergusonAU.