His playing a bigger role tells me that we have to be better on D. We have to be, right?
I feel good about he and Frost, esp against run teams. And I'll bet we see plenty of runs on Sat.
Cassanova McKinzy's move to middle linebacker brings 'old-school' mentality to Auburn's defense
http://www.al.com/auburnfootball/index.ssf/2014/08/cassanova_mckinzys_move_to_mid.htmlJoel A. Erickson | jerickson@al.com By Joel A. Erickson | jerickson@al.com
Cassanova McKinzy's move to middle linebacker brings 'old-school' mentality to Auburn's defense
AUBURN, Alabama -- The man who might be Auburn's best weapon against Arkansas' I-formation rushing attack relishes games like these.
Cassanova McKinzy was bred for another era.
In an era where linebackers are increasingly asked to play out in the open, McKinzy has always felt more comfortable brawling at the line of scrimmage.
"I like it," McKinzy said. "I like the physical prospect of people running the ball."
Auburn is putting McKinzy right in the middle of the fray this season.
In the offseason, defensive coordinator Ellis Johnson shifted McKinzy from the weak side into the middle, a move Johnson would have liked to make last season to take advantage of the Woodlawn product's natural physicality.
In Johnson's 4-2-5 defense, the weak-side linebacker is ideally a better player in coverage, a rangy player that can move side-to-side, and the middle linebacker should be the one taking on offensive linemen in the hole.
But McKinzy wasn't ready to talk.
With senior Jake Holland in the fold and more comfortable being the vocal leader of the defense, McKinzy settled in to the weak side, a role that allowed him to start without the pressure of making all the calls for the defense.
In short, he needed to mature.
"Cass has the greatest skill set of all of them, if he can just be an every-down player and bring it full speed every day," Johnson said. "Everything he does he's got to learn to keep his foot on the pedal and go full speed every play."
Despite a somewhat unnatural fit, McKinzy led the Tigers with 75 tackles, added eight tackles-for-loss, two sacks and picked off a pass early against the Razorbacks.
"A lot of people thought last year was the breakout year for me," McKinzy said. "I feel like it was a real small measure."
McKinzy realized he wanted to be on the front lines.
From the moment he made his first start against Vanderbilt as a freshman, McKinzy established himself as a throwback linebacker. He plays downhill -- at the snap, he's attacking the line of scrimmage, rather than scraping horizontally behind the line -- and at 6-foot-3, 250 pounds, he has the size to take on SEC offensive linemen.
"He is kind of old-school," Tigers coach Gus Malzahn said. "He's a big, big linebacker that can run. He's got very good instincts and he's got a lot of talent."
To use those talents, McKinzy had to prove he could find his voice.
After Johnson told McKinzy and running mate Kris Frost that he was flip-flopping their responsibilities this season, McKinzy made it a point to start leading.
During the summer, he organized his own impromptu skull sessions among the linebackers, texting the rest of the group to meet him in the film room so he could take charge.
And he surprised himself a little bit.
"I like being in control of the defense," McKinzy said. "I like making calls and changing calls and being hands-on with the defensive line."
Above all, McKinzy values defenders with a mean streak; now that he's in charge. the junior linebacker is starting to imprint his own brand of physicality on the rest of the defense.
Asked to moonlight as a pass-rushing defensive end in Auburn's Dime package this season, McKinzy has been impressive off the edge, but he hasn't forgotten about his primary responsibility.
McKinzy-tackles-Collins-Bennett.JPG
Auburn linebacker Cassanova McKinzy (8) brings down Arkansas running back Alex Collins (3) during the fourth quarter at Razorback Stadium Saturday, Nov. 2, 2013, in Fayetteville, Ark. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)
"Cass is definitely still the Mike linebacker, and he been doing a good job of it," senior defensive tackle Gabe Wright said. "He's been getting after guys, and that's something we didn't really see too much of last year."
Auburn's defense needed McKinzy's brand of nastiness. The Tigers gave up 163 rushing yards per game last season, a mark that ranked 63rd in the nation, and Auburn hasn't put together an elite run defense since the 2010 national champs finished ninth in the nation.
With that profile on film, Auburn's season-opening opponent will likely test the run defense early and often.
McKinzy relishes that kind of early test..
"I think we're going to bring a much more physical presence with both (he and Frost) on the field at the same time," McKinzy said. "One of the main things on this defense is to stop the run."
He'll get his chance Saturday.
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