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BYU cornerback Jakob Robinson (0) intercepts a pass vs. Cincinnati returns it for a touchdown at LaVell Edwards Stadium in Provo on Friday, Sept. 29, 2023. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News
Two games into his final season at BYU, veteran cornerback Jakob Robinson looks around at his defense and likes what he sees.
“The pressure has changed,” the senior cornerback told BYUtv’s “GameDay” pregame show. “We have the defensive line getting back there super fast and the linebackers’ blitzes are getting through. That is the night and day difference.”
Just two games into the season, the defense is quickly establishing an identity that is much different from a year ago. Part of it is the familiarity with the scheme, in Jay Hill’s second year as defensive coordinator. The other part is talented execution.
Robinson is running around a secondary that is as deep as BYU has had in years. The Cougars expect to add an additional weapon Saturday with Mory Bamba returning from injury.
With growing confidence, BYU pounced on SMU’s first two possessions. The Cougars harassed quarterback Preston Stone, sacking him twice and forcing punts on consecutive fourth-and-19s.
The Mustangs, who averaged 53.9 points during their previous nine-game home winning streak, inserted a second, more mobile quarterback and still couldn’t find the end zone. On a night where BYU’s offense sputtered, the defense saved the day.
“There are going to be games where (opponents) are going to score a lot on us and the offense will have to score a lot. It just depends,” Robinson said. “If the offense isn’t scoring as much, we have to back them up.”
The BYU defense certainly had Jake Retzlaff’s back in Dallas. The junior quarterback turned the ball over three times and put the Cougars in precarious positions. Robinson and the defense…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/jakob-robinson-byu-defense-momentum-010000562.html
Author : Deseret News
Publish date : 2024-09-14 01:00:00
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