After spending 12 seasons coaching at the NFL level, it was a shock to many when former New England Patriots play-caller Steve Belichick came to Montlake to run the Washington Huskies defense under coach Jedd Fisch.
According to Fisch, it hasn’t taken him very long to get adjusted to the world of college football, either.
“He loves it,” Fisch said in an interview with Adam Breneman of the Big Ten Network. “He’s been awesome, and as he says, it’s still 11 on 11. You’ve still got to do your job, you’ve still got to set the edge, make sure you’re gap-controlled, and you’ve still got to know how to play man coverage.”
“But what he’s noticed and what we’ve talked about is how quickly guys can get better. In the NFL, you can have four weeks of practice, and you’re not going to see a big jump in your football team. In college football, you can have four weeks of practice and you can see an enormous jump in how you play the game.”
In Washington’s season opener against Weber State, it was clear that Belichick’s defense has improved a lot throughout fall camp and under the guise of Fisch’s impressive coaching staff. Cornerback Thaddeus Dixon showed off that improvement, leading the Husky secondary in the 35-3 victory as it allowed just 3.1 yards per attempt and held Wildcats quarterback Richie Muñoz to just 98 passing yards while completing just 34 percent of his passes.
Washington’s defensive performance in Week One showed not only that Belichick appears to be comfortable calling plays at the college level but that his players are extremely comfortable playing in his new scheme.