The former Maryland head coach will be the next defensive coordinator on the plains
After a long month of staff changes, Hugh Freeze finally has his 2024 staff set in place. He rounded it out with a top notch hire in D.J Durkin as defensive coordinator. This previous season, Durkin was in the same role under Jimbo Fisher at Texas A&M. He fielded an impressive unit, one that ranked number 19 in the nation.
This hire is a good one and the job on the field will reflect that
-Ike Jones on the Morning Drop
Durkin will run a system similar to that of Ron Roberts. A modified 4-2-5 is a common denominator for these coordinators, the main difference is D.J’s tendency to contribute 3 lineman every play and have a hybrid Jack/Edge along the front. This scheme fits many of the recruits in this 2024 recruiting class, particularly Amaris Williams who will have flexibility on his position, he’s a player that can rotate from edge to defensive tackle with ease.
Questions have been raised about Charles Kelley and his role as Co-DC. Truthfully, the confidence in Kelley’s abilities as a play caller is woefully low from myself. He’s an outstanding recruiter that needs work on his X’s and O’s however the opportunity to work with someone like D.J Durkin will help improve that drastically. This is a solid hire all things considered, having a cohesive staff top to bottom is worth much more than a slight improvement in play calling that Ron Roberts would have provided.
You can listen to this conversation and more on the The War Rapport’s YouTube channel.
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