is getting to the passer," said Aranda. "I think that's a
good match; we found a useable pass-rushing group.
But we're going to have to mix things up.
"Everything you put on tape, you have to flip it
somewhat."
Aranda is determined to find more opportunities
for Biegel, who had four tackles last Saturday.
"He's another tough guy, a gritty guy," he said. "The
more you can give him ― job descriptions that fit his
wheelhouse ― the more he's going to do everything
he can do to hit out of the park.
"Because it means so much to him, he'll study it
and work at it and get better at it. The more we can
get him rushing the passer and getting him setting
the edge for us on defense, the better we'll be."
Few, if any ― make that nobody ― would have
guessed that junior college transfer Tanner McEvoy
would be starting and contributing at safety; and not
at quarterback or wide receiver.
"It's a crazy scenario," Aranda agreed. "What allows
that to happen is that there's great buy-in by Tanner
… I also think he's such a natural, a great athlete and
such a great fit.
"The past couple of weeks of practice we've had
more interceptions from our post player than we've
had the whole time I've been here and a lot of that is
due to Tanner and his feel and instincts."
Instinctively, Aranda expressed his concern over Illinois.
"They're a muddle-huddle team, so it's pace," he
said. "They'll go from 22 personnel ― two backs and
two tight ends ― to five wides (wide receivers) on the
next down.
"So there's mass people leaving, mass people coming in, and they're changing personnel groups every
other play, so you really don't know what's coming."
Plus, they're a gadget offense. "Three or four reverses a game," Aranda said. "Maybe one or two reverse passes; the Hook-and-Ladder play, the Statue of
Liberty play, there's a lot."
Illinois is not an opponent that you can sleep on.
None of them are for Aranda.
"It's a crazy scenario," Aranda agreed. "What
allows that to happen is that there's great
buy-in by Tanner … I also think he's such a
natural, a great athlete and such a great fit.
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