Northwestern's defense wanted to send a clear message during the spring practice period. The NU defense gained plenty of attention last year for all the wrong things—missed assignments, lack of communication, shoddy tackling and a propensity for allowing big plays.

The Wildcats' coaching staff worked all spring on simplifying the defense, fixing breakdowns in communication and working on fundamentals. The spring game displayed that improvement with the Wildcats pressing the quarterback, forcing starting quarterback Kain Colter out of his comfort zone and playing with an aggressive style that will be needed next year to offset the losses of numerous key skill offensive players.

"I think that side of the ball, I think I said this earlier in the spring, was very ...More