Gophers DC Corey Hetherman wants to 'play fast every single play'

Hetherman wants his defense's identity to be fast and physical football.

Oct 28, 2023; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Golden Gophers defensive lineman Jah Joyner (17) celebrates his strip-sack and fumble recovery against the Michigan State Spartans with defensive lineman Jalen Logan-Redding (97) during the fourth quarter at Huntington Bank Stadium. / Nick Wosika-USA TODAY Sports

New Gophers defensive coordinator Corey Hetherman has made it clear what he wants his unit's identity to be this season: speed and physicality.

"Number one, we want to play fast," Hetherman said on BTN. "We want our guys to take shots, we want to play fast every single play, we want to swarm to the football. Number two, we want to be physical. We want to be stout at the point of attack. We want to stop the run, we're gonna try to make people one-dimensional. We're gonna try to stay ahead of the sticks every play. If we play physical and we play fast, that's what the DNA of our defense has to be."

Hetherman replaces Joe Rossi as the Gophers' DC this year after two seasons as the linebackers coach at Rutgers. Before that, he was a defensive coordinator at the FCS level for Maine (2015-18) and James Madison (2019-21). At JMU's his defenses were always in the top ten in points and yards allowed.

The ethos of Hetherman's defenses has always been aggressiveness. He'll look to use that approach to turn around a Gophers defense that allowed 26.7 points per game last season, which was tied for 67th in the nation. After losing star safety Tyler Nubin to the NFL draft this year, Minnesota's defense will be led by linemen Jah Joyner and Danny Striggow, linebacker Cody Lindenberg, and defensive back Jack Henderson.

Another returner, cornerback Justin Walley, says Hetherman brings "that fire" to the team's defense.

"A big thing he stands on is excitement," Walley said on BTN. "No matter how a day's going, anytime anybody makes a play, everybody's on the sideline getting happy, excited. That just brings the whole mood of the defense up."

The Gophers open the 2024 season against veteran quarterback Max Johnson and North Carolina on August 29 in Minneapolis.

Related: Gophers new DC Corey Hetherman 'eats, breathes and sleeps football'