Anytime a new coaching staff takes over a program, there is endless work that needs to be done. From roster building to culture building, establishing a new standard and brand of football is key to delivering future success.

For Matt Campbell and his assistants, that process is no different.

Since the start of spring ball, it’s been clear that Campbell is looking to use the first weeks of practice to educate his team, rather than outwork it.

“I still believe that coaching is teaching, and teaching is the ability to inspire learning every time you go out to practice, or every time you go to a meeting,” he said. “It’s really important to make sure that we provide the platform to be great teachers.”

Campbell is no stranger to taking on new head coaching jobs and starting fresh. Prior to arriving in Happy Valley, he served as the main man at both Toledo and Iowa State. While each position poses unique challenges and variability in the makeup of the team, the fundamentals of development remain the same.

“Even in a spring practice setting, it’s going to look a little different just based on where you’re at. I don’t think it’s so foreign to me in terms of starting over, but I do think aligning everybody [remains the goal],” he said. “Slow and right is really the process.”

A large part of that alignment is ensuring all the coaches are on the same page with how they communicate with the athletes. One of the individuals who has been a catalyst for achieving this is defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn.

Lynn’s experience in the NFL has undoubtedly enhanced his ability to be a great communicator. Having held positions with the Buffalo Bills, Los Angeles Chargers, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens, he understands that maximizing teaching during a short season is pivotal.

“One of the great gifts that [Lynn] has, and what was so impressive to me even throughout the interview process, is his ability to articulate what [he] wants out of a defense, and what his expectations are. He’s a great holistic teacher,” Campbell said. “I think that’s been the fun thing, to watch him align the coaching staff on verbiage, communication, everybody speaking the same language.”

Safeties coach Deon Broomfield has noticed similar traits in Lynn and has adopted one of his leadership tactics, which he coined “obnoxious communication.”

Whether it be over-emphasizing hand signals, relaying back information both verbally and non-verbally, or leaving no gray area when it comes to defensive goals, clarity is key for operating as a unit.

“Anytime you play defensive football, you want to make sure that communication is imperative,” Broomfield said. “That was one of the first coaching points that [Lynn] talked about. He talked about his expectation of how he wants the defense to operate.”

Being deliberate in communication does not, however, mean that spring practices will lack intensity. Alignment of communication is a supplement to the hard work that has already taken place so far inside Holuba Hall.

“Don’t get ‘slow and right’ twisted with intentful, meaningful, passionate reps,” Campbell said. “There are wins and losses on every rep that happen in the sport of football.”

This was particularly evident while watching the running backs approach agility and ball security drills. Running backs coach Savon Huggins made sure each player was attacking every rep with a high degree of competitiveness, running hard through the blue cone marking the finish. Players who didn’t follow proper instructions had to repeat the attempt.

The coaching staff hopes that instilling this sense of accountability early in the year will translate to perfecting the details come late-August. Campbell believes that using the spring to create a mindset that revolves around toughness will result in a team that’s built for the moment.

“I’m not as concerned with the wins and losses as how we respond to the wins and losses,” he said. “To me, those are great measuring sticks for our staff and our players to see where they’re at, where we continue to move ourselves forward.”