Improved pass rush in 2019 pivotal for Brian Michalowski's OLBs

When Colorado outside linebackers coach Brian Michalowski originally interviewed for a gig with Mel Tucker's incoming coaching staff at CU, it was for the director of quality control for defense, a job he held at Georgia in 2018 under Tucker and current Colorado DC Tyson Summers.

However, Michalowski earned a promotion quickly at Colorado and now oversees the outside linebackers, a position he views as critical to the success of CU's defense in 2019. In more specific terms, the OLBs' ability to consistently pressure enemy quarterbacks is of paramount importance.

"If we’re not pass rushing well, I don’t think we’re going to be very good on defense," he said. "If we are pass rushing well, we’ve got a shot to be pretty dang good. I take a lot of personal ownership with it — we’re teaching it every single day. We’re making sure that we’re going to be physical and when we do get those opportunities to rush the passer, we can’t miss.”

For Michalowski, incorporating a constant harassing of the opposing team's quarterback has a dual meaning — blitzing the QB is a form of pass coverage, albeit and aggressive one.

"I tell guys all the time that one of the best pass defenses ain’t cover 4, it ain’t cover 3, it ain’t cover 2 — it’s pass rush," he said. "If you’re hitting the QB, it really doesn’t matter what you’re running in the back end. I really think for us, pass rush is so important."

It would be intellectually disingenuous to not point out the tests that await his OLBs this upcoming season. Colorado's defense in 2019, almost without a break, will square up against some of the more impressive quarterbacks in the country.

Adrian Martinez of Nebraska, Khalil Tate of Arizona, Oregon's Justin Herbert and Tyler Huntley of the Utah Utes to name a handful. Michalowski is right to emphasize an efficient pass rush against this season's opposing QBs. CU's ability to do so, on top of the OLBs' job to contain the run game, will be a make or break factor in its to-be-determined effectiveness.

"We’re expected to make tackles on defense," Michalowski said. "It’s a prerequisite to the job. But when you’re doing that extra effort and being relentless, you’re hitting the quarterback. That’s the bonus, that’s the moneyball and why pass rushers get picked in the top 10 of the NFL Draft. I really see that as a differentiating thing."

That expectation was set from the get-go.

"For my guys, [I said] ‘Hey, we are getting after the quarterback this year,'" he said. "Sometimes you have to speak things into existence...I incorporate that into my teaching and meetings — it creates a confidence in the room."

At the end of the day, rest easy knowing that the coach in charge of the outside linebackers has big things envisioned for his position group.

“I think the OLB position can be really the most impactful position on our defense," Michalowski said. "We can be really effective at stopping the run by squeezing hips and setting edges and building a wall...We can be great by stopping the run and if we get a tip that [the play] is going to be a pass, then we’re going to change our mindset and we’re going to get after the quarterback."