Preseason Interview with LB Logan Kopp
Last season, Logan Kopp was named to the MVFC All-Conference First Team. He looks to build off of that success as NDSU fights to get back on top.
Last season, Logan Kopp was named to the MVFC All-Conference First Team. He looks to build off of that success as NDSU fights to get back on top.
What are you seeing from the defense so far?
A lot of really, really good things. Obviously, we’ve only had three practices so far, but I’ve seen a lot of positives for us. Three things that we pride ourselves on are playing hard, playing fast, and playing together. I think all three of those things have been shown. We definitely have a lot to improve on, but there definitely have been a lot of positives so far.
What do you think makes a good linebacker
It all starts with desire. What is your desire? What are you out there to do? If you’re out there to play timid and slow, that’s what you’re going to do. But if you have this desire to go out and play fast, and to go attack the guy with the ball, [that’s what you want]. And then beyond that, you have to have good feet, you have to have good eyes, you have to know what’s going on around you, with your teammates, you have to know who’s on the left, and right who’s in front of you and who’s behind you. And then once you do that, you just have to worry about doing your 111s. There are 11 guys on the field and they all have to be successful—you don’t have to try to do less and you don’t have to do more.
What are you excited most about this season?
Getting to play football with my best friends. There’s nothing better than the group of guys within this team, and specifically within this linebacker room. The friendship and the bond that we’ve created—not only on the field but off the field in the past four years since I’ve been here, is unlike any other. It truly is a brotherhood. I get to go out and battle and go to war with these guys on Saturdays and it’s truly something special. It’s so much fun. Getting to enjoy success with my teammates and coaches is the best.
What do you think you’ve improved on most from last year to this year?
I think I’ve gotten stronger. I think I’ve gotten faster. One emphasis that myself as well as the whole defensive has had over this offseason is tackling. We weren’t as good of a Itackling team as we wanted to be last season. And so this season, our goal is to be physical and be the best tackling team in the country. And so we’ve done a lot over camp so far and over the offseason to work on ways to get better at tackling, whether it’s going through it physically, whether it’s watching the film on what went wrong when you missed the tackle.
