Don Brown’s introduction as head football coach at the University of Massachusetts was nearing its conclusion when an unexpected hand went up in the back of the Mullins Center green room.

There was James Ihedigbo, fresh off a phenomenal freshman campaign that saw him snag four interceptions, begging to be called on as if he were back in grammar school.

This was a press conference. His chance to ask all the questions that he wanted to would come later, but the Amherst Regional product needed to know, and he needed to know now, “What kind of defenses are we going to run, coach?” he asked.

To Brown’s credit, he answered the unofficial inquiry to the fullest, addressing reporters and his new players in attendance about fronts, packages and schemes and what he does in various scenarios. It was his first step in the long process of establishing credibility with his new group, and for Ihedigbo it was exactly what he had hoped for.

Ihedigbo, the first starting strong safety in recent memory not named McKenzie, was just one integral part of possibly the best defensive backfield in the Atlantic 10. Luckily, his new coach wanted to attack, cause havoc and never let up. The tone for the 2004 season had been set, and it was only Feb. 9.

“Coach Brown is a defensive genius,” Ihedigbo said. “His system suits the speed and the athletes we have on this team so well, and it’s all about getting after the quarterback and letting us man up on the wide receivers and get physical with them. We have the talent to just shut teams down.”

Brown, meanwhile, relies on the influence of some former stalwarts of the McGuirk trenches to continue to preach his prowess as a defensive mind to the talent that is already in place.

“I think the one thing that’s been good is that I’ve coached a lot of the older guys; the Jeremy Cains and the Anton McKenzies, and I think they’ve helped me in the credibility piece.” the former Northeastern boss said. “That helps me in sending a message to some of the younger guys that I’m OK.

“We’ve got to sell our system. We have to sell our philosophy and the way we go about doing things on both sides of the ball, and that’s a day-to-day challenge that I’m excited about. It’s one of the reasons that I came back here, to instill my system here and just see how it plays itself out.”

Yet make no mistake, while Brown will have input in new offensive coordinator Kevin Morris’ ball-control offense, his heart and soul will be thrust into an aggressive, lightning-quick defense that doesn’t quit – a unit built around five of the best athletes on the team.

Under former defensive coordinator Tom Masella, the Minutemen controlled the line of scrimmage out of a 3-4 alignment and were unbreakable against the run. Now, having lost a tremendous amount of talent and experience along the defensive line and at linebacker, Brown will switch to a 4-3 and rely heavily on dynamic secondary to allow his young guys to get their feet wet.

“If those guys [in the defensive backfield] are talented, it allows you to be more flexible with your fronts,” Brown said. “In reality, with six or seven new front guys, it allows us to do what we have to do to help those guys out and put more pressure on the back edge of the shell to get things done.

“With those guys out there I have a lot of confidence that we’ll be up to the one-on-one challenge.”

Confidence, however, is not a problem amongst cornerbacks Steve Costello, R.J. Cobbs and Tracy Belton and safeties Shannon James and Ihedigbo. Individually, they are pure playmakers in numerous facets of the game. As a group, the possibilities are endless and the unfettered ability to dominate is clearly evident.

“We have the best secondary in the Atlantic 10, without a doubt in my mind.” Cobbs said. “Myself and Steve Costello love to get up in receivers’ faces and get our hands on them. We thrive on the one-on-one challenge and want that responsibility all game long.”

Cobbs, of course, was the Atlantic 10 Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2002 after rushing for 1,067 yards and 14 touchdowns. Now, with the Maroon and White boasting a plethora of talent at tailback, one of the nation’s most electrifying players is returning to his natural position to give Brown another dependable, lock-down cover man.

“From a talent standpoint, I’ve coached a lot of corners over my 28 years and I’d have to say he’s in that upper echelon – that one percent or two percent,” Brown said of Cobbs. “He’s got a great knack of being a physical corner and likes the physical aggressive challenge.”

Costello picked off six passes in an All-Conference 2003 campaign, and was a pre-season All-Conference honoree this season as well after establishing himself as the A-10’s premier cornerback.

“We each have the ability to take receivers out of the game,” Costello said. “[R.J.] and I are very similar in the fact that we’re both always up on the line of scrimmage, looking for a challenge, and we don’t ever want to be beat.

“We want to be out there against the other team’s best guy and prove that we can shut him down.”

The secret weapon in UMass’ ball hawking five-some is Belton, a sophomore who posted four interceptions during his freshman campaign and came on strong during the team’s late season run in 2003.

With Costello, the reigning conference leader in interceptions and Cobbs, very much a known quantity, the Landover, Md. native will be called upon to keep pace with the position’s elder statesman and make an immediate impact in nickel packages – a task Brown feels he is up to.

“Tracy Belton is the real deal,” the coach said. “He’s going to do a lot of good things for us, and that makes us that much deeper back there.”

“With him and Steve and R.J., I think we have three guys who are absolutely the real deal. Those three guys have been excellent and will make us very tough.”

In reality, tough may be most aptly used to describe the team’s dynamite pair of safeties. A three-year starter who learned the world from McKenzie, Shannon James added ten pounds of solid muscle in the off-season to help him continue to gain the runaway train reputation Ihedigbo has already begun to establish. He totaled 211 tackles over the last two seasons at both safety and corner, including 80 solo stops in each of the campaigns, and made the play of the year when he returned a fumble 39 yards for a touchdown in a thrilling 19-13 win at Villanova.

Ihedigbo, meanwhile, received the Vic Fuscia Award as the team’s most improved defensive player after recording 74 tackles, four interceptions, three fumble recoveries and two forced fumbles. Brown hopes he will fit in perfectly as the team’s resident assassin, and Ihedigbo relishes the opportunity to play the run and deliver what he calls “kill shots.”

“When I hit someone, I want them to feel it in their soul.” he said. “I want their mother to feel it … and I’m going to let them know about it on the field.”

“If I get a guy once, they’ll know I’m going to get them again and they’re going to hear it from me. I’ll say ‘I got you and I’ll be here all day.'”

Nonetheless, what may serve the group best when they step onto the field is their cohesiveness. With the consistent pushing, working with and confiding in each other during camp, there is already a bond growing between the five, albeit a competitive one.

James (No. 6) and Ihedigbo (No. 7) changed numbers to join Costello (No. 1) and Cobbs (No. 3) in the single digits. Belton (No. 26) is the only holdout, refusing to give up the number of his childhood hero Rod Woodson. There is also a friendly competition to see who can intercept the most passes during the 2004 season, after the group combined for 18 in 2003.

Thus for Brown, the talent and desire to succeed and improve is certainly there amongst his highly touted secondary. After all, it’s been nearly seven months in the making.

“We’ve been pleased with their effort and enthusiasm and fee
l like we have the talent, especially in the defensive backfield,” Brown said. “Can we come together right away? That’s what’s going to be on me and that’s what we’re trying to get done, but at the very least, we’ve got five guys that compete, work hard and love to play football. That’s all we can ask for out of them.”