Total Defense. NCAA Leaders: Wallie Kuchinski, St. Thomas (Minnesota) defensive coordinator

Summary: Today’s guest on this “NCAA Leaders” edition of the USA Football Coach and Coordinator podcast is Wallie Kuchinski, defensive coordinator at the University of St. Thomas, an NCAA Division III school in St. Paul, Minnesota. This past season, St. Thomas led Division III football in multiple categories, including total defense, third-down defense and rushing defense. On today’s episode, Kuchinski and host Keith Grabowski talk about game planning and coaching tackling fundamentals. Show Notes 1:13 Kuchinski’s background in coaching 5:50 Key lessons Kuchinski has learned through his career 8:00 Building culture 10:40 Teaching in the meeting rooms 15:10 Helping players understand the playbook 20:45 Coaching technique 22:30 Stressing tackling fundamentals 27:50 Circumstantial football 32:45 The winning edge