“That defense, man. That defense is athletic,” he said. “Even when Lavonte David was here, obviously he brought just the ultimate in being an athlete. He could run a guy down from the backside. He could get cut block and still get up and make the tackle. But overall (this year), in each spot, I feel it’s very athletic. … They fly around to the ball and that’s what you want, because if they give the offense the ball, more than likely we’re going to score.”

Abdullah says going against a defense playing with such confidence can only make his side better.

That's why he keeps telling offensive players to keep their heads up even if the defense gets the upper hand more times than not this spring.

“We know what we’re going against,” he said. “We could potentially be going against the best defense in the Big Ten this year, I feel like, because of how well those guys have been competing. Obviously you can say it, but they got to prove it. But I have confidence in my team.

“There are days when they kick our butts. We have to understand, we’re young, we’re still feeling some things out. We have a few new wrinkles in the offense that we’re getting used to. We understand going against them day-in, day-out is going to make us better at the end of the day.”