Ron Roberts isn’t trying to be negative — except when it comes to the play of his defense.

Auburn’s new defensive coordinator prides himself on his unit’s ability to create negative plays, or cause havoc as it’s typically referred to. It’s at the core of his philosophy as a defensive coach, and he has carried it with him throughout his 30-plus year career.

“That’s the nature of what you’re talking about when you’re evaluating and putting it together,” Roberts said. “We call it havoc — the havoc rate. We calculate tackles for loss, sacks, PBUs, interceptions, turnovers, any of that stuff. Our goal as a defense is always to work in the 20 percent category. That means on 20 percent of the plays, we’ve got to work to create havoc. If you do that, you’re going to be in the top-20 in the country. So that’s our goal, coming out of the gate.”

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Roberts hopes to make it a calling card for Auburn now that he’s part of Hugh Freeze’s inaugural staff, but it’ll take work as he inherits a defense that struggled in many regards last season — with pass coverage one of the few exceptions — and must replace its three best pass-rushers in Derick Hall, Eku Leota and Colby Wooden.

Auburn struggled to create negative plays at times last season, finishing 78th in the country in sacks (26) and 101st in tackles for loss (62). Hall, Leota and Wooden combined to account for 15 of those sacks and 28.5 of those tackles for loss. The Tigers, despite a top-25 pass defense in terms of yards per attempt and passing efficiency, also had a difficult time generating pass breakups and interceptions, finishing the year 88th in the nation in passes defended (48).

Auburn was also lagging in the other key variable when it comes to havoc rate — turnovers forced. The Tigers were 112th nationally in takeaways, with just 13 on the season.

“That’s what we need to work at,” Roberts said. “What does that mean? How do you control that? You control that with attempts at the ball. You control some of that, schematically, with how tackles for losses occur. Tackles for loss typically occur off of D-line movement, stunts, pressure. If you’re going to get them, you’ve got to do it. If you’re going to sit there in a base defense, the only way you get them then is if my guy is better than your guy and whoops him and gets a TFL.

“But the nature we play, we’re going to go after it and get tackles for loss, get behind the sticks and put us in favorable downs.”

That means an aggressive philosophy defensively, and not just along a rebuilt defensive line. Yes, Auburn will lean on Marcus Harris, a starter the last two seasons after transferring from Kansas, to step up after finishing third on the team—behind Hall and Wooden—with 6.5 tackles for loss last season. It will also aim to get more out of the likes of Jeffrey M’ba and Jayson Jones, as well as incoming transfers Justin Rogers, Lawrence Johnson and Mosiah Nasili-Kite up front.

But Auburn will also be strategic with its Jack linebackers/edge rushers and defensive backs when it comes to generating pressure and creating negative plays.

“It’s really, like, what are you risking? It depends,” Roberts said. “Pressure doesn’t always mean you’re in zero coverage or in man coverage or even putting your coverage at risk. Obviously, you don’t want to do that if you’ve got, like, a 14-point lead and the clock becomes your friend. All of that, obviously, depends on the context of your game.”

Roberts is regarded as one of the premier defensive minds in college football, with an impressive coaching tree that includes Ole Miss (and former Alabama) defensive coordinator Pete Golding, Cincinnati defensive coordinator Bryan Brown, Florida defensive coordinator Patrick Toney and Baylor head coach Dave Aranda, whom he brought up at Delta State and then worked under at Baylor the last three seasons.

Roberts’ defenses at Baylor had that penchant for aggressive play and made their names off creating havoc. The most successful of those three seasons was in 2021, when the Bears had a top-10 scoring defense and posted one of the nation’s top havoc rates at 27 percent, according to Roberts.

During that campaign, while limiting opponents to 18.3 points per game in a Big 12 known more for its high-powered offenses than its stifling defenses, Baylor won the conference title in large part due to its defensive performance. The Bears were fifth in the country in sacks (44), seventh in tackles for loss (104), third in interceptions (19), 28th in pass breakups (48) and seventh in takeaways (27).

Baylor’s havoc rate dropped off last season, coming in at about 18 percent, according to Roberts, who said the Bears “missed a lot of opportunities to make those plays.” Typically, his defenses post a havoc rate of about 20 percent — his previously stated goal heading into every season.

Getting Auburn to that mark will take some effort, of course, given what the Tigers must replace from a unit that already struggled with creating havoc.

Fortunately, he’ll have a staff that seems well-equipped to help achieve that goal. Linebackers coach Josh Aldridge spent last year as defensive coordinator for Freeze at Liberty, where he worked to emulate Roberts’ system. Jeremy Garrett, Auburn’s new defensive line coach, was also on staff at Liberty, which finished fifth in the nation in sacks (45, including 13 in three games against Power 5 competition) and led all FBS defenses in tackles for loss (121).

“Schematically, you know, we’re going to be multiple,” Roberts said. “You have to be multiple nowadays in college football and the SEC. You’ve got to have multiple (fronts). We can’t just sit in a front, unless you have better players than everybody else. You can’t do that. Offensive coordinators will pick you apart. The skill level is too good. They’ll find a weakness.

“We’ll be multiple in what we do, but we will play with aggression. We will blitz. We will pressure. We will be an aggressive defense.”

And one, he hopes, that causes plenty of havoc.

Tom Green is an Auburn beat reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @Tomas_Verde.