Smarter than Heacock? Never stated as much.
But I do challenge those who immediately dismiss to find fault with what was said. Our "stats" are good but have come (mostly) against weak teams/offenses. The LB core is terrible and a lot of our defensive issues start with their inability to fill gaps, make tackles, and or drop into coverage. We also tend to get burned more, and consistently, when we only rush 3 defenders. Suggesting we try to get more aggressive to: A) generate pressure B) Mitigate the LB weakness is hardly outlandish. Additionally suggesting that's better accomplished by using a lineman, as the LBs are terrible, is also an easily defensible position.
Ultimately our defensive success is almost solely predicated on the talent in the secondary and the improved ability to create TOs/interceptions. Amazingly we have done this with (often) very little in the way of pressure. This is a combo of that talent and the quality of our opponents. Cooper is also crazy at creating and converting those opportunities. He could have had two today, the first was a tough play while the 2nd he should have caught, a rare miss for him.
Many on here may be in denial but our defense will struggle against ANY competent QB. Lucky for us this is one of the worst QB groups the Big 12 has fielded. The one good QB we did face? He (Gabriel) torched us and exposed our lack of pass rush and inability of our backers to cover talent in space. Bean/Daniel will give us issues, KSU will give us issues, and Texas will if Ewers is able to start. We might get lucky and have him out in that game. Regardless I expect the stats, due to quality of the lines and QBs, to drop off immensely these last 4 weeks.
But hey, keep spouting the inaccurate hyperboles.