Monday, August 24, 1998
Defense Man
DEFENSE: Of all the pressures the Bruins face, adapting to a new
coach may be easist
By Vytas Mazeika
Daily Bruin Staff
If everything goes as planned, not a single soul will recognize
the changes in the UCLA defense.
No one will notice that only four starters return from last
season’s turnover-mad juggernaut. No one will notice how instead of
a three lineman, three linebacker and five defensive back
formation, the seventh-ranked Bruins will add a linebacker and take
away a defensive back. But the true challenge belongs to Nick
Aliotti, UCLA’s new defensive coordinator.
Aliotti must make sure no one notices the departure of Rocky
Long, UCLA’s defensive coordinator last season. Long was named head
coach at New Mexico after the Bruins’ triumphant 1997 campaign – a
season which ended with UCLA ranked No. 2 nationally in turnover
margin (+1.82).
When UCLA head coach Bob Toledo had to look for a replacement,
he knew where to go. Toledo and Aliotti worked together in 1988,
Toledo’s last season as offensive coordinator at the University of
Oregon. Aliotti kept coaching the Ducks until 1994 and spent the
last three seasons as an assistant coach for the St. Louis Rams of
the National Football League.
His attacking style created the "Gang Green" defense which
helped the Ducks during its 1994 Rose Bowl season. Now that
attacking style is expected to take the ball away from the
opposition and hand it over to UCLA quarterback and Heisman trophy
candidate Cade McNown. Then, if all goes right, the Bruins will
challenge for a national title and reach the Fiesta Bowl National
Championship game on Jan. 4.
All of these factors add up to a lot of pressure for a
first-year defensive coordinator, but Aliotti isn’t breaking a
sweat.
"Nobody puts more pressure on me than I’m going to put on
myself," Aliotti said. "I do the best I can, give it all I’ve got,
and hopefully, that’s good enough to win a lot of football games.
But you can’t worry about the outside pressure because you can’t
control those things."
Aliotti stresses that college football should be fun. All of the
Bruins returning from spring practices praise their defensive tutor
on his player-relation skills. Although it took a while for the
players to grasp the changes implemented into the defense, neither
the players nor Aliotti were discouraged.
Outside linebacker Brendon Ayanbadejo and strong safety Larry
Atkins, the only two seniors returning from last season’s defense,
noticed how Aliotti’s love for the game constantly kept him on the
practice field until virtually every player had no more questions.
No one’s dedication goes unnoticed.
"Guys want to work hard because they know (Aliotti) will commend
them on their hard work," Ayanbadejo said. "He’s caring and he
loves us all. He encourages us to be out here, and he can’t stay
off the field for anything. He’s always out here trying to help us,
and that makes it easy to get personal with him."
Toledo never doubted Aliotti would fit in the Bruin system.
There was no interview and talks about what approach would be taken
with the defense were rather simple. Under the right circumstances,
the defense must attack and blitz. The opposition’s offense must
worry about what the UCLA defense does, rather than vice-versa.
"My nature is we’re going to try and win first down," Aliotti
said.
"Always, philosophically, stop the run and put the other team in
second and long situations. And then hopefully we’ll have a chance
to dictate to them whether we want to blitz, play zone or something
else."
Although this aggressive philosophy appears rather simple,
sophomore defensive-end Kenyon Coleman can attest that Aliotti’s
strategy is as complicated as Long’s 1997 defensive scheme. Players
must learn new terms introduced by Aliotti, and player assignments
will differ due to the new formation. But by the last five days of
spring practice the defense appeared in sync, and within one week
most players expect to feel at ease with the new defense.
By the time the Bruins line up to stop Heisman candidate Ricky
Williams and Texas at the Rose Bowl in three weeks, everyone
expects a reprise of last year’s chaotic defense.
"If you look from the stands with the naked eye, you’ll think
that it’s the same defense," Toledo said. "If you’re really a
student of the game – a coach – you’ll realize that it’s a 3-4-4
instead of a 3-3-5. But when you see some of the blitzes and the
dogs and the attacking approach, it’ll be just like last year."
Although several of the expected starters received a decent
share of playing time, all of their roles will greatly expand this
season.
The loss of a first-round player such as free safety Shaun
Williams (plus linebackers such as Brian Willmer, Danjuan Magee and
Wasswa Serwanga) is brutal. To replace such great talents the
Bruins will depend on those who received limited playing time and
the incoming freshmen.
Freshmen such as linebacker Robert Thomas (one of the top 5
incoming high school seniors) and cornerback Lovell Houston are
expected to make an immediate impact. Other freshmen who impressed
Aliotti in the first two days of practice are defensive linemen Ken
Kocher and Rusty Williams, plus defensive back Julius Williams.
"I think we have bigger and better athletes than we did last
year," Coleman said. "The thing that’s going to be a lot different
is that last year we had a lot of maturity and a lot of experience.
Those guys were smart guys and they got the job done."
Maturity from 18- and 19-year-old players is a lot to ask for.
That’s why Toledo hopes players like Coleman and Atkins can use
their athleticism to make the coaches look good. Junior Eric
Whitfield is expected to more than adequately fill in for the
departed Williams at free safety. Converted fullback Cheyane
Caldwell should help bolster the linebacker core.
Finally, the two seniors will be key. Ayanbadejo will play a
more vocal and mature role. Whether he’ll become the leader is yet
to be seen. Atkins, who is not the most outspoken of players, will
keep inspiring others with his work ethic and dominance in the
secondary.
And of course, there is one more thing these seniors must worry
about.
Extra motivation that will creep in the week of November 21 –
the week of the Southern Cal game. The last thing Atkins and
Ayanbadeyo want to do is be the first senior class in eight years
to lose to those hated Trojans.
"That’s a thought that comes – especially at the end of the
year," Atkins said. "The guys I came in with and didn’t redshirt
are gone and they can say ‘At least I didn’t lose to ‘SC.’ Right
now this is my last year, and if I go out with a loss to ‘SC that’s
something that I’ll never, ever stop hearing about."
More pressure – that’s all the No. 7 Bruins and Aliotti’s
defense needs. Pressure to learn a new defense. Pressure to make-up
for the loss of maturity. Pressure to keep the city championship.
Pressure to win the national championship. Pressure to live up to
expectations.
But maybe, just maybe, the Bruins won’t shy away from the tough
road that lies ahead.
"Pressure is good," Atkins said. "That’s when you see the true
team perform – when they’re under pressure."BAHMAN FARAHDEL/Daily
Bruin
Nick Aliotti has replaced Rocky Long as the defensive
coordinator for the UCLA football team. He has begun introducing
his own style of play.