Multiplicity
Texas A&M officially announced that DJ Durkin was the team’s new defensive coordinator Friday, and the press release included a very important comment from coach Jimbo Fisher.
“He (Durkin)( has done a tremendous job being multiple in his looks that cause problems for opposing offenses,” Fisher said.
And that’s true. Durkin’s history shows that he can, indeed, be multiple – and that he should have no problem using a base 4-2-5 like Mike Elko did. Durkin schemes his defense around his personnel, and A&M is definitely a base 4-man front team.
Durkin definitely showed the ability to be multiple last year, as he broke out several different lineups over the course of the season. Against Alabama, he ran a 3-3-5 base; against Liberty, they ran a 2-3-6. Against A&M, it was a 3-2-6, and they blitzed the pants off the Aggies the whole game.
When A&M first saw Durkin in 2012 at Florida, he was running a 3-4 set because that’s what Will Mushcamp wanted to do. When he went to Michigan and put together a dominating group in 2015, he ran a more Big 10-friendly 4-3.
Jimbo made it clear when Mike Elko left that the Aggies were going to keep doing what they were doing, at that means a 4-2-5 base. Durkin should have no trouble at all with that.
But…
I think his work at Ole Miss should be instructive. Elko used some 3-3-5 last year and even some 3-2-6 on occasion; I think Durkin may be a lot more willing to do that considering A&M’s strength at corner, safety and nickel. The Aggies have added two fast linebackers already in Martrell Harris and Ish Harris and if they add one other guy (ahem), that could lead to more 3-linebacker looks.
The Aggies have the depth and ability to throw multiple looks at opponents now. Durkin’s the kind of guy who won’t hesitate to do it, either on a week-by-week or a series-to-series basis.
It’s good to have money
One of the more remarkable outcomes of this was that A&M lost a coordinator who was highly liked and respected but no assistants followed him. And the new coordinator kept the exact same staff. That does not happen very often, but it also came with a price tag attached.
Elijah Robinson is now assistant head coach/run game coordinator/defensive line coach, while Tyler Santucci is the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Robinson, who had multiple programs make a run at him this offseason, may now be the highest-paid non-coordinator in college football. We’ve been told his salary is definitely in the high six figures (that’s before the decimal point, wise guys) and could be into seven figures. Santucci also got a significant pay bump. That’s why you see the new titles, to help boost both up the salary ladder.
Two ways to look at Young’s departure
One guy who might have done well in Durkin’s scheme was Erick Young, but he decided to transfer this week. Even though I personally had high expectations for him, it never panned out for him. Like I said the other night, as much as I liked the guy’s potential and skill set, he was sitting in favor of Jardin Gilbert by season’s end.
Last night, Young’s father went to Twitter to complain about his son’s treatment at A&M – not physical or mental, but that he was moved three different times in three years (corner, nickel, safety). That’s true, but from a coaching perspective it makes sense. He got too big and too slow to be an outside corner; then the same situation happened at nickel. It should have been telling (to me) that, when Antonio Johnson went out in the Orange Bowl, Sam Howell immediately attacked Young – including for a touchdown.
So he got moved to safety, but again, his pass coverage skills weren’t as good as expected and he seemed hesitant to tackle – maybe that’s not a surprise, considering he’d already suffered a broken arm and separated shoulder early in his career.
In any event, a change of scenery may be best for him. We’ll see where he ends up, but the numbers definitely caught up with him at A&M.
Aggies go visit Stewart en masse
Defensive end Shemar Stewart isn’t coming to College Station this weekend. He’s in Athens instead, visiting Georgia. So the Aggie coaching staff decided to go to him.
On Wednesday, DJ Durkin had one of his first A&M-related jobs as he went to Miami to see Stewart. Along with tight ends coach James Coley (who recruits the area), D-line coaches Elijah Robinson and Terry Price, WR coach Dameyune Craig and LB coach Tyler Santucci (Jimbo was in Odessa). If you think A&M is willing to settle for what they already have on the defensive front (which is awesome), think again. They wanted to make sure he felt the love and try to deflect any inroads made by Miami.
Some of the visitors for this weekend
Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson 4-star CB Tony Mitchell
Longview 4-star WR Jalen Hale
Del Valle 4-star WR Braylon James
A lot more guys will be making the trek in next weekend, as A&M holds their first Junior Day on the 29th.
Perkins keeping it interesting
Last weekend, 5-star LB Harold Perkins visited Florida, largely due to his past relationship with Corey Raymond when he was at LSU. Billy Napier is definitely interested in him, and could use a boost to a pretty weak first class in Gainesville. Mario Cristobal has his shot this weekend, and is hoping to add Perkins and Shemar Stewart to make a big closing splash in his first recruiting class at Miami. And then there’s LSU, the team Perkins has wanted to see get involved for some time. He’s supposed to official there next weekend, right before the dead period begins. Odds are still favorable that he sticks with A&M due to the relationships he has and the pressure he’s getting from Houston-area signees, but nothing’s certain with this one.
Texas A&M officially announced that DJ Durkin was the team’s new defensive coordinator Friday, and the press release included a very important comment from coach Jimbo Fisher.
“He (Durkin)( has done a tremendous job being multiple in his looks that cause problems for opposing offenses,” Fisher said.
And that’s true. Durkin’s history shows that he can, indeed, be multiple – and that he should have no problem using a base 4-2-5 like Mike Elko did. Durkin schemes his defense around his personnel, and A&M is definitely a base 4-man front team.
Durkin definitely showed the ability to be multiple last year, as he broke out several different lineups over the course of the season. Against Alabama, he ran a 3-3-5 base; against Liberty, they ran a 2-3-6. Against A&M, it was a 3-2-6, and they blitzed the pants off the Aggies the whole game.
When A&M first saw Durkin in 2012 at Florida, he was running a 3-4 set because that’s what Will Mushcamp wanted to do. When he went to Michigan and put together a dominating group in 2015, he ran a more Big 10-friendly 4-3.
Jimbo made it clear when Mike Elko left that the Aggies were going to keep doing what they were doing, at that means a 4-2-5 base. Durkin should have no trouble at all with that.
But…
I think his work at Ole Miss should be instructive. Elko used some 3-3-5 last year and even some 3-2-6 on occasion; I think Durkin may be a lot more willing to do that considering A&M’s strength at corner, safety and nickel. The Aggies have added two fast linebackers already in Martrell Harris and Ish Harris and if they add one other guy (ahem), that could lead to more 3-linebacker looks.
The Aggies have the depth and ability to throw multiple looks at opponents now. Durkin’s the kind of guy who won’t hesitate to do it, either on a week-by-week or a series-to-series basis.
It’s good to have money
One of the more remarkable outcomes of this was that A&M lost a coordinator who was highly liked and respected but no assistants followed him. And the new coordinator kept the exact same staff. That does not happen very often, but it also came with a price tag attached.
Elijah Robinson is now assistant head coach/run game coordinator/defensive line coach, while Tyler Santucci is the co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Robinson, who had multiple programs make a run at him this offseason, may now be the highest-paid non-coordinator in college football. We’ve been told his salary is definitely in the high six figures (that’s before the decimal point, wise guys) and could be into seven figures. Santucci also got a significant pay bump. That’s why you see the new titles, to help boost both up the salary ladder.
Two ways to look at Young’s departure
One guy who might have done well in Durkin’s scheme was Erick Young, but he decided to transfer this week. Even though I personally had high expectations for him, it never panned out for him. Like I said the other night, as much as I liked the guy’s potential and skill set, he was sitting in favor of Jardin Gilbert by season’s end.
Last night, Young’s father went to Twitter to complain about his son’s treatment at A&M – not physical or mental, but that he was moved three different times in three years (corner, nickel, safety). That’s true, but from a coaching perspective it makes sense. He got too big and too slow to be an outside corner; then the same situation happened at nickel. It should have been telling (to me) that, when Antonio Johnson went out in the Orange Bowl, Sam Howell immediately attacked Young – including for a touchdown.
So he got moved to safety, but again, his pass coverage skills weren’t as good as expected and he seemed hesitant to tackle – maybe that’s not a surprise, considering he’d already suffered a broken arm and separated shoulder early in his career.
In any event, a change of scenery may be best for him. We’ll see where he ends up, but the numbers definitely caught up with him at A&M.
Aggies go visit Stewart en masse
Defensive end Shemar Stewart isn’t coming to College Station this weekend. He’s in Athens instead, visiting Georgia. So the Aggie coaching staff decided to go to him.
On Wednesday, DJ Durkin had one of his first A&M-related jobs as he went to Miami to see Stewart. Along with tight ends coach James Coley (who recruits the area), D-line coaches Elijah Robinson and Terry Price, WR coach Dameyune Craig and LB coach Tyler Santucci (Jimbo was in Odessa). If you think A&M is willing to settle for what they already have on the defensive front (which is awesome), think again. They wanted to make sure he felt the love and try to deflect any inroads made by Miami.
Some of the visitors for this weekend
Alabaster (Ala.) Thompson 4-star CB Tony Mitchell
Longview 4-star WR Jalen Hale
Del Valle 4-star WR Braylon James
A lot more guys will be making the trek in next weekend, as A&M holds their first Junior Day on the 29th.
Perkins keeping it interesting
Last weekend, 5-star LB Harold Perkins visited Florida, largely due to his past relationship with Corey Raymond when he was at LSU. Billy Napier is definitely interested in him, and could use a boost to a pretty weak first class in Gainesville. Mario Cristobal has his shot this weekend, and is hoping to add Perkins and Shemar Stewart to make a big closing splash in his first recruiting class at Miami. And then there’s LSU, the team Perkins has wanted to see get involved for some time. He’s supposed to official there next weekend, right before the dead period begins. Odds are still favorable that he sticks with A&M due to the relationships he has and the pressure he’s getting from Houston-area signees, but nothing’s certain with this one.
