Seminole Defense Is Dramatically Improved

FLORIDA STATE DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR MARK STOOPS has turned one of the worst defenses in the country into one of the best in his first year.

By BOB FERRANTE

December 2, 2010

TALLAHASSEE | Few college football teams in the past decade have achieved the kind of statistical improvement that the Florida State defense has enjoyed in 2010.

The Seminoles were among the nation's worst defenses last year: 94th in scoring defense (allowing 30 points per game) and 108th in rush defense (204 yards per game).

The numbers in 2010 show a stunning reversal: the Seminoles are 11th in scoring defense (17.8 points per game) and 23rd in rush defense (123 yards per game).

"I definitely have an appreciation for what we've done," FSU senior linebacker Kendall Smith said. "Our defense is one of the top defenses in the nation. I'm glad to be a part of it. I feel all of the hard work pays off.

"We have a lot of hard workers on defense, and we have a lot of young guys that stepped up and play like seniors. I'm happy with the progress that we made."

Progress may be an understatement. After the defense suffered through its worst season in decades, Mickey Andrews retired and new coordinator Mark Stoops has re-energized the Seminoles.

Gone are the mostly man-to-man principles that were a staple of Andrews' defenses. The Seminoles struggled in recent years to match up against spread offenses, and Stoops' schemes - which include man and zone coverages - have played to the strengths of players, who have been able to use their speed, athleticism and desire to deliver hard hits.

Stoops isn't allowed to speak with the media, but FSU players all say they love his schemes -- which often put players in position to make plays. And, of course, they relish the opportunity to deliver a ferocious hit, something that wasn't as likely in man-to-man coverage in the Andrews Era.

FSU (9-3) couldn't prevent the big plays last year, but in 2010 the Seminoles have shaved 12 points off their per-game average going in to Saturday's ACC championship game against Virginia Tech (10-2). And FSU is getting contributions from nearly every player -- many of them returning starters.

Linebackers Nigel Bradham and Kendall Smith are nearing career highs in tackles, while Mister Alexander is healthy and enjoying a career season (48 tackles).

Defensive end Brandon Jenkins played sparingly as a reserve last season but now has 12 sacks and 18.5 tackles for loss (tied for third at FSU all-time). Fellow end Markus White has 52 tackles -- and could double his total from his last two seasons. He also has 7.5 sacks.

Cornerback Xavier Rhodes was converted from wide receiver and is the ACC's defensive rookie of the year, while sophomores Greg Reid and Nick Moody have improved dramatically. Junior-college transfer Mike Harris has excelled in nickel situations.

But the season hasn't been all rosy. FSU was thoroughly dominated on both sides of the ball by Oklahoma, losing to the Sooners 47-17 on Sept. 11.

The next day, players feared the reaction. But coaches didn't yell. Practices stayed the same, and coaches didn't waver on their game plan.

"There were a lot of guys second-guessing themselves, but you come back this next week and you tell yourselves that you're going to get better," White said. "That was about as low as you can go. We were motivated to go up."

The defense steadily improved each week. FSU's confidence grew with a 45-17 rout of Miami on Oct. 9, which was part of a five-game winning streak. And while the defense struggled in losses to North Carolina and N.C. State, FSU rebounded to allow just one offensive touchdown in each of the past three games.

FSU has allowed teams to drive, but the Seminoles have been especially tough in the red zone. Clemson, Maryland and Florida were inside FSU's 20 a total of 12 times and came away with just two touchdowns and five field goals.

"Once you're in the red zone, inside the 20, everybody on the defense knows it's time to man up," Reid said. "We have to make plays."

Stoops has made a big impact on FSU's defense

Florida State's first ACC title game appearance in five years can be directly attributed to its dramatic defensive improvement, which can in turn be traced to the offseason hiring of former Arizona coordinator Mark Stoops to replace longtime coordinator Mickey Andrews.

While Andrews was the architect of some great defenses at FSU, his units had been sub par of late. Last year, the Seminoles ranked 94th in points allowed (30) and 108th in yards allowed (434.5). This year, under Stoops, Florida State ranks ninth in points (17.8) and 39th in yards (341.3).

And after recording just 26 sacks last season, the 'Noles already have 43 - the second-most in the country.

"I know this: They can get after a passer," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer, whose team will be trying to attack FSU's revamped defense Saturday. "Every time we've ever played Florida State, they had good defensive players, and they got after you. I think that's exactly what they're doing there now."

Sophomore defensive end Brandon Jenkins is third in the country with 12 sacks. He presents yet another challenge for a Hokies offensive line that is on track to give up its lowest sack total in five years.

Quarterback Tyrod Taylor, who was injured while trying to elude the rush on his first play the last time Tech played Florida State in 2008, would appreciate some help.

"We've just got to protect Tyrod," guard Jaymes Brooks said. "The stuff that he does for us, I don't think many quarterbacks can do. ... He's a vital piece of our offense and we have to protect him."

Possible ACC candidates for Broyles Award

October 19, 2010

By Heather Dinich

There are two ACC assistant coaches this year who immediately come to mind as possible candidates for this year's Frank Broyles Award, which is given to the top assistant coach in the country: Florida State defensive coordinator Mark Stoops and North Carolina defensive coordinator Everett Withers.

Stoops was hired to turn around one of the country's worst defenses, which he has done with remarkable speed, and Withers has managed to hold opponents to just under 20 points per game despite missing seven starters heading into the season and losing two of the country's best defensive linemen to NCAA investigations.

NORTH CAROLINA

UNC is still without the following defensive starters: defensive tackle Marvin Austin (dismissed), defensive end Robert Quinn (permanently ineligible), cornerback Kendric Burney (case still pending) and cornerback Charles Brown (case still pending). The following backups are also still missing: strong safety Jonathan Smith (one year of eligibility remaining), free safety Brian Gupton (one year of eligibility remaining), defensive end Michael McAdoo (case still pending). And yet ...

• UNC is fourth in the country in red zone defense.
• UNC is third in the ACC in pass efficiency defense and No. 22 in the country in pass defense.
• UNC ranks seventh in the country in turnover margin thanks in part to 11 interceptions and five recovered fumbles.

FLORIDA STATE

• FSU was No. 108 in rushing defense last year (204.62 yards per game) and is No. 18 now (104.86).
• No. 94 in scoring defense a year ago (30 points per game) and No. 15 now (16.14)
• No. 108 in total defense (434.62) to No. 22 now (308.14).
• No. 58 in sacks in 2009, No. 1 now.
• The list goes on.

Both are deserving of consideration, but my vote would go to Stoops. The program hasn't been tainted by an NCAA investigation (this year), and the defensive improvement is a major reason why Florida State is still undefeated in league play.

Seminole defense making dramatic improvements

By TOM BLOCK

October 5, 2010

Neither Miami nor Florida State is back where they want to be- on top of the college football world they once ruled. But they are getting closer. For proof positive, take a look at this week’s NCAA statistics.

Florida State leads the nation in sacks with 25. Miami ranks second.

Miami leads the nation in tackles for loss. Florida State is second.

That sounds like the rivalry days of old, when behemoths like Warren Sapp and Corey Simon were plugging the line of scrimmage; studs like Ray Lewis and Marvin Jones were de-cleating opposing running backs, and athletes like Ed Reed and Deion Sanders were plucking passes out of the air and racing the other way for a pick six.

For all the offensive stars that have come through these two college football powerhouses—and there have been plenty--the programs’ have been at their best when their defenses have been dominant.

So it should come as no surprise that those aforementioned lofty national defensive rankings have produced a pair of nationally ranked teams.

What is surprising, at least from a Florida State perspective, is how quickly FSU’s defense has gone from dreadful to a handful. The ‘Noles were abysmal a year ago, ranking 108th in total defense and giving away real estate by the acre. But this year they have jumped 87 spots to 21st in the country, numbers that would leave even Enron officials impressed. FSU is allowing roughly 150 fewer yards per game than a year ago.

So how have they done it? Scheme, psyche, schedule, and of course players.

Let’s start with scheme. After a quarter century of Mickey Andrews’ man to man principles, FSU’s defensive scheme under first year coordinator Mark Stoops is primarily zone-based. As a result of the change, FSU is playing better team defense than a year ago and swarming to the ball like Seminole defenses of old. There have been fewer big plays allowed because in the zone system there is generally always another defender nearby to help thwart a gain. Additionally the zone concept has allowed some new wrinkles for Florida State, like the corner blitz that Xavier Rhodes is perfecting. Without getting much more technical, suffice it to say that FSU has bought in to Stoops’ defense and with that comes greater trust in one another, and in turn a greater defense.

Mark Stoops may not have realized it when he accepted Jimbo Fisher’s job offer to run the defense at FSU, but his job title should have been Defensive Coordinator/Defensive Psychologist. More than implementing a new scheme, renewing the shattered confidence of the defensive players has been a big key to the Seminole resurgence. Stoops inherited a group that was battered and beaten down a year ago and they lacked confidence as a result. The first thing he did when he arrived was wipe the slate clean and give every player a fresh start. Now he has a group that is playing with conviction, instead of hesitation.

Make no mistake- the schedule has played a part in the meteoric statistical rise of FSU’s defense. Other than Oklahoma, FSU has faced an FBS school in Samford, two schools with true freshman quarterbacks in BYU and Wake Forest, and a Virginia team that went 3-9 a year ago. That’s not to diminish what FSU has done defensively, but it’s likely the ‘Noles D will drop down in the rankings at least a little bit by the time they are through playing more seasoned and talented offensive teams like Miami, NC State, Clemson, and Florida.

From a personnel standpoint, FSU has made a huge jump, literally. An undersized defensive front a year ago has grown up already, even though 7 of the 8 guys on that front are freshmen or sophomores. And though the defense as a whole is very young, it is obvious there is talent on the field for FSU. Brandon Jenkins is an emerging star at defensive end; Everette Dawkins is a beast in the middle up front; Mister Alexander has gone from afterthought to an NFL career as he’s grown into the linebacker position; the secondary has some young studs in big corner Xavier Rhodes and big playmaker Greg Reid. And that’s without mentioning some of the most highly recruited players on defense like Nigel Bradham, Christian Jones, Jeff Luc, Lamarcus Joyner and Jacobbi McDaniel.

Add up the above ingredients and it is easy to explain how FSU has cooked up such dramatic improvement defensively. This group has gone from laughed at to lauded in less than a year, from bad to good just like that.

But now comes Miami, a team that can turn things from good back to bad just as quickly. The ‘Canes have an experienced quarterback in Jacory Harris, one of the top receiving corps in America, plenty of skill in the backfield, and a big, athletic offensive line.

Miami is the school and the program that FSU has always used as a measuring stick. We’ll have a lot better measure of how good this FSU defense is after Saturday night in South Florida.

Mark Stoops comes by coaching naturally

By GUERIN EMIG World Sports Writer

September 7, 2010

NORMAN - Like most kid brothers in that time and place, little Mark Stoops tagged along with his older siblings, doing what he could to earn their favor. The older siblings being Ron Jr., Bobby and Mike, that meant Mark played all kinds of ball against some of the biggest, toughest kids in Youngstown, Ohio.

As a result, the first thing anyone thought Mark might grow up to do was play football, not coach it.

"As a kid, you talk about Pop Warner, around fifth grade, he was so advanced catching the ball and running. Cause that's all he did keeping up with us," said Bob, the second Stoops boy and seven years older than Mark. "I mean, he was a terror. Offense, defense, he was like Dick Butkus and Walter Payton. We would go to his games and just laugh because he's just killing everybody."

Eventually, bodies and skill sets evened out. Mark continued to prosper - "He may have been the best athlete of all of the Stoops boys," said Don Bucci, who coached all four at Youngstown's Cardinal Mooney High - but not enough to consider any kind of pro career.

So he followed his older brothers again. He coaches for a living, and he is excelling at it.

Mark Stoops is in his first year as defensive coordinator at Florida State. He'll be with the Seminoles when they play Bob's Oklahoma Sooners Saturday at Owen Field.

A formidable challenge, sure, but one Mark will expect to meet, based on both last week's season opener and the decades-long track record of his defensive-minded family.

Under Mark's influence, a Seminoles defense that ranked at the very bottom of the ACC last season didn't allow a touchdown in their 59-6 rout of Samford last Saturday.

Before Florida State, Mark coordinated defenses at Arizona under older brother Mike. In the Stoops' six years together, the Wildcats went from 108th nationally in total defense to 25th.

Before Arizona, Mark coached defensive backs at Miami.

"One of the best hires I ever made," said Larry Coker, the former Hurricanes coach who made the call after consulting with Bob Stoops at Oklahoma. "His kids played so hard and they knew exactly where to line up."

Miami won a national championship in Mark's first season, then led the nation in pass defense in 2002 and '03.

Mark Stoops has encountered success, to one degree or another, at every stop of his 20-year coaching journey. He even benefited from his one year at South Florida in 1996, which he spent preparing the Bulls for their debut season of '97.

"My brother, Bob, was up at Florida at the time," Mark said after being introduced at Florida State last February. "We weren't even playing any games, so it was an opportunity to go up and spend a bunch of time with Bob. I think the bread and butter of my system was built during that first year at South Florida."

The brotherly influence is every bit as profound today as it was in Youngstown.

That could have been Bob Stoops addressing Oklahoma media or Mike at Arizona the day of Mark's press conference in Tallahassee. And not just because he was describing the 4-3, multiple zone-coverage scheme he and his brothers had long preferred.

"We're very precise," Mark said. "We try to be accurate in what we do and how we get it taught... You can't fake your way around these things. You can't just go out there 'Rah! Rah!' and all that. There has to be a complete understanding of the system... You're gonna have to earn your way."

Asked about the mood he encountered in the FSU locker room, Mark channeled his big brother from December of '98, when Bob encountered the beaten-down Sooners.

"The first thing I told them was, 'Hey, there's no more of that. There's no more putting your head down. We're gonna be very confident,'" Mark said. "I wanted them to understand they had the ability. We had to get the confidence back and get their heads up and get ready to roll....

"It's going to be a lot of teaching. We have a lot of work to do. But if they look at it with an open mind and are willing to work, then we can do some great things here real quick."

It was just what the Seminoles needed.

"A new attitude," defensive end Brandon Jenkins called it in the St. Petersburg Times. "A new defense."

Sounded pretty familiar to those in Norman, actually. And Tucson. And Youngstown.

"When Mark was here, his father was still one of my assistants," Bucci said of Ron Stoops Sr., the Mooney defensive coordinator until his passing in 1988. "He went home from practice and worked on film with his dad like his brothers did. Mark was a little more quiet than some of the other Stoops boys, but you could tell he had all the tools to coach, just like Ronny, Bobby and Mike."

"Mark, along with the rest of us, gravitated to it because we were so used to competitive situations and enjoying them," Bob Stoops said. "That's all we grew up around. I think we all came by it naturally."

Stoops Aims to Revive FSU Defense

By BOB FERRANTE

March 15, 2010

TALLAHASSEE | The Arizona Wildcats' defense was atrocious - ranked well below 100 - when Mark Stoops took over as defensive coordinator in 2004.

Along with his brother, Arizona coach Mike Stoops, Mark helped turn the Wildcats into one of the nation's top 25 defenses.

"Where we came in, it was a very difficult situation, one of the worst in college football," Stoops said. "It didn't happen as fast as we'd have liked, but (we're) very pleased with where the program is right now."

Stoops finds himself in another difficult situation this season as Florida State's defensive coordinator. The Seminoles were 108th in total defense in 2009. Arizona, by comparison, was 25th.

The 42-year-old Stoops said FSU fans will see some differences from what Mickey Andrews did for the past 26 seasons. Stoops said FSU will retain its 4-3 defense but emphasized that it will offer "multiple" looks.

"I think the biggest change that you will see is that there will be a difference in some zone coverages," Stoops said. "They will be more multiple on the back end, and we will play some man and some zone, but we will mix it up.

"We will attack, but in the Pac-10 with Arizona, we led the conference in sacks, and I wouldn't say we are an overly aggressive blitzing control defense. I think we are very precise."

Precision was missing last season as the Seminoles allowed 30 points per game, missing tackles and giving up big plays that contributed to a 7-6 record.

Andrews retired in November, and coach Bobby Bowden was forced to retire a few weeks later. New coach Jimbo Fisher has overhauled the staff, bringing in five new assistant coaches.

The defensive staff, with the exception of Bartow native Odell Haggins, is new to FSU but familiar to Stoops. "What a phenomenal class act. Tremendous worker and great knowledge," Stoops said of Haggins, calling him "Mr. FSU."

Stoops said leaving Arizona was a tough decision but that he wanted to return to coach in Florida, was intrigued by FSU's tradition and had a desire to work with Fisher, whom he had formed a friendship with on the recruiting trail a decade ago.

"It's a blank canvas," Stoops said. "We're going to start fresh."

Stoops did just that at Arizona. Before that, he spent the 2001-03 seasons at Miami (going 3-0 against FSU). He coached a Hurricanes secondary that was loaded with future NFL stars, including Ed Reed, Sean Taylor and Antrel Rolle.

Stoops returned to the Sunshine State less than three months ago and hit the ground running with recruiting. While he's focused on the future, he emphasized his respect for the past when referencing his recent meetings with Andrews.

"I love just visiting with him, talking about things, and having him around our players," Stoops said. "I hope he stops by and is a presence around here."

Stoops said he is humbled to be replacing Andrews.

"It's very big shoes to fill," Stoops said. "He's a legend in my eyes."