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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.

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