SEC Extra Points with Barrett Sallee: Alabama Makes Necessary Staff Changes
Just a Slight Tweak
Alabama's coaching staff had two holes to fill after outside linebackers coach Lance Thompson moved down the road to Auburn, and inside linebackers coach Kevin Steele got the defensive coordinator job at LSU.
Head coach Nick Saban knocked it out of the park with their replacements.
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Tosh Lupoi, who worked as an off-the-field "intern" for the Crimson Tide last season, will step in and coach outside linebackers in 2015. Lupoi, who made a name for himself as a top-flight recruiter in the Pac-12, previously worked as the defensive line coach for Cal (2008-2011) and Washington (2012-2013).
"I'm extremely fortunate to join the best college football organization in the country," Lupoi said in a statement from Alabama. "Fresh off our 24th SEC Championship, playoff appearance and pursing another top-rated signing class, it's an exciting time at Alabama right now. I couldn't be more fired up to be part of what Coach Saban and his excellent staff have established."
Washington's defense finished in the top four in the Pac-12 in scoring defense in each of his two seasons in Seattle, and finished fourth in the country in sacks per game (3.15) in 2013. It's a slight tweak for Lupoi to move back and coach outside linebackers, but in Alabama's 3-4 defense, their primary role is to get after the quarterback. Lupoi can definitely help them do that.
According to Sports Illustrated's Thayer Evans, Mel Tucker will also be on his way to Tuscaloosa to coach defensive backs, which will also add middle linebackers to defensive coordinator Kirby Smart's responsibilities.
Tucker wasn't great in the NFL. His Bears finished 30th in the league in pass defense in 2014 (264.4 yards per game) and 18th in 2013 (233.1 yards per game). But he's familiar with Saban from his time at Michigan State and LSU, and he provides the slight tweak Alabama needs to fix its lingering secondary problem.
Instead of Saban and Smart devoting some time to the defensive backs, now there's somebody back there dedicated to teaching them the right way to do it. That might be all Alabama needs to get back to the promised land.
"DL Zou"
Missouri has established an identity for itself over the last few years, producing top-tier defensive linemen.
Aldon Smith, Michael Sam, Kony Ealy, Shane Ray and Markus Golden are just a few of the monsters that have passed through Columbia over the last few years.
Their leader, defensive line coach Craig Kuligowski, will return in 2015 after exploring the co-defensive coordinator position at Illinois, according to a release emailed by the school.
"It was important for me and my family to consider this opportunity, and I’m grateful to have gone through the experience, but after evaluating everything, what is best for us is to stay here at Mizzou," Kuligowski said in the release. "We’ve built something special here at Mizzou, and I’m excited to continue to be part of it."
He has been Missouri's defensive line coach since 1996, and has worked with Pinkel for 23 years at both Missouri and Toledo. As Pete Scantlebury of PowerMizzou.com notes, "Coach Kool's" return will also help the Tigers close strong on the recruiting trail.
Terry Beckner is a 5-star defensive line prospect from East St. Louis, Illinois, who is considering Missouri, Auburn, Ohio State, Florida State and others. His departure would almost certainly give Beckner more to think about with a week to go before national signing day, but now he only has to worry about the best fit, not possible coaching changes.
The Eyes of Texas
While the battle for 5-star quarterback Kyler Murray dominates headlines in the Lone Star State (here's B/R's Lars Anderson on that), another big—"pun" intended—battle is waging with just a week to go before national signing day.
Former Texas A&M commit Daylon Mack, a 5-star defensive tackle from Gladewater, Texas, has narrowed his finalists down to Texas A&M, Texas and TCU. He received an in-home visit from Texas this week, which promoted this tweet.
Should that make Aggies fans nervous? Well, of course.
It's never a good thing to see a top-tier commit excited about a visit from the intra-state rival and Photoshop their uniform on a picture and post it on social media.
Mack won't make or break Texas A&M's class, though.
It has safeties Justin Dunning and Larry Pryor coming in to help out the back end of the defense, James Lockhart coming in to complement Myles Garrett off the edge and plenty of young talent already in-house to help out new defensive coordinator John Chavis.
Losing Mack and Murray would certainly hurt, especially if both wind up in Austin. But it's still a solid class for head coach Kevin Sumlin and his staff, provided there are no other unexpected flips.
New Year, Fresh Faces
The number of early enrollees has risen over the last few years, and one thing that Tennessee head coach Butch Jones has become known for is welcoming small villages of new players in each of the last two seasons.
He welcomed 14 players last January, and many of those players, including running back Jalen Hurd, wide receivers Josh Malone and Von Pearson, safety Todd Kelly Jr. and tight end Ethan Wolf, made immediate impacts on Rocky Top.
Which of the 10 Jones welcomed in this year will follow suit?
The smart money is on running back Alvin Kamara. The junior college transfer and former Alabama running back is an all-purpose back, but quicker than Hurd, which will provide head coach Butch Jones options with how he uses his two studs.
Defensive end Kyle Phillips and defensive tackle Shy Tuttle should also step in and provide depth up front along a defensive line that will return superstar defensive end Derek Barnett.
Quick Outs
- 4-star wide receiver Van Jefferson committed to Ole Miss this week, which will give the Rebels Jefferson, Laquon Treadwell, Cody Core, Quincy Adeboyejo and Damore'ea Stringfellow. If they can find a quarterback, look out.
- If you're looking for an instant-impact stud, keep an eye on Georgia commit and 5-star athlete Terry Godwin. Whether he sticks with Georgia or flips somewhere else, he's going to be a monster in space as a receiver.
- Billy Liucci of TexAgs.com and Geoff Ketchum of OrangeBloods.com got into a good 'ole fashioned Twitter war according to FoxSports.com. Out of line? Eh, it's the offseason, and Twitter wars are fun. Texas and Texas A&M really do need to meet on the field, though. That press box would be tremendous.
Barrett Sallee is the lead SEC college football writer and video analyst for Bleacher Report as well as a co-host of the CFB Hangover on Bleacher Report Radio (Sundays, 9-11 a.m. ET) on Sirius 93, XM 208.
Quotes were obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. All stats are courtesy of cfbstats.com, and all recruiting information is courtesy of 247Sports. Follow Barrett on Twitter @BarrettSallee.
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