Air Force Academy – When getting to know Tim DeRuyter, the first thing worth noting is that Bruce Johnson was his coach in his last season as an Air Force football player.
Of all the assistant football coaches who have helped guide the Falcons, Johnson may rank No. 1 in fire and brimstone. He was a no-nonsense coach who demanded his players perform at a championship level.
DeRuyter, Air Force’s new defensive coordinator, played defensive end for Johnson on the 1984 team that defeated Virginia Tech 23-7 in the Independence Bowl and finished 8-4. It was Fisher DeBerry’s first of 23 seasons as the Falcons’ head coach.
“I’ve brought a lot of what (Johnson) did into my coaching philosophy,” DeRuyter said. “He was very high energy, and I liked that as a player. I try to bring that into my coaching style. He let you know how he felt when you did things good or bad. … I think ultimately teams do take on the personality of their coaches. I’m a high-energy guy and I want my teams playing that way. I’m sure when my players saw me in the first couple of practices last spring, they wondered what they had gotten themselves into.”
DeRuyter has implemented a new 3-4 defensive scheme to better deal with offenses the Falcons face. But more important, he is molding players he hopes will play with an attitude. Air Force hasn’t mustered a winning record the past three seasons, and in that span the Falcons have lost nine games by six points or fewer.
“Everywhere I’ve been, I have run the 3-4 and stressed the blitz mentality,” DeRuyter said. “We want the opposing quarterback to be making his reads on the run. In today’s offenses, if you give a quarterback time to throw, he’ll pick you apart. You can get burned, but you also can coach scared. We’re going to take our swings and see where it falls. We’re not playing our cornerbacks 10 yards off the receiver, but more shoe to shoe and nose to nose.”
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun, DeBerry’s successor, supports playing defense more aggressively.
“The way we’re going to play on defense, we won’t be out there for 15 snaps,” Calhoun said. “That’s not going to happen. Something’s going to happen before that.”
DeRuyter was Nevada’s defensive coordinator last year, and the Wolf Pack led the nation in takeaways.
DeRuyter said he doesn’t think the 3-4 alignment will hurt the Falcons because they can take a bigger defensive lineman off the field and replace him with a smaller but better athlete.
“We’ll be in a bunch of eight-man fronts,” DeRuyter said. “We’re going to keep the other team guessing and hopefully in second-and-long (situations). There are philosophical differences in what we’re doing from the last few years. We’re just more pressure-oriented this year.”
DeRuyter is glad to be back at Air Force, which opens the Calhoun era Saturday at Falcon Stadium against South Carolina State.
“It’s fun to be back here and coaching,” DeRuyter said. “We’re not in a rebuilding mode. The key is to have enough practice so our players completely understand what they’re doing in our system, so they can play as fast as they possibly can.”
Fowler fitting in just fine
Senior linebacker Drew Fowler prospered on AFA defenses designed by former defensive coordinator Richard Bell. He led the Mountain West Conference in tackles (123) last year and was named to the all-MWC team.
“I can’t give enough credit to coaches Bell and DeBerry for giving me a chance to play when no one else would,” Fowler said. “I love our new defense. We’re definitely more aggressive and we’re going to surprise people. Our defense is a surprise on every play.
“It’s possible for players to take on the attitude of their coaches. But it all comes down to the players making the plays, and that’s something we haven’t done around here the last three years.”
“More man-to-man coverage”
Capt. Charlton Warren, an Air Force defensive back from 1996-98, is the cornerbacks coach on Calhoun’s first staff. Defensive line coach Ron Burton, a member of DeBerry’s final staff, is in his fifth year at Air Force.
“Our defensive backs have taken on the challenge of playing more man-to- man coverage,” Warren said. “There’s a thin line between winning and losing. We want to force turnovers and confusion. A little bit of confusion could be the edge in winning a game.”
Warren praised senior cornerback Garrett Rybak of Victoria, Texas.
“He’s smart, hard-nosed, a player you can trust and you want him on the field all the time,” Warren said. “Nobody else might have wanted him, but I’d take five of him on my defense.”
Burton says the Falcons have the talent to make the new defense work.
“We have to put our players in the right places,” Burton said. “We’re learning how to utilize the principles of playing man defense behind the blitz. We’re concerned about this year and not worrying about the past.”
Senior cornerback Carson Bird credits the new defense for resurrecting his career. Bird played a lot as a freshman and sophomore, but he was relegated to a backup role last year.
“After last year, I didn’t know who I was as a player,” Bird said. “My performance as a junior hurt my pride and my confidence. We’re just much more aggressive in the defensive backfield this year and I think that plays more to our strengths as players.”
Staff writer Irv Moss can be reached at 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com.
