FORT COLLINS — By all accounts, Colorado State’s defense has made steady progress during spring football practices in switching from a 3-4 to the 4-3 alignment preferred by first-year Rams coach Mike Bobo.
That’s a good thing, because any missteps are sure to earn an earful from Tyson Summers, CSU’s new spitfire of a defensive coordinator.
“With me being a coach that’s on the edge and fiery, I think our guys are trying to see what that means,” Summers said. “If you’re going to play defense, you have to be tough. You have to have competitive guys. That’s the first thing I want.”
After Bobo was hired by CSU on Dec. 22, he scrambled to put together a staff and targeted Summers, whom he has known for more than a decade. Summers was a graduate assistant in 2005 at Georgia, where he worked with the Bulldogs’ defensive secondary while Bobo was Georgia’s offensive coordinator.
In Summers’ first full season as a defensive coordinator, he helped turn Central Florida’s defense last fall into the top unit in the American Athletic Conference. The Knights ranked among the best nationally in total defense (fifth, 298.5 yards allowed), rushing defense (sixth, 104.3), scoring defense (ninth, 19.2 points) and red-zone defense (sixth, 71.4 percent).
Bobo said he believes the CSU defense can feed off Summers’ high-decibel exuberance.
“I want our guys to take on his personality,” Bobo said. “I want our defense to believe that when they step on the field, in a game or in practice, they are going to dominate the opponent.”
Summers always has coached a 4-3 alignment, with four defensive linemen and three linebackers instead of a 3-4 with three down linemen and four linebackers. He believes the 4-3 has advantages in today’s college game against the up-tempo, no-huddle offenses that are all the rage.
“With the way offenses have changed, the 4-3 helps us have to make the least amount of transition within our schemes,” Summers said. “We don’t have to drastically change the fit against a one-back set or a two-back set. We can play what we play and get good at it.”
Running a 4-3 defense also helps recruiting, he said, because the 3-4 requires three burly defensive linemen, which can be difficult to find.
“The beauty of the 4-3, to me, is you don’t have to sit there and try to recruit six 300-pounders for a two-deep,” Summers said. “Instead, you’re trying to get speed, guys that can make plays.”
Colorado State’s players do face challenges in switching to the 4-3 alignment after three seasons running a different scheme during the Jim McElwain regime. Some former outside linebackers in the 3-4, including senior SteveO Michel, are now defensive ends. And linebackers who have played inside in the 3-4 must be prepared to play more in space as an outside linebacker. Also, defensive linemen must learn new concepts and techniques.
Summers believes a defense should be as simple as possible.
“If you have too many schemes and too many adjustments, they’re not going to play fast,” Summers said. “Defenses that don’t play fast give up big plays.”
Tom Kensler: tkensler@denverpost.com or
Tyson summers
A look at the career coaching path of CSU defensive coordinator Tyson Summers.
2015-present: Colorado State defensive coordinator and safeties coach
2012-14: Central Florida linebackers coach, defensive coordinator (2014)
2007-11: Alabama-Birmingham linebackers coach, safeties coach, special teams coordinator.
2006: Georgia Southern linebackers coach
2005: George graduate assistant for defensive backs.
2004: Troy graduate assistant for wide receivers
2003: Presbyterian defensive backs coach
Source: UCF sports information
