Jerry Odom is well aware of the stiff challenge that lies ahead.
As the new East Carolina defensive coordinator, Odom must repair a unit
that ranked 106th nationally last season after yielding an average of 446
yards and 33 points per game.
And despite the fact that this is Odom's first gig as Division I-A
defensive coordinator, the 34-year old coach doesn't appear intimidated by
his task. In fact, the former Florida Gators standout is upbeat and
confident he can transform the Pirates' weakness into one of their
strengths.
"We've got a good nucleus of kids coming back, which is nice," Odom said.
"What we'll try to do is take the defense and mold it into the stuff that we
believe in, whether it be multiple fronts or a lot of different coverages.
"We want to keep the offense off balance. We don't want to be chasing
them, we want them to be chasing us. At the same time, we want to make it
simple enough for our guys where there is not a lot of confusion and mental
mistakes."
Last season, it was the Pirates that did most of the chasing.
West Virginia torched the Pirates for a Big East record 536 rushing yards
on a day in which Avon Cobourne became the school's all-time leading rusher.
A few weeks later, Louisville quarterback Dave Ragone set a personal best
mark for accuracy at ECU's expense, completing 18 consecutive passes during
one stretch.
Rarely did a week pass, it seemed, without a player posting career-high
numbers against East Carolina, which was unpredictably vulnerable against
both the pass and the run.
Though Odom doesn't pretend to have the save-all solution, he is focusing
on the basics, which will receive much attention in spring practice.
"I'm a real believer in the fundamentals of the game," Odom said. "I'm a
coach's son. I grew up in (football) my whole life.
"If you can't tackle, if you can't shed blocks, or you can't make plays
on the ball, then you've got problems. We're going to work on our technique
this spring and try to get better at that and just try to improve every
day."
Tackling was an issue of concern for East Carolina, which was breaking in
a new flock of inside linebackers last fall. It certainly didn't help
matters when the most talented of the bunch — redshirt freshman Chris Moore
— suffered a knee injury against South Florida, forcing him to miss several
games.
Solving the Pirates' tackling woes won't be the only high-priority item
on Odom's agenda. East Carolina, which up until the past two seasons had a
history for forcing turnovers in bushels, has been on the losing end of that
battle of late.
Much of that can be attributed to the lack of a consistent pass rush,
which has given opposing quarterbacks ample time to shuffle through their
reads.
That shouldn't be the case in 2003.
"You'll see a little bit of everything," Odom said. "Any kind of zone
blitz or any kind of front you can think of. We'll do a lot of different
things.
"Conference USA is pretty well known for throwing the football, even
though it's a young conference. But at any level, you've got to stop the
run. You've got to make a team one-dimensional. When you stop the run,
you've got to be able to harass the passer, confuse the passer and put him
in bad situations."
Odom did a little of both during his playing days at Florida, where as a
hard-nosed, throwback linebacker, he ended the 1990 season as the Gators'
leading tackler. From there, Odom took his tough-as-nails approach to the
Arena League for seven seasons before entering the coaching profession.
His love for the physical aspects of the game, combined with a knack for
relating to players should help smooth the Pirates' transition to a new
system.
Having a defensive mastermind like new Pirates coach John Thompson as a
mentor should come in handy, too.
"Getting to coach with Coach Thompson the last year was just a great
experience," Odom said. "We're always kind of on the same page with what we
are thinking."
Mending the Pirates' defense is on the top of their list.
Odom-Florida pipeline
As one of Florida's favorite sons, Odom's impact at East Carolina should
extend further than the defense.
If Signing Day is any indication, the Pirates' new defensive coordinator
may have laid the groundwork for a recruiting pipeline to the Sunshine
State.
"Jerry Odom has more contacts than anybody in the state of Florida,"
Thompson said. "His dad was a high school coach, Jerry was a high school
coach, and he was a big-time player at the University of Florida.
"He loves coaching and loves East Carolina. That's a big reason we've got
such speed ability with this class from Florida."
A couple of those speedsters are high school teammates, Tommie Bradley
and Erode Jean of Ft. Pierce. The bookend corners are members of the track
team and have been given the green light to pursue both sports at ECU.
Another Florida notable is Brandon Jones, who received interest from a
number of schools, including Miami, Auburn, Missouri, and N.C. State. Rated
as the No. 31 defensive end in the nation by Rivals.com, Jones could play
early, providing much needed help for the Pirates' pass rush.
Odom's strong ties to Florida high schools were a big reason Jones will
don purple and gold next season.
"It helps because you know a lot of high school coaches down there," Odom
said. "I had two or three guys that we ended up getting because the coach
called me and said, 'Jerry, listen, they've got this guy and this guy on
them, but I'd rather send them to you. I know you're going to take care of
them... You're a friend of mine.'
"You get that rapport with them, where they know you and trust Coach
Thompson. They knew me when I was a high school coach down there and when I
was at Florida because I recruited that area."
At the same time, though, Odom understands that it will be difficult to
consistently beat the Florida schools for the top-tier recruits.
"What we have to do is be smart with our recruiting," Odom said. "With
the top name guys, maybe we will and maybe we won't get them. But with the
next tier, there are a lot of good football players.
"There are a lot of those top name guys that never pan out. Some of those
guys that you've never heard of are the best thing since sliced bread.
That's why you do your research and work very, very hard on finding what the
underlying thing is, whether it be the coach, the parents, or whoever knows
the kid the best."
Leach on offense
Thompson has made it clear that the Pirates will employ many looks on
offense, including a heavy dose of two-back sets with a true lead blocker.
That means Vonta Leach, who shifted from outside linebacker to fullback
late last season, will likely remain in the offensive backfield.
According to Pirates running back coach Jerry McManus, the six-foot,
250-pound bruiser could potentially play at the next level and should get
more touches next season.
"Vonta has a chance to be an NFL fullback," McManus said. "I really
believe he will stay with me (as a running back) and he will have a more
significant role this year than he did last year.
"He didn't really carry the ball much last year, but I can see him being
a very good inside runner, especially in short yardage and goal line
(situations). He will be more involved in the offense this year."
The Pirates added much-needed depth with junior college transfer Kevin
Fain, who will get a look at both running back positions.
Mazzone name still popping up
Noel Mazzone's name continues to surface as the frontrunner for the
Pirates' offensive coordinator position. Mazzone, currently the running
backs coach at Oregon State, has been high on Thompson's wish list since the
very beginning.
So what's the hold up?
Sources out of the west coast suggest that Stanford has also shown interest
in acquiring Mazzone's services, meaning the Pirates may have to outbid and
out-sell The Cardinal.
Mazzone stepped down as Auburn's offensive coordinator following the 2001
season after a lengthy tenure as Tommy Tuberville's top aid, first at Ole
Miss, then with the War Eagles.
According to sources with The Oregonian, Mazzone pursued his
current post with OSU to learn Dennis Erickson's up-tempo offense.
