Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Patterson's defensive nature rooted in Utah State football

Kragthorpe: Patterson's defensive nature rooted in Utah State football

The Salt Lake Tribune

Updated: 11/09/2009 07:48:39 PM MST

TCU head coach Gary Patterson, center, smiles as safety Tejay Johnson (3),... (The Associated Press)
They're what Israel Byrd remembers about playing defensive back for Gary Patterson. Those eyes that seemingly glowed with energy and intensity, that captured everything happening on the field, even before the film was processed.
"He didn't miss anything," Byrd said. "He had a lot of passion, a lot of enthusiasm. It was intimidating for young guys at first, but he inspired me a lot."
Patterson was 32 years old, breaking into Division I coaching at Utah State in 1992 after being hired by new coach Charlie Weatherbie just in time for spring practice.
Everything that Patterson is doing as Texas Christian's head coach, while personally calling the game-day schemes for the country's No. 3-ranked defense, was in evidence during those three seasons in Logan. The results were not quite the same, certainly. Even in USU's most recent victory over BYU, the Aggies allowed 619 passing yards to John Walsh in a 58-56 adventure.
Yet there still was every sign that Patterson was on his way.
"I knew this guy was going to be something very special," said Byrd, a senior cornerback when Patterson arrived. "He didn't let anything slide. He was on point. He never let one play or one bad practice get through. That's how he is now. That's why he wins. You want to play for guys like that."
Back then, he just "was looking for a job," Patterson recalled.
After a series of brief stays at small schools, Patterson joined the Oregon Lightning Bolts of the Professional Spring Football League -- remember the Utah Pioneers? -- only to have the league fold without playing any games. USU had a late vacancy, and Patterson had once worked with Dick Bumpas, the Aggies' defensive coordinator.
Bumpas now coaches under Patterson at TCU. "Those guys work so good together schematically, with great game planning," Weatherbie said.
So the defensive approach that quarterback Jordan Wynn and the Utah Utes will encounter Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas, took hold in Logan, even if there was no USU equivalent of Jerry Hughes or Daryl Washington. The Aggie defense still performed adequately enough to help Weatherbie revive the program with a Big West Conference championship and Las Vegas Bowl victory.
Byrd, who played in the NFL and now coaches the secondary at Washington University in St. Louis, once attended Patterson's clinic presentation. The material was nothing new to him.
"The exact same philosophy, the exact same techniques we were learning in 1992," Byrd said. "This stuff works."
Brent Guy, another member of USU's defensive staff, once described Patterson as "a mad scientist ... a very brilliant defensive mind, very innovative."
After handling the entire secondary for one season, Patterson focused on the safeties after Weatherbie hired DeWayne Walker to coach the cornerbacks. "Really, we've done our secondary that way ever since," Patterson said.
Having come from a junior college, Walker was struck by Patterson's knowledge. "He showed me right away that I had a lot of work to do to be a quality coach," said Walker, now New Mexico State's coach. "He's very smart. He tries to hide that, because he's a blue-collar guy, but he's a very intelligent person."
Even now, Byrd refers to notes he took as an Aggie player. Beyond the X's and O's, he recorded Patterson's mantras including "how to seize the opportunity now," Byrd said. "I've never forgotten that. You can't afford to miss that opportunity."
Last century, it was the Big West title. These days, for Patterson, it is the Bowl Championship Series.
Different stakes, same defensive approach. Funny, how the whole thing seems to work better now, with TCU's athletes.