As now reported by multiple sources,
UCF defensive coordinator Tyson Summers is leaving UCF to take the same
position at Colorado State under its new head coach Mike Bobo. Summers
was the defensive coordinator for a single season at UCF and oversaw a
Knights defense that was statistically dominant.
Summers came to UCF in January
2012 as a defensive assistant and was quickly elevated to linebackers
coach. His path to defensive coordinator was unorthodox. Summers became
interim defensive coordinator for last year's Fiesta Bowl after Jim
Fleming left for a head coaching job at Rhode Island. Paul Ferraro was
hired to replace Fleming (though not to coach the Fiesta Bowl) and left
the program before the spring game. Summers was again named "interim"
defensive coordinator, and ultimately defensive coordinator for the 2014
season.
My own feelings are mixed. I
hate for the Knights to lose a talented young coach, especially on a
lateral or slightly-worse-than-lateral move. But it's hard for me to say
that the loss of Summers will be a significant blow to the defense
going forward (certainly, it seems less significant than the loss of so
many senior defensive players to graduation). Under George O'Leary, the
UCF defense has more or less been respectable-to-excellent each season.
And O'Leary has always had a reputation for being hands-on with the
defense. For example, Summer's UCF biography notes that as interim defensive coordinator he "helped call the plays in UCF's victory over high-powered Baylor in the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl." (The emphasis here is mine, of course).
Good luck to Summers in his new position, and thanks for being a part of some memorable UCF seasons.
No comments:
Post a Comment