S. Carolina defense has Arkansas roots

BOB HOLT
ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- In the days before videotape, one of the responsibilities of graduate assistant football coaches was to cut and glue together pieces of film to group certain plays.
That's what Charlie Strong was doing late one night in 1983 when he was a graduate assistant for Florida.
To try and make the tedious work go a little easier, Strong and the other graduate assistants used to play jokes, turning off lights, hiding behind doors and jumping out to scare each other
"I was up there splicing film and I heard the door open, and I thought it was another of the GAs coming down the hall," Strong said. "So, I turned the light off, jumped out and said, 'Gotcha!' "
Turned out that Strong had gotten Charley Pell, the Gators' head coach.
"Coach Pell was startled and jumped back," Strong said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, he's going to fire me, I'm done in coaching.' "
But Strong, a 40-year-old Batesville native and All-Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference defensive back at Central Arkansas in 1980-81, survived that little scare with Pell to stay in coaching and now is one of the top assistants in the SEC as defensive coordinator at South Carolina.
Previously, Strong was defensive line coach at Florida and Notre Dame.
"I think Coach Strong is a brilliant man," Gamecocks junior defensive end Kalimba Edwards said. "The cards he's been dealt here, he's done a great job of playing them."
With Strong coordinating the defense last season, South Carolina finished 20th nationally in total defense, holding opponents to an average of 307.7 yards, providing a bright spot for an 0-11 team.
The Gamecocks lost three players from that defense who were on opening-day NFL rosters -- linebacker John Abraham (New York Jets), cornerback Arturo Freeman (Miami) and safety Ray Green (Carolina) -- but have improved statistically this season.
Going into today's game against Arkansas at Williams-Brice Stadium, the Gamecocks are ranked 14th nationally in total defense (276 ypg) and scoring defense (13.2 ppg).
After playing a 4-3 defense last season, South Carolina has gone to a multiple scheme featuring three linebackers and five defensive backs, while mixing up coverages and blitzes.
Sophomore strong safety Rashad Faison leads the team with four sacks and junior defensive end Dennis Quinn has two interceptions.
"The reason we went to that look is we felt we ... wanted to get our best personnel on the field and do some different things with them," Strong said. "We want to go on the attack and be the aggressor and create a lot of confusion for offenses."
The Gamecocks have done that in starting 5-1, especially in a 21-10 victory over Georgia when Bulldogs quarterback Quincy Carter threw five interceptions -- one less than he threw all of last season.
"South Carolina played a flawless game," Georgia offensive tackle Jonas Jennings said. "They made great calls.
"Everything we ran, it was like they knew exactly what we were doing."
At Kentucky last week, the Gamecocks held the Wildcats scoreless in the second half and rallied to win 20-17.
"We really got after them in the first half, but Charlie had some terrific adjustments and fooled us into a couple of interceptions in the second half that cost us the game," Kentucky Coach Hal Mumme said. "You can't any mistakes against South Carolina's defense, because they're very opportunistic."
South Carolina Coach Lou Holtz has hired Strong twice, the first time at Notre Dame in 1995 when Strong decided to leave Florida. The two remained close after Holtz resigned as the Fighting Irish's coach in 1996.
Strong's wife, Victoria, is from Lakeland, Fla., and when they would visit family in Florida, the Strongs made it a point to stop in Orlando and to see Holtz and his wife, Beth, who has been battling cancer that is now in remission.
"When I was out of coaching and Charlie and Vicki would visit us from time to time to check on Beth, Charlie would say, 'If you ever go back into coaching, I'd like to work for you again,' " Holtz said. "I said, 'Well, I don't think I will get back into it, but if I do, I'll give you a chance to turn me down as a defensive coordinator.' "
Strong, 40, left Notre Dame after the 1998 season to rejoin Holtz at South Carolina.
"Charlie has done a tremendous job," Holtz said. "He's a player's coach, he's easy to get along with and he's just a class act and has been a tremendous asset here."
Strong, who is the only black coordinator in the SEC, said he appreciates the opportunity Holtz has provided him.
"You have to be with the right guy who has the confidence in you to give you a chance," Strong said. "I'm thankful Coach Holtz had the confidence to make me a coordinator in the Southeastern Conference.
"He also surrounded me with some good people so I'd have a chance to be successful."
Two of South Carolina's defensive assistants previously were head coaches -- secondary coach John Gutekunst (Minnesota) and outside linebackers coach Dave Roberts (Baylor).
"The best thing about these guys is there's no ego trip at all," Strong said. "It's like, 'Hey, whatever you want to do, we're going to do it.' ... Everybody has an input and we all work together really well."
Strong also gets along well with his players.
"He's like a friend, and you don't ever want to let a friend down," senior defensive tackle Cecil Caldwell said. "He definitely gets the most out of us."
Quinn said Strong can be tough on the players when it's necessary, but that his office door is always open to them.
"I think the best thing about Coach Strong is how he really looks out for the players and keeps us motivated," Quinn said. "Sometimes you can get too uptight, but he knows how to get us relaxed so we can play our best."
Strong said he realizes how much impact coaches can have on the players' lives.
"A lot of times what happens is [coaches] don't want to hear what [players] have to say because we feel like we're in this authoritative position where we don't have to listen to them," Strong said. "But I think every kid is looking for discipline, and they're looking for a friend, and you've got to understand that and be there for them."
Strong said he's been influenced by all the coaches he's played for and worked with, beginning with Ken Stephens at Central Arkansas and including Sporty Carpenter at Henderson State, Steve Spurrier at Florida, Jackie Sherrill at Texas A&M and Holtz.
Strong said Stephens provided a solid football background during his playing days with the Bears, and that Carpenter helped him break into the Division I coaching ranks.
When Strong was earning a master's degree at Henderson State in the spring of 1983, Carpenter called Dwight Adams, who at the time was a Florida assistant coach.
Adams, now vice president of player personnel for the Buffalo Bills, is a Henderson State graduate who coached Arkansas high school state championship teams at Bearden and Pine Bluff.
"Sporty Carpenter knew Dwight Adams and called him at Florida and said, 'I've got a guy here, he needs to be your graduate assistant,' " Strong said. "I was going to Henderson one day to work, and Sporty says, 'Pack your bags, you're going to Florida.'
"I was like, 'Coach, I've never been out of this state. I'm not going to Florida.'
"He said, 'Yes you are.' That was a big break for me."
It's a break Strong hasn't wasted.

Charlie Strong at a glance
BORN Aug. 2, 1960
FAMILY Wife Victoria, two daughters
HOMETOWN Batesville
EDUCATION Bachelor's degree Central Arkansas; master's degree Henderson State; educational specialist degree Florida.
AS A PLAYER Defensive back Central Arkansas, 1978-81
AS A COACH Graduate assistant Florida 1983-84; graduate assistant Texas A&M 1985; assistant coach Southern Illinois 1986-87; assistant coach Florida 1988-89; assistant coach Ole Miss 1990; assistant coach Florida 1991-94; assistant coach Notre Dame 1995-98; defensive coordinator South Carolina 1999-present. Also was NFL intern with New Orleans (1993) and Detroit (1994).

This article was published on Saturday, October 14, 2000

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