When ECU coach Mike Houston was looking for his new defensive coordinator earlier this offseason, a big part of his hiring process was how the candidates for the position could defend the triple option. Knowing the Pirates would have to contend virtually annually with one of the top triple option attacks in college football - operated by the Naval Academy - he wanted someone who was well-versed in the profession in going against the unique offensive attack.
Enter Blake Harrell.
Not only does Harrell have extensive experience against the option, but he's coached against it on a daily basis his entire professional career until taking the East Carolina job and reuniting with Houston. When Harrell was on the defensive staffs at Lenoir-Rhyne and The Citadel with Houston, he saw the triple option every day in practice, as those teams' offenses operated the run-heavy attack. When Harrell made the move from The Citadel to Kennesaw State for the 2019 season as the Owls' defensive coordinator, it was the same story, as Kennesaw also ran the triple option. To help matters more, defensive assistants Roy Tesh (defensive tackles) and Tripp Weaver (safeties) have a lot of experience coaching against the option as well.
"We've been preparing for this game as a staff since Coach Harrell was hired," Houston said. "Certainly a background and philosophy against the triple option was a big part of the process of the hiring of our new defensive coordinator. We've spent a good bit of time staff-wise on it. We have spent a good bit of time with our players during preseason camp and throughout the season thus far (working the triple option)."
ECU is Harrell's first college job where the offense on his same team doesn't run the option. So while he knows the ins and outs of the triple option well, finding a way for the scout team to simulate it at close as possible to Navy's speed and precision is the biggest challenge. True freshman quarterback Ryan Stubblefield, who has a similar build to a lot of Navy quarterbacks at 5-foot-10, 208 pounds, is the scout team quarterback this week.
"A big part of it has been after practice on Sundays, we've kept the offensive scout team out there on the field, and ran Navy plays after practice to make sure they were prepared for this week," Houston said. "I thought we looked pretty good on Sunday night. You can never replicate what they do. But at least we had a decent look for our defense Sunday night. We at least resembled Navy formationally and with some of the motions and stuff."
Despite Houston's prior experiences as a triple option head coach, Navy still took it to the Pirates in 2019 in his first meeting against the Midshipmen, winning 42-10. Navy quarterback Malcolm Perry, who rushed for 156 yards and four touchdowns, while also throwing for 151 yards and two more scores, has graduated and is now with the Miami Dolphins. Senior Dalen Morris is now running the show behind center for the Midshipmen, who are 2-2 and coming off a big win versus Temple, 31-29.
"I don't know if I'll ever feel good about matching up with Navy," Houston said. "They're so good at what they do and they're so difficult to defend. ... What little I know about how they prepared for us last year, and how they went back and studied film from when I was at Lenoir-Rhyne on what we might do, they are just really good at what they do. So do I feel like we're going to be more prepared this year? Yes. Do I feel like we're ever going to be completely prepared or have mastered defending them? Nobody is ever going to master defending them."
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October 14, 2020 at 03:02AM
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