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Football
Q & A With Special Teams Coordinator Eddie Allen
April 11, 2008
Talk about the first two weeks of spring ball. So far, things have gone well. The running backs are doing really well and have a good understanding of what we're doing. The next 7-8 practices leading into the spring game, we want to focus on understanding the new things we're putting in and cleaning up the technique. They've been working really hard and have a good grasp of what we're going. They've done a good job. The coaching staff is installing new schemes on offense and moving the student-athletes around on defense. What kind of changes has the special teams unit undergone? Coach Rizzi and I have been working with the special teams and have tried to implement some of the things we did at Rutgers the past three years. Some things are going to be different technique-wise, and we're going to have a more aggressive attitude on special teams. What's the most important item you want the student-athletes to take away from spring ball? Just a general understanding of what we're trying to do and what we expect of them on offense and special teams. There are some small technical differences between the offense they ran last year and the one they'll be running this year. We want them to come away with an understanding what the offense is about and what they will need to do to be successful on offense. Discuss this year's recruiting class and anyone who may make an impact on special teams. You never want to rely on incoming freshman, but we have a lot of good, young talent coming in. That being said, these guys can come in play right away, especially on special teams - the linebacker class we have coming in, and a guy like Robert Walker from Chesire Academy is a great player. They're not here yet, so we can't count on them, but when they arrive, we expect to see some of them stand out and contribute on special teams this year. Talk about the importance of special teams.
A player we had a Rutgers named Manny Collins was a walk-on defensive back from Plainfield, N.J. who really bought into what coach Rizzi was preaching about on special teams - the little details, the technique - and he took a lot of pride in playing special teams. It paid off for him because he's on the N.Y. Jets roster. There's opportunities out there - it's all about having pride in what you're doing just like the offense and defense. It's another part of the game and you have to play hard and fast.
Talk about your relationship with coach Rizzi and how you ended up here at URI. The relationship goes back further than Rutgers. He recruited me to play at New Haven, so we're going on 10 years. He was my head coach at New Haven for three years and after he left for Rutgers, I finished up my college career and had a few other coaching stints. We kept in touch and then he called me up and asked me to come work with him at Rutgers, and we build a great relationship working with the special teams the last three years. We had a lot of success, and when he got the job here, it was a no-brainer for me. How did you end up in coaching? I was a quarterback in college. Coach Rizzi was the head coach and Pincince was my offensive coordinator at New Haven, so I developed a good relationship with each of them. Those two guys are the main reasons I got into coaching. Growing up through their system and the success we had there, they became mentors to me as a young college athlete. Tem Lukabu was another guy you worked with down at Rutgers. What's it like having him on this staff and even sharing an office together? It's good. We shared an office at Rutgers. When you're a grad assistant at a Division I program, you work long hours and are in the office late, so Tem and I have become great friends working together the past two years. We have a great coaching relationship and have developed a great personal relationship outside of the office. Discuss where this program is now from when you first arrived in January. I got here right after the bowl game with coach Rizzi, and it was non-stop. We were meeting late at night to try and put the recruiting board together and identify prospects. Then we hit the road to start recruiting. It was a scramble from the start, but we got back from recruiting and started to talk football. Things didn't slow down, but they started to smooth out for us. Our winter workouts went well - they were able to become acclimated to us and us to them. When we first got here, we were on the road the first month-and-a-half, so we really didn't get to know the kids until then. It was only then when they were able to understand our philosophies and what we were asking them to do. I think right now, our kids are really getting a grasp of what we want them to do in spring ball. It's not 100% and it's not always perfect, but they're making an effort to get better every day on the field and in the classroom. As a coach, what's it like to come in and have the kids immediately buy into your system and what you're `selling' them? It makes everything else easy. It allows us as coaches to get to the point where all we're dealing with is football, and the senior leadership is taking over the team and holding them accountable for our team rules and what we want them to be. The coaches can just be coaches and coach football, and it frees up times for us to focus on things that will make them better football players. What's the most important thing you learned from (Rutgers head coach) Greg Schiano that you want to bring with you to URI? Coach Schiano was always organized and prepared for situations, so definitely his organizational skills. Be ready for every meeting and every practice. Also, his drive. He had a vision that he wasn't going to allow anything or anyone to get in the way of. He's very passionate and it's one of the reasons he has been so successful. He came in and set a very high vision of where he wanted the program to be very high, and he never wavered. When Greg took over at Rutgers, he inherited a program that was near the bottom of the Division I standings and rankings. Now, the Scarlet Knights have been to three consecutive bowl games. Last season, the Rams finished last in their division. Can you make any comparisons between the two programs? Some people can sit back and see some comparisons, but I really do believe we're a couple of steps ahead of what that staff walked into. At that time, they were really at the bottom and coach Schiano did a great job bringing them back up. The overall structure of and the support we've received for our program and having Thorr (Bjorn) being such a supportive athletic director really helps. The cupboard is not bare here - we have some players, and we're going to keep improving. What's been the most enjoyable aspect of working at URI? The people. Obviously, I have a great relationship with Tem and coach Rizzi. Coach (Chris) Pincince was my offensive coordinator in college, and I have remained great friends with him. I have known coach Trainer and have enjoyed getting to work with and know the other members of the staff. I enjoy coaching the running back - they're a good group of kids with two seniors, Joe Casey and Jimmy Hughes, who are working really hard right now. I'm having a lot of fun going out to practice every day. The challenges this job brings makes it that much more enjoyable for me. |
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