CSU FOOTBALL: Rams pick their defensive coordinator – Derrick Ansley from powerful Alabama.
Derrick Ansley just got done working for powerful Alabama
Derrick Ansley was once an NCAA Division III assistant working his way up the college football coaching ladder from seemingly the bottom rung. Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Ala., didn’t have a winning season in program history before Ansley arrived as its defensive backs coach, but five seasons later, in 2009, the team earned its first-ever playoff berth.
Much else has changed since. Ansley rose quickly in the profession as defensive backs coach at Tennessee (2012), Kentucky (2013-15) and Alabama (2016-18). His next career move, though, will harken back to his Huntingdon days with one specific mantra: Embrace the rebuild.
Ansley joined Colorado State’s staff as the defensive coordinator just as soon as the Crimson Tide got done playing Georgia in Monday night’s national championship game, a source close to the Rams confirmed to The Denver Post. He arrives in Fort Collins with the ultimate blank slate — final say on hiring every defensive position coach; a roster void of 12 graduated defensive seniors; and a 17-member early signing class that includes 12 newcomers on defense.
It will also be the first time Ansley, 36, has served as a full-time defensive coordinator.
That is a whole lot of responsibility without a whole lot of experience.
A long line of pro-ready Alabama defensive backs has continued to develop under Ansley’s leadership. The Tide leads the nation in pass-efficiency defense and gave up just seven touchdowns through the air all season entering Monday.
Junior defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick is projected by most as a first-round pick in April’s NFL draft, and Alabama signed a trio of four-star-rated defensive backs last month. The Nick Saban coaching tree has also produced several prominent names: Mark Dantonio, Jimbo Fisher, Will Muschamp, Jim McElwain, Lane Kiffin and Kirby Smart.
Ansley might be next, but first, he’ll have to whip up some Huntingdon magic with the Rams.
CSU head coach Mike Bobo was quick to clean house defensively when given the opportunity. CSU allowed 13 touchdowns rushing over its final five games, and the Rams gave up more than 250 yards passing on six different occasions. In CSU’s 31-28 New Mexico Bowl loss, Marshall hit on scoring plays of 68, 76 and 90 yards. That won’t cut it for a conference title contender.
It would be wise to allow for a learning curve, though, for Ansley in this new endeavor. The Rams’ first three games are a buzz saw: vs. Colorado, vs. Arkansas and at Florida. Full judgment on the hire might not become clear until Year 2 or 3 with the program.
But CSU’s increased financial commitment to football through salary boosts, contract extensions and facility upgrades still ramps up the pressure to field an immediate winner in 2018, or at least more than seven victories as the Rams have produced in each of the past three years. CSU stockpiled enough talent offensively to produce among the Mountain West’s elite. It’s due time the defense caught up.
It would appear Bobo has found his desired match to make it happen, as he described back in December.
“There are a lot of people out there that I know in this business that are good coaches, have been at good places and done a lot of great things,” Bobo said. “But I’ve got to find the right fit for this football team and this program.”