Assistants

Athlon on Wilcox: “In just two seasons, Wilcox has transformed Washington’s defense from one of the worst to one of the best in the Pac-12.”

Athlon on Norvell: “Looking for the next Chad Morris (Clemson’s highly regarded offensive coordinator)? Look no further than Tempe, Ariz., ... (where) Norvell coordinates one of the Pac-12’s top offenses.”

Said ESPN college football analyst Brock Huard: “It’s funny. I’ve got a friend that’s in the football-operations profession at a major school, and he said to me, ‘You know, if you could ever just give me a buzz when you meet an assistant that strikes you as a possible head coach-in-waiting, someone that’s really impressive along the football trail.’

“And Mike’s one of those guys. Justin’s one of those guys. When you talk to them, you just get the sense that, yeah, these guys are on their way.”

Although Wilcox has more experience, both coordinators have much in common. Both are in their second seasons at their respective schools. And both have their units performing at high levels. Washington’s defense ranks 25th nationally, giving up 19.8 points per game. ASU’s offense ranks ninth nationally, scoring 44.2 points. If the season ended today, that would be the Sun Devils’ highest scoring average in 41 years.

“We’ve done a good job of trying to execute the things that we’re doing,” Norvell said. “I think you’ve seen a lot of growth from the offense, a lot of versatility. Obviously, we’ve had some setbacks, a couple games where we didn’t play our best, but the guys have done a good job responding. After the Notre Dame loss, I thought we came back and played very well in the first half (last week) against Colorado. The whole key is to continue to progress and get better every week.”

Wilcox said similar things after last week’s loss to No. 2 Oregon. His roots are on offense. Former Oregon coach Mike Bellotti recruited Wilcox as a quarterback but later moved him to the Ducks’ defensive backfield. Opponents that tried to test him usually

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When you talk to them, you just get the sense that, yeah, these guys are on their way (to being head coaches).” ESPN analyst, on coordinators Mike Norvell of Arizona State and Justin Wilcox of Washington failed. After his playing career, Wilcox coached linebackers for three seasons at California. In 2006, he became defensive coordinator at Boise State, helping the Broncos lead the Western Athletic Conference in defense all four seasons he was there.

After spending two seasons as defensive coordinator at Tennessee, Wilcox moved to Washington, where he inherited a mess. The Huskies were coming off a season in which they ranked next to last in the Pac-12 in scoring defense and total defense. In two seasons, Wilcox has changed the unit’s course.

“His experience at Boise, doing more with less, really helped him,” Bellotti said. “I think people forget — because Boise is always known as a great offensive team — but they played great defense while he was there. That was one of the hallmarks of their success. And I think going to Tennessee opened up Justin’s eyes a little, just to become more versatile as a coordinator. You see tremendous athletes and have to figure out a way to stop a variety of schemes at that level.”

Huard said Washington’s reversal under Wilcox is more impressive considering he’s done it without a dominant defensive front.

His success, Huard said, boils down to two things, both of which also could apply to Norvell:

“Like any tremendous coach, any future head coach, Justin A) gets the most out of his talent and B) just works his tail off to put the guys in the best position for success,’’ Huard said. “Those two things are cliche and sound very simple, but I think the average college football fan would be surprised and shocked at how many coaches, even at the major-college and professional level, are unable to do those things.”