Syracuse football has a new defensive coordinator for the 2020 season, but who is Zach Arnett? We have all the details with a deep dive background check.
The Syracuse football team let go of their defensive coordinator Brian Ward at the tail-end of 2019. Syracuse entered the season with high expectations on the defensive side of the ball but failed to live up to the hype.
Now the Orange will enter a new era under defensive coordinator Zach Arnett. With so much unknown, it’s time for answers. Here are the top things to know about the former San Diego State product.
Where did Zach Arnett come from?
Zach Arnett played his college ball at New Mexico for four years under head coach Rocky Long who was also the head coach at San Diego State where Zach served as the defensive coordinator.
Arnett was a standout linebacker at New Mexico where he was named captain for his senior season. Zach was also a first-team Academic All-American in 2008 and a four-time academic all-conference honoree and scholar-athlete. He graduated from New Mexico in 2009 with his bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in political science.
After being promoted to linebackers coach in 2014 after spending three years as a defensive graduate assistant. Zach took over as the defensive coordinator 2017 and made a major difference for the San Diego State defense.
What did Zach Arnett accomplish at San Diego State?
Over the last five seasons the San Diego State defense ranked in the top 11 in the nation in many different defensive categories. Those categories include first in interceptions, sixth in rushing defense, sixth in total defense, ninth in scoring defense, 10th in turnovers forced, 10th in interceptions returned for touchdowns, and 11th in passing defense.
FUN FACT: Zach has a trend of getting the most out of his linebackers, which shouldn’t be a major surprise considering he’s a former linebacker. That’ll sure come in handy next season for the Orange who are expected to roll out another new set of linebackers for the future.
What will Zach Arnett bring to Syracuse?
Zach is going to bring a much needed energy boost to the Syracuse defense. Zach runs a 3-3-5 base defense that has the capabilities of morphing into other fronts depending on the opposing personnel.
In its’ simplest form the 3-3-5 defense means they will be playing three defensive linemen, three linebackers, and five defensive backs on most defensive plays.
The defense that Zach is bringing will be perfect for Syracuse in the ACC which will bring more speed and sideline to sideline quickness on the field.
Who will benefit from the new scheme?
One of the players who will benefit will be defensive lineman Josh Black. We did a full breakdown here of how he can embrace his new role.
Josh will have the opportunity to line up as a defensive end and a defensive tackle in which he will be able to showcase his talents at both positions. Josh will most likely be defensive end when McKinley Williams is in the game at defensive tackle.
Another player who will benefit from the new scheme will be linebacker Mikel Jones who earned some playing time as a freshman in 2019. Mikel has the speed and quickness to play sideline to sideline which is a key in Zach’s new scheme.
Syracuse will be losing their starting linebacker duo in Andrew Armstrong and Lakiem Williams via to graduation.
Two more players who will have a major effect in the secondary will be Andre Cisco and Trill Williams.
Andre Cisco is one of the top safeties in all of college football and is poised for another breakout season in his junior year.
Trill Williams had a breakout sophomore season and got better as the season went on. With Chris Fredrick graduating, Trill will most likely take over that number one cornerback job on the outside (that’s where he finished last season after playing some nickel).