Syracuse football saves face with Tony White hire, 3-3-5 defense here to stay

Syracuse football saved some serious face with the hiring of Tony White as the new DC. Here are all the details on the 3-3-5 defense and why it’s good news.

The Syracuse football program has had a rough 12 months.

In 2019 the football program stumbled and bumbled to a disappointing 5-7 finish to the season. The losing forced Dino Babers to fire his friend and defensive coordinator Brian Ward with three games to go.

Fast-forward a few months and Babers found his guy in Zach Arnett, previously of San Diego State. Sadly that partnership lasted a grand total of 11 days.

Syracuse’s backup plan Rocky Long ended up joining New Mexico as their defensive coordinator.

Initially when Arnett was hired the belief was Syracuse would switch to a 3-3-5 defense that Zach had a ton of success with. Then when he left and Rocky Long also got scooped off the market, it seemed like a pipe dream that the Orange would be able to keep the 3-3-5 defense.

On Tuesday evening they saved a ton of face by hiring a candidate they had their eye on early in the process (Tony White) and a guy who is super familiar with the 3-3-5 defense.

Interestingly enough Tony White learned that defense from Rocky Long. The two worked together at San Diego State and they also spent time together at New Mexico.

The analytics speak for themselves in terms of the success with the scheme: (via Tony’s Arizona State bio):

"“The Sun Devil defense finished the regular season 39th in scoring defense, allowing just 23.1 points per game – notables as the Sun Devils had finished 99th or worse in three consecutive seasons prior to White’s arrival in Tempe. ASU has held opponents to 30 points or less in 16 of 25 games in the previous two seasons after opponents scored at least 30 in 32 of 43 games previously.The Sun Devils have given up just two plays over 50 yards this season, tied for the fifth-fewest nationally. ASU was also tied for 9th nationally in allowing just 3 plays of over 50 yards last year after sitting in the bottom 10 nationally in the previous four years.ASU’s eight plays allowed over 40 yards this season are 14th nationally. In 2018, ASU was tied for 11th nationally in allowing just 8 plays over 40 yards, an area the Devils had struggled in previous seasons (allowing 20, 16, 30, 21 in the previous four seasons and finishing 103rd, 79th, 128th, 110th, respectively).”"

So what can the Syracuse football players on defense expect from their new coach Tony White? Here’s a little taste from a few years ago when Tony was asked that question in a behind the scenes interview:

"“I’ve always felt that a coach prepares players so they can do what they do. We’ll take our players through the homework, film study, and execution in practice. On game day it’s making sure that the players are ready to play. They feel good, they feel confident, they feel assured that they know what’s going on based on the preparation.A coach can only do so much. You can give a player the tools but ultimately it’s up to the players to go out and play. My biggest thing is making sure the players are confident. You can’t play the game of football without a little swagger and some confidence.”"

A few final thoughts:

• Tony White, despite his experience as a player and as a coach at several different locations, he has never been a defensive coordinator. Doesn’t mean he can’t or won’t have success at Syracuse, just worth noting.
• Weird random nugget? Syracuse’s new defensive coordinator Tony White once coached SU’s former defensive coordinator Zach Arnett while he was coaching the linebackers at New Mexico. Small world…