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Heading into Week 3, Syracuse prepared to face a balanced Purdue team. Hudson Card hadn’t thrown an interception while throwing for over 500 passing yards through two games and running back Devin Mockobee had 155 yards and two touchdowns. But, after the first half, defensive coordinator Rocky Long noticed the Boilermakers weren’t rushing as much as expected.

In the locker room, Long pulled his defense together. The veteran coach wanted to pressure Card more. Long drew up a new formation, giving the down linemen and linebackers different stunts and twists to utilize.

Marlowe Wax said it took Long just two minutes to teach Syracuse’s defense a new play, designed primarily to combat passing downs. He didn’t write down the play on a whiteboard or piece of paper. He showed it to his unit and gave the defense “a couple of seconds to think about it.”

“I think any time that a guy that’s painting a portrait, he’s a master and he wants to do a stroke that someone else hasn’t done before with the knowledge that he has, I think you should allow that person to have the creativity to be different,” head coach Dino Babers said.

Long first made a name for himself as the defensive coordinator at Oregon State, creating what became the 3-3-5 defense. A professor of defensive schemes, Long’s chaotic, fast-paced defense shaped UCLA, New Mexico and San Diego State into west coast powerhouses. Through three games with Syracuse, Long’s defense has tallied nine sacks and four interceptions while allowing just four touchdowns.

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Long is no stranger to creating new plays on the fly. In fact, he drew up the coveted 3-3-5 scheme on a bar napkin. Now leading the Syracuse defense, Long prefers smaller players getting open though gap cancellations and pre-snap motion. The stature of physical, undersized guys, like Wax, Kevon Darton and Derek McDonald, fit Long’s style perfectly.

Long came close to joining Syracuse after retiring from San Diego State in 2020. The lure of coaching against pass-heavy opponents in the Atlantic Coast Conference intrigued him. When then-SU defensive coordinator Tony White left for Nebraska last season, Babers reached out to Long.

“Coach Long has seen a lot of football, so he knows how to do those things,” Wax said after Saturday’s win. “That’s my first time, a DC coming in and creating a whole new play.”

Defensive back Isaiah Johnson said Syracuse’s corners mostly played man defense against Purdue, so the new play didn’t affect them. Long’s concoction focused on loading the box to overpower the offensive line and swarm Card as quickly as possible. Syracuse ended the game with two sacks, forcing seven fumbles and one interception.

Johnson said defensive coordinators usually make adjustments during every break, but that it was unique to have an entirely new play drawn up. Though it was the first time Wax had seen that take place, he expects it to happen again this season.

Because most of Syracuse’s defensive linemen and linebackers have been with the Orange for a few years, Wax said they’re familiar with the defense. Long’s new play acted as a variation of a known scheme, making it easier for SU’s players to understand it in a matter of minutes.

The majority of time in that huddle was spent on learning “a different lingo.” During Purdue’s first possession of the third quarter, Syracuse put four down on the line, with a fifth rusher on the edge acting as a decoy that typically dropped back in coverage. That drive ended with Purdue going three and out after gaining just 13 yards. Darton broke through two linemen in the A-gap on the left side and sacked Card.

“He’s a mastermind. He knows everything about football,” Wax said.

Published on September 19, 2023 at 8:45 pm

Contact Anthony: aalandt@syr.edu | @anthonyalandt