Arizona's defense toughened behind Casteel
TUCSON, Ariz. -- There wasn't any hesitation or doubt when Jake Fischer was asked who Jeff Casteel was and what was he about.
"A mad genius; a mad genius," said Fischer, who at linebacker was at the center of Casteel's hybrid and unconventional 3-3-5 defense for two years.
He's also a guy who always looks to add a new twist or scheme to a system few people play. And a master motivator. And, and, and. He's all that and more.
"He's a humble guy, not a big-ego guy," said Arizona cornerbacks coach David Lockwood, who has been with Casteel dating back to West Virginia.
What Casteel has done -- with the confidence of head coach Rich Rodriguez fully behind him -- is get a bunch of underappreciated players to believe in a system and accomplish what few thought was capable. Another test comes Saturday when No. 10 Arizona (5-0) faces USC (3-2) in front of another national TV (ESPN2) audience and a sold-out Arizona Stadium.
For Arizona's defense, the numbers do lie. It's gone from 12th in the conference in overall defense two years ago to eighth last year to -- huh? -- 10th this year, giving up an average of 509 yards a game in Pac-12 play. Overall it's giving up 433 a game.
For most of this season, "bend-but-don't break" has been a common theme. But last week, against Oregon it was more like, "if you come into our space, well, good luck." In 45 games since 2011, only LSU and Stanford had held Oregon to fewer than 3.5 yards per carry. Arizona is now No. 3. Third down was misery for the Ducks, going 4 for 14.
A defense that once was cautious has turned aggressive. Arizona can thank Casteel, a "fine-tooth comb" kind of guy. Nothing gets past him. He's hoping to build that type of defense, too.
"There was a point to where I knew what they were going to run 95 percent of the time," Fischer said recently. "Coach Casteel and the defensive staff helped me develop that mental edge. Let's face it. I'm not the biggest, not the fastest, but we were smart. But we were able to get there before the play did."
USC at No. 10 ARIZONA
When: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Arizona Stadium
TV: ESPN2 (Dave Pasch, Brian Griese)
Now, it's just happening more frequently, and with better personnel. Yet, one wouldn't know how pleased Casteel is about it. He's granted only one interview this season (early into fall camp) and is rarely in front of a microphone or reporter's notepad.
"He's all ball," said Rodriguez. "There's no drama to Jeff. He's great with his family. And he's close with the defensive staff. The coordinator sets the tone with that...that's really helped us. The players can see the chemistry on the staff isn't fake, it's real. And it's been real for many years."
Casteel is a guy who gets players to believe they can play with anyone.
When everyone -- including some Arizona players -- was saying Oregon was bigger, stronger, faster, all it meant was: What does it matter? And we've got this.
Lockwood smiled when told that, nodding his head.
"It's getting the guys to understand that, hey, we might not be the best athlete, but then again, the best athlete doesn't always win," Lockwood said. "It's all about playing with heart and playing the game and getting after it physically."
Lockwood said Casteel typifies Arizona's "hard edge."
Where had Arizona's defense been before last week? Arizona safety Jared Tevis said it's been a work in progress.
"We hadn't played with that consistency, but it's definitely in us," Tevis said. "Our play can't waiver. How we played last week is how we should play every week. And we can improve beyond that."
Rodriguez hopes so because, well, they'll have to with USC, Washington State and UCLA coming in successive games.
"We still didn't create a lot of turnovers, but it was a talented team," Rodriguez said of Oregon. "We played hard and didn't give up a lot of big plays and followed the plan pretty well."
As a group, the defensel played better, Rodriguez said, but it still needs to be more consistent.
Rodriguez said he went to the 3-3-5 in 2001 while at West Virginia because "we thought it would be unique."
It provided flexibility in facing the different schemes his team would see. Thirteen years later, it's still his staple.
"We thought our base could play against any scheme and be sound," Rodriguez said.
USC coach Steve Sarkisian figures Arizona is plenty sound and well-coached in its scheme.
"They do a nice job of playing zone and man coverage and do a good job of mixing the pressure up front," Sarkisian said this week. "And they have a good leader. The Wright kid (Scooby Wright) is a kid who makes plays. It's a good group."
But still a long way from where Rodriguez would like it to be. When Rodriguez and Casteel arrived here three years ago, talent was spotty and depth was non-existent.
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"We're still not to the point to where we can play 18-22 guys defensively (and) have that steady rotation," Rodriguez said. "We're increasing the talent, and a lot of it is young, but they're getting us to hang in there."
Fischer said one of the problems in the first year was getting used to playing the 3-3-5. The second year was better, and now you can see the third year things really starting to click. Tevis agreed.
"There was a transition year, but no matter where you go, there's going to be a learning curve," Tevis said. "But once we started to figure out where to go and where he wanted us to be, we started to establish an identity. We're still trying to establish that. And that's a hard-nose, get-after-it team ... one that will fly around and get after it."
In the mold of Casteel.
"He is as real as they come," Fischer said. "He has no problems with telling you how it is. He knows when a guy needs positive reinforcement and he knows when guys need a kick in the rear end. He wants the best for his players and puts the time in. He expects his players to give everything they've got. Every snap is a chance to get better."