Rudzinksi eager to get UVa's revamped D back on track
As Virginia opens up fall camp tonight, every coach on the staff will have plenty to focus on and lots of work ahead. And perhaps none of them have a bigger task in the next few months than new defensive coordinator John Rudzinski, who looks to turn around the negative trend on his side of the ball that Cavalier fans have seen for the past several seasons.
Rudzinski came to join Tony Elliott’s UVa staff from Air Force, where he spent most of his coaching career. An Air Force graduate himself, Rudzinski coached at the Academy for 14 seasons, working with defensive backs and linebackers before eventually working his way up to defensive coordinator where he served for the past four seasons.
And it’s easy to see what intrigued Elliott about Rudzinski and his defense. In his four seasons as defensive coordinator, the Falcons were tenacious and successful, helping the program go 33-15 over that stretch with a pair of double-digit win seasons. Rudzinski’s defense peaked in 2020, when they allowed just 15 points per game and finished fifth nationally in passing defense.
After allowing 25.8 points per game in his first season as defensive coordinator, Rudzinski’s units showed steady improvements, allowing no more than 19.8 points per game in each of the last three seasons. For comparison, UVa allowed 31.8 points per game in 2021, and at least 27 points per game in the two previous seasons.
Rudzinski was an Air Force alum doing a great job coaching defense for his alma mater, so clearly this opportunity intrigued him. Though it was surely difficult to leave behind the Academy and all of the relationships made there, he made it clear when we spoke to him last week that the UVa job was a great fit for him.
“It was a no brainer as far as the commitment to the scholar athletes in the program, and then also the opportunity to be in an unbelievable environment and the opportunity to coach in this great league,” Rudzinski said of taking the Virginia job.
Since coming to Charlottesville, he and the rest of the UVa staff have put in a great amount of work and shared ideas to get the defense ready for fall camp. According to Rudzinski, the work the staff has done together should help them create a defense based on the philosophies of all the coaches involved.
“I guess the biggest thing I was happy with was the commitment of the staff and the excitement that they brought, but then also the diversity of thought and big picture perspective that we have in that room,” he said of the collaboration since the beginning of the year. “It’s fun to see who we can be on defense as we take these great ideas and meld them into one as we try to keep on building on what we accomplished in the spring.”
In the offseason, UVa may have gone from the staff that was the most connected before Charlottesville to one of the least, as Elliott pulled coaches from all over the country. Still, he found assistants with a bevy of experience in different roles and that should help the staff challenge each other to think differently.
“As far as what Coach Elliott did is super unique in our industry. Defensively, Curome (Cox) and I have worked together and (Garett) Tujague and Marques (Hagans) have worked together,” Rudzinski continued. “All these new pieces are working together which is really, really beneficial for guys to be able to look at it from a holistic perspective.
“It’s my job on the defensive side of the ball to be able to take all those different ideas and meld into who we are identity wise,” he added. “So that’s been one of the fun things from a schematic and personnel standpoint.”
As Rudzinski mentioned, the only coach on the current staff that he had worked with before coming to Virginia was Cox, who joined him in Charlottesville as a defensive backs coach and defensive passing game coordinator. Needless to say, Rudzinski is happy that he joined him in the cross-country move.
“The opportunities he had in the offseason, for him to say he wanted to be here at the University of Virginia, and to be with Coach Elliott and myself was a blessing,” Rudzinski said of Cox.
Both former Air Force coaches work with defensive backs and Rudzinski said they share responsibilities with both groups.
“We work hand in hand, with the DB’s, both safeties and corners,” UVa’s new DC said. “There are times when it makes sense for us to have the corners or have the safeties, so we can split it up to get through more film. It allows Curome to be a teacher and run with that defensive backfield.
“What we’ve done is we’ve tried to build a defense that allows guys to get on an edge and try to get after the quarterback,” he added. “If we can make that one position uncomfortable when they take off the red (practice) jersey, we’re going to have a chance to be successful.”
In terms of what the base defense will look like, or what UVa fans can expect to see, the defense is more of a mystery than the other side of the ball. Rudzinski’s Air Force defenses often showed different looks and it’s clear from his answers last week at the media lunch on that the new coordinator is going to be thoughtful about how the Hoos will line up and not try to fit the players into an alignment that isn’t a good fit.
For example, when asked about playing a linebacker instead of a fifth defensive back, Rudzinski said that it’ll come down to which player gives them the best chance for success and the on-field situation.
“What we’ll try to do is put the best 11 on the field,” he explained. “I do think we have guys at inside or outside linebacker that should be on the field. And we’ll find ways throughout the season to make sure we do a great job versus the run, and usually that’s putting a bigger body out there as the field-over.”
Speaking of backers, Rudzinski inherits a great leader and football player in Nick Jackson. Virginia’s middle linebacker is a steady presence and certainly a known commodity heading into the 2022 season. But Rudzinski said that other inside linebackers are starting to emerge as well, so the new defensive coordinator will have options.
“I look at Josh Ahern, Hunter Stewart, James Jackson has done a nice job,” Rudzinski said when asked about linebacker development. “We’ve got some nice depth at that position and some guys that have done a nice job in the spring demonstrating that they can be productive.”
One of the issues that plagued UVa’s defense last year was poor tackling in space. Those mistakes led to big plays, and in some cases lots of yards and points surrendered. When asked, Rudzinski said the staff has made it a point to emphasize tackling since they got on Grounds with the players.
“It’s something that you continually work on, and it’s something that we focused on in the beginning of spring, and it’s something that we’ll continue to work on,” he said on the sound tackling emphasis.
Rudzinski is not only making a big career move and relocating he and his family across the country, he is also familiarizing himself with ACC football. After years in the Mountain West, he now has different players, coaches, and schemes to get familiar with.
“It’s been important that in the offseason I spent time looking at each of these new coordinators in the league,” Rudzinski said. “It’s not only that you’re looking at the personnel side, but frankly who you’re going to call it against, and some of the folks that have been good against them and some that have struggled to try to give yourself a good idea of what that looks like.”
And when asked about his own tendencies and philosophies, Rudzinski echoed what was clear when reviewing Air Force games: He tailors the defense to the players he has and isn’t afraid to make changes if he has personnel with specific skills.
“Every year, just identifying who you are with your personnel and what fits on your scheme, which I think dictates a little bit of what you look like and what you go on the field with,” Rudzinski said. “And you’re continually learning and looking for opportunities to be better, and studying other folks. That’s part of the fun, and the creative process of building a defense, which I really enjoy.”
