Murray State University Athletics
Therrell brings strong Racer defense back around to where it started
8/2/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
You may have heard the old saying, "What goes around comes around." During some of the most successful seasons in the history of Murray State Racer football, defense was the rock than anchored that success.
Mike Gottfried employed an attacking defensive scheme that gave opposing quarterbacks fits. His assistant, Frank Beamer, was obviously paying attention, and he continued that defensive success with the Racers, then at Virginia Tech, where he built the Hokies into a yearly contender for a national championship.
Last season, the Racers ranked first in pass defense and second in total defense in the Ohio Valley Conference, but also gave up 28.2 points per game to rank sixth among the league's eight teams, and they finished next-to-last in the league in stopping the run.
Head coach Joe Pannunzio said he wanted someone who would bring that attacking style back to the Racer program. The man for the job was 25-year coaching veteran Dennis Therrell. As it turns out, Therrell went to Blacksburg several years ago to learn the defense from the Virginia Tech coaching staff.
Therrell was named the Racers' defensive coordinator this past spring, and he has already made an impact on pre-season All-OVC defensive back Laroni Gallishaw.
“I have noticed a big change,“ said Gallishaw. “We like to go at teams now. With the scheme we bring to the game, teams really won't know what to expect.”
Therrell was an assistant under Todd Berry at Illinois State, where he helped make a perennial Gateway Conference doormat into a national title contender. He believes the key to being good defensively is being sound.
“If you are a gap-control defense, everybody must understand where they fit in the defense,” said Therrell. “If you blitz, you blitz for a reason, and not call a blitz just because you have the urge to blitz.”
With Illinois State, it was like starting from square one. The Racers, however, have a solid pass defense, thanks to an experienced line that could be among the OVC's best.
“Marcus White is as good as I have coached at the I-AA level, “ said Therrell, “but he has to continue to get better, and that will make the players around him better.”
Greg Archer, Ron Samuel, Brandon Dixon and Greg Blake should fill the bill, but developing depth will be a priority in fall practice.
The secondary is also anchored by outstanding players like Gallishaw and Demetrick Westbrook, giving the Racers experience in the defensive backfield.
“Laroni is a great football player,” said Therrell. “He is as good as I have coached at any level.”
Therrell is familiar with Gallishaw from his days at Army, when Gallishaw played for C-USA rival Louisville. Gallishaw says that if the defensive line is as good as advertised, their job will be easier.
There are personnel questions issues. At inside linebacker, Therrell was not pleased with what he saw in the spring.
“Right now, we don't have enough playmakers there that truly understand the defense or where they need to go,“ he said. “There were plays that I thought we should have made that we did not make. We have got to get better at inside linebacker, and that's my job. That's why I'm coaching: to make them better.”
