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http://www.thestate.com/mld/thestate/15402742.htm

Posted on Thu, Aug. 31, 2006email thisprint thisreprint or license this

The Man

For most of last season, Tyrone Nix had 'co-' in front of his title. Not anymore.

By JOSEPH PERSON

jperson@thestate.com

STARKVILLE — USC will run out 10 new defensive starters and could play as many as five true freshmen on defense tonight at Mississippi State.

In many respects, the guy making the defensive calls is new, too.

Officially, Tyrone Nix was the Gamecocks’ defensive coordinator in 2005, but the title came with qualifiers. Nix was co-coordinator when he shared the post with John Thompson during the regular season, then became the interim defensive chief after Thompson was shown the door before the Independence Bowl.

This year Nix has the job to himself. If he is successful, Nix could join the long line of defensive coordinators (Ron Zook, Bob Pruett and Bob Stoops) who have worked for Steve Spurrier and gone on to become head coaches.

The flip side: If the Gamecocks’ young charges struggle and leave Spurrier’s offense languishing on the bench for long stretches, the criticism will fall squarely on the ample shoulders of Nix.

“It’s a good challenge,” Nix said. “I’m a better coach than I was a year ago. I don’t mean I’m a good coach. I’m just better than I was. I’ll be judged by the product I put on the field.”

This is not Nix’s first rodeo. In 2001, the 29-year-old Nix became the youngest coordinator in the country when he took over the defense at his alma mater of Southern Miss. The Golden Eagles ranked among the top 25 in total defense in two of Nix’s four seasons.

Nix spent 15 years in Hattiesburg as a player and coach until Thompson, a former Southern Miss colleague, called and told him about the position on Spurrier’s staff. Nix was in the co-pilot’s chair until Spurrier grew tired of watching SEC offenses plow through Thompson’s unorthodox looks.

After overhauling the defense two-thirds of the way through the season, the Gamecocks allowed no more than 22 points in any of their final four games with Nix at the helm. But a meltdown against Missouri in the bowl game, in which USC blew a three-touchdown lead, raised questions about Nix’s abilities.

Spurrier spoke with former Auburn assistant Bill Oliver about becoming the Gamecocks’ coordinator. When Oliver passed, Spurrier elevated Nix — then spent much of spring practice with the defense.

But with his second season in Columbia set to begin, Spurrier has returned to drawing up “ball plays.” Nix will have the freedom to run the 4-3 scheme while remaining true to Spurrier’s overall philosophy.

“I’ve got some range,” Nix said. “The biggest thing is coach wants them stopped. And the quicker you can do that and the quicker you can get (the ball) back, the better off you’ll be.”

The Gamecocks were 10th defensively in the SEC in 2005 on third down, allowing opponents to convert 41.4 percent off their chances. That resulted in USC running an SEC-low 60 offensive plays per game, leaving one of the game’s most innovative offensive coaches to stew on the sideline.

“My goal is to have a defense that plays with great effort, plays smart and plays with fundamentals,” Nix said. “If we can do that, we have a chance.”

Derrick Nix, the running backs coach at Southern Miss, predicts his older brother’s defense will be tough and physical. Those were Tyrone Nix’s attributes as a Southern Miss linebacker from 1990-93.

Derrick Nix was in the stands at Sanford Stadium in 1993 when his brother popped Georgia tailback Terrell Davis for no gain on a short-yardage play — one of the few bright spots for Southern Miss on a day when Georgia racked up 667 yards in a 54-24 victory.

“I think that was the first time Terrell Davis (who went on to star for the Denver Broncos) ever had a concussion,” Derrick Nix said. “You could hear (the hit) up in the stands.”

There is a mutual respect among all three Nix brothers, who grew up in Atala, a small city in northeast Alabama. The three have grown closer in the years since Derrick’s promising football career at Southern Miss was cut short by a kidney disease.

After posting back-to-back 1,000-yard rushing seasons, Nix ballooned from 227 to 280 pounds in 2000 before doctors discovered his kidney problem. After surviving a potentially fatal blood clot in his lung in 2001, Nix returned for the 2002 season and again broke the 1,000-yard mark.

Weeks after his final season, however, Nix was back in the hospital, where he learned he would need a transplant. Tyrone Nix was the first family member to be tested as a potential donor. Marcus Nix, the oldest of the brothers, was found to be a better match.

Three years after receiving his brother’s kidney in June of 2003, Derrick Nix is in good health, save for the side effects from his daily intake of 24 pills.

Tyrone Nix said his brother’s ordeal has given him a better appreciation for a healthy lifestyle. Though he is about 15 pounds over his playing weight, Nix tries to exercise every day and maintains bulging calf muscles that are the envy of at least one of his players.

“I joke with him all the time, ‘How can I get mine like that?’ ” middle linebacker Jasper Brinkley said.

But there is no joking with Nix on the field, where the inside linebackers coach is not afraid to get in a player’s face.

“I thought he was a pretty nice coach until I got here, and then I see his intensity kind of trumped up a lot,” said Brinkley, who was recruited by Nix out of Georgia Military.

But USC assistant Dave Wommack, who worked with Nix at Southern Miss, said Nix’s intensity should not be confused for callousness toward his players.

“He loves them off the field,” Wommack said. “He’s going to coach them and coach them hard out there. But he’s going to go in that locker room when he gets through, and anybody he’s gotten on hard he’s going to say something to bring him back.”

Wommack is among those who believe Nix has the right combination of work ethic, character and leadership to be a successful head coach.

Nix said that is a goal he would shoot for “when the time’s right.”

“The best way to do that is to be a good coordinator, I’m assuming,” he said. “The better job you do, the more opportunities will be presented down the road.”

For the time being, Nix has all the challenges he wants.

Reach Person at (803) 771-8496.

Posted

And another:

Tyrone Nix, who earned the reputation of building outstanding defenses in his four seasons as defensive coordinator at Southern Mississippi, has been named assistant football coach at the University of South Carolina. Nix will share the defensive coordinator title along with John Thompson, who the Gamecocks hired last week, and will also handle the defensive line. The hiring of Nix completes first-year USC head coach Steve Spurrier's coaching staff.

During his 10 years on the Southern Miss staff, Nix coached every position on defense. The past four seasons, he served as the Golden Eagles' defensive coordinator and inside linebackers' coach. In that 10-year period, he has tutored 12 All-Conference USA selections, four C-USA Defensive Player of the Year performers, and six All-Americas. USM has also enjoyed team success with Nix aboard, winning four C-USA championships and earning seven post-season bowl berths.

"We feel really good about the addition of Tyrone Nix to our staff," said Coach Spurrier. "He will serve as co-coordinator of our defense, along with John Thompson. Tyrone has an excellent track record for coaching outstanding defenses and he is very familiar with John Thompson and Dave Wommack's style of defensive play, as the three of them coached together at Southern Miss. We believe Tyrone is an excellent coach and an excellent recruiter."

Nix's Southern Miss defenses ranked among the nation's toughest over the past few years. In 2004, the Golden Eagles ranked second in the conference in pass efficiency defense, were tied for first with Louisville with 16 interceptions, ranked second in scoring defense and third in total defense. USM finished 7-5 this past season, topped off by a victory in the New Orleans Bowl last week.

In 2003, the Southern Miss defensive unit ranked No. 5 in the nation in pass defense, No. 13 in pass efficiency defense, No. 14 in scoring defense and No. 23 in total defense. A trio of All-Americas - Rod Davis, Michael Boley and Etric Pruitt - led the defensive effort. Davis was a three-time All-America and is the C-USA career tackle leader (526) and tackle for loss leader (60.5). He is the first three-time All-America in the history of the school. Nix's coaching efforts were recognized that season, as he was honored as one of the top assistant coaches in the nation, finishing as a finalist for the Broyles Award, given annually to the nation's most outstanding assistant football coach.

In 2002, Southern Miss ranked No. 4 nationally in pass efficiency defense, No. 10 in pass defense, and No. 15 in scoring defense. Going into the 2001 season, Nix had the distinction of being the youngest coordinator in the country (29 years of age at the time) but he quickly used that status to drive himself to even loftier heights in his profession. Despite losing seven defensive starters from the 2000 squad, Nix's 2001 USM defense ranked among the nation's leaders in scoring defense (8th), total defense (11th), pass efficiency defense (12th), rushing defense (13th) and turnover margin (21st). As defensive backs coach for the Golden Eagles in 2000, three of Nix's players signed NFL contracts, including Leo Barnes, who was a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and C-USA's Defensive Player of the Year. In 1999, Nix coached Adalius Thomas, who was an All-America pick and member of the 2000 NFL Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens.

Nix was a standout linebacker at Southern Miss (1990-93) and was team captain his senior year. Nix's position coach his final two seasons at USM was John Thompson, who he will now help coordinate the Gamecock defense with. Nix coached alongside Thompson (1995-98) and Dave Wommack (1995-2000), USC's newly-hired secondary coach, during his 10 seasons at Southern Miss.

"Tyrone Nix is a terrific football coach and a terrific person," said Coach Thompson. "It will be great to be back coaching with him and Dave Wommack again."

"Becoming a part of the South Carolina program presents itself as a tremendous opportunity," said Nix. "I look forward to working with some coaches I've worked with before and especially look forward to working for a head coach like Steve Spurrier. I'd like to become a head coach one day, and this will be a great opportunity to be around some outstanding football coaches."

Born September 30, 1972, Nix is a native of Attalla, Ala., and earned his bachelor's degree from Southern Miss in 1995. He is married to the former Toya Phelps and the couple has a son: Tyvari (7).

Comments from USC coach Steve Spurrier on completing his staff: "We're very pleased with the group of coaches we have assembled. They are all coaches who really want to be at South Carolina and work to make the Gamecock program successful. This will be a staff that works together well and gets along well. We very much are looking forward to finishing up a strong recruiting class, beginning our winter conditioning program in January, and then moving into spring practice in March."

USC Defensive Note: All four members of the USC defensive coaching staff (John Thompson, Tyrone Nix, Ron Cooper and Dave Wommack) have been defensive coordinators at one time or another during their coaching careers. Additionally, Cooper has nine years of head coaching experience to his credit, while Thompson has two years of head coaching experience.

Posted

Derrick Nix, the running backs coach at Southern Miss, predicts his older brother’s defense will be tough and physical. Those were Tyrone Nix’s attributes as a Southern Miss linebacker from 1990-93.

And we'd probably get a running backs coach too.

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