Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The name Hugh Green isn't going to resonate much, if at all, with contemporary college football players. Green played defensive end nearly 40 years ago at the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a double-digit sack guy all four of his seasons, a three-time first-team All-American, a Heisman Trophy runner-up, a first-round draft pick and, in time, was put on college football's first All-Century team.

Sal Sunseri, new defensive line coach for the Florida Gators, was a starting linebacker and teammate of Green's on those phenomenal Pitt teams. He was witness to a huge chunk of Green's — get this — 460 tackles (277 unassisted, 52 for loss), 53 sacks and 24 forced fumbles.

"I never saw anyone beat Hugh Green one-on-one during his time at the University of Pittsburgh. Not once," Sunseri recalled after a UF practice last week. "He was quicker, stronger, faster, more explosive, great with his hands — just unbelievable. His ability to snap and strike was amazing. Incredible speed and ability to strike you. I can honestly say I've never seen anyone as dominant as he was at that spot."
 
Now, that's saying something. Why? Because Sunseri, the player, also lined up alongside Rickey Jackson, a future Pro Football Hall of Famer. Chris Doleman, also enshrined in Canton, was a freshman Sunseri's senior year. Carlton Williamson, a three-time Super Bowl-winning cornerback for the San Francisco 49ers, played there, too. So did first-round picks Tim Lewis and Bill Maas. And on the other offensive side of the ball lurked Dan Marino and Russ Grimm (also Hall of Famers), plus first-rounders Mark May, Jimbo Covert, Bill Fralic and Randy McMillan.

 

Yes, Sunseri learned early about great football players because they were everywhere around him. Heck, he grew into one himself, blossoming into a first-team All-American during his 1981 senior season.

As he progressed through the coaching ranks, that didn't change.

Fast forward to his first NFL post as defensive line coach of the Carolina Panthers, who trotted out Julius Peppers, Kris Jenkins, Brentson Bruckner and Mike Rucker on the way to Super Bowl XXXVIII (and a last-second loss to New England). At Alabama, it was Terrence Cody, Marcell Dareus, Rolando McClain, C.J. Mosley, Dre Kirkpatrick, Don'ta Hightower and Kareem Jackson.

In the three years prior to joining Coach Dan Mullen's staff in January, Sunseri coached linebackers with the Oakland Raiders. Ever heard of 2016 NFL Defensive Player of the Year Kahil Mack?  

"He's a great coach," UF senior nose tackle Khairi Clark said. "He's showing us how it is at the next level."

More importantly, how it needs to be right here, right now.

Sunseri, 58, knows great football because he's played with it, coached it and, basically, been surrounded by it the past four decades.

"What it takes is a bunch of kids, a bunch of leaders saying, 'You know what? We have a chance to be pretty good, so everybody do their job!' " said Sunseri, now on his 13th stop as an assistant coach. "There are 11 fistfights out there. Do your job, and if we win nine or 10 out of those 11, we'll be all right."

The Mullen makeover is entering its final weekend of the spring season, what with the last scrimmage in the books and the Orange & Blue Game set for Saturday at 3 p.m. The case can be made (rather easily, in fact) that Mullen is here because of the failed attempt of his predecessor, Jim McElwain, to field an offense good enough to keep the Gators competitive in the Southeastern Conference. The case can also be made (with perhaps some pushback from members of the secondary) that defensive line is the deepest position group on that side of the ball. Sunseri inherited a terrific group, led by the likes of Clark, CeCe Jefferson, Jabari Zuniga, Jachai Polite and Tedarrell Slaton, to name a few.

Chris Rumph, who coached the unit under McElwain and is now at Tennessee, was very popular in the D-line room. Sunseri is charged with taking the group up a notch, but doing it his way.

"You have to be you, which means you set your standard, and he's going to do that," Mullen said. "Our players are seeing the improvements they're making, whether it's with their physical ability and their strength and conditioning gains to their football improvements. They all want somebody to make them better. As players, they may have liked the guy before, but if the new guy is making them better and coaching them and putting them in position to make plays, they're going to listen."

So far, that's exactly what's happening. Sunseri's reputation and track record have helped.

"He's got that résumé," junior Antonneous Clayton said. "Having coached a guy like Kahil Mack? 'Man, what did you teach that guy?' He's a tremendous player, one of the best in the league. We can learn that stuff and interpret it to the field."

Added Slaton: "You just want to pick his brain. What were those guys like? What were their moves? What did you teach them to do?"

Sunseri has been where they all want to go.
 
"They're working extremely hard," Sunseri said. "I think they're trying to get better on their techniques and understand the system we're trying to put in. They're giving very good effort. They're getting better each day and learning more about football and what it takes to be a champion, and executing what they need to do."

Sunseri is a stickler for details. Great athletes are everywhere, but if they're not doing what they're coached to do — alignment, assignment, key progression, hand fits, finishing drills — than great athleticism is reduced to just jumping around and trying to avoid blocks. That gets teams beat.

That's been an ongoing theme during position drills at practice. Sunseri doesn't sugarcoat his desire for perfection, either. In fact, he's quite blunt (and colorful) about it.

"He snaps at us and gets on our butts, but's it's all out of love because he expects us to be the best we can be," Clark said.

 

The tactics are different than Rumph's, but that's not to say less effective.

"Don't get me wrong, we loved Rumph," Clayton said. "But there's different ways, you know? And we're going to do it his way or no way at all. It's a whole new program and you have to adjust. At first, we were doing a lot of things our old coach would have had us doing, but he kind of broke those habits real fast."

Sunseri knows exactly what he wants because he's seen exactly what has worked for some the best.

Ever.

"As a player, I had greatness around me. Guys that knew what to do, and I became one of those guys," Sunseri said. "I knew where the ball was going because I studied tape. I invested time in it. I didn't have the talent of Hugh Green or Rickey Jackson, but I knew where the ball was going because I studied tape, I knew stances, knew tendencies, studied eyes. I just knew."

Now, his Gators will know.