The notion that Johnny Nansen never has called plays in a college game is a bit misleading.
It’s true that he’s a full-time defensive coordinator for the first time. But Arizona’s first-year DC held the positions of run-game coordinator and assistant head coach during his six seasons at USC. After he switched from offense to defense in 2016, Nansen worked in concert with the Trojans’ defensive coordinator at the time, Clancy Pendergast.
“In between series, Clancy and I would get on the headset,” Nansen said Tuesday. “’Hey, what do you like? What do you see?’ Him and I would share some thoughts.”
Nansen believes in collaboration. He isn’t making a big deal out of making his debut as a defensive coordinator against San Diego State on Saturday because he doesn’t view it through that lens.
“It’s never about me,” Nansen said. “It’s about our staff getting together and brainstorming what’s best for our guys.”
Nansen added that once the game plan is formulated, “anybody could call it.”
That’s also an exaggeration. Nansen earned the job he has now. It’s the culmination of 20-plus years of grinding his way through the profession.
Nansen, 48, played linebacker at Washington State, where he received a degree in business administration. After his playing career ended, he worked for Toyota Racing Development in Costa Mesa, California.
Mike Ono, Nansen’s coach at Jordan High School in Long Beach, reached out to his former quarterback. Nansen dropped by to see him. It was at that moment that Nansen discovered what he said was his “calling.”
“As soon as I stepped on the field,” Nansen said, “I knew this is what I wanted to do.”
So began a coaching odyssey that took Nansen from the high school ranks to Louisville, Montana State, Idaho State, Idaho and four programs in the Pac-12: Washington, USC, UCLA and Arizona.
Throughout that journey, Nansen coached — and learned — all aspects of football. He has coached almost every position, from running back to linebacker to special teams. He described the early days as both fun and challenging.
“I thought I knew everything,” Nansen said. “I had no idea how to prepare and all that good stuff.”
Nansen has gone from pupil to professor, overseeing “Football School” during the offseason after he became Arizona’s defensive coordinator. He endeavored to teach his charges about offense as well as defense. His enthusiasm was infectious.
“I love his passion,” UA coach Jedd Fisch said. “If ... part of our culture is going to be playing with passion, then we need coaches that are going to coach with that same type of passion — to be able to get players to run through a wall for them.”
Veteran defensive end Jalen Harris, who’s had a new coordinator almost every year he’s been at Arizona, praised Nansen’s energy and approach.
“We work hard, but he makes it fun,” Harris said. “He just wants to push us to be better and smarter football players.”
Although he hadn’t been a full-time defensive coordinator before, Nansen came to Tucson with a fully formed plan for how he wanted to reshape the UA defense. The Wildcats primarily will play a 4-2-5. They’ll play more zone coverage than they did a year ago.
“I like to attack,” Nansen said. “But we gotta be sound. We gotta be gap-sound. Assignment football.”
How exactly Nansen will call Saturday’s game remains to be seen. Fisch, who calls the offensive plays, talked to him about it and offered some basic advice.
“Be you. Be confident. Believe in your preparation,” Fisch said. “That is the No. 1 thing you can tell anybody. Trust the process, right?
“You’ve worked awfully hard to get to where you’re at. If you do that, I believe that good things will come.”
Fisch and his assistants have seen Nansen’s work up close during practice. Offensive coordinator Brennan Carroll lauded Nansen’s ability to mix up looks and “keep you guessing.”
If there’s one constant, it’s Nansen’s desire for his group to play with all-out effort. After every snap during training camp, you can hear him yell, in his distinctly raspy voice, “Go!”
Carroll expects to see — and hear — the same Saturday in San Diego.
“Just be yourself. Let your attitude and your enthusiasm come out in your play-calling,” Carroll said. “If you try to do something other than that, you’re making stuff up.”
Bracketing Burmeister
Nansen disclosed one of his main objectives for Saturday: keeping SDSU quarterback Braxton Burmeister contained.
Burmeister is one of the Aztecs’ fastest players. He rushed for 521 yards and two touchdowns last season at Virginia Tech.
“We’ve just got to make sure we’re sound in the quarterback run game — everybody’s doing their job,” Nansen said. “And then in the passing game we’ve got to make sure we keep him in the pocket. He’s dangerous when he gets outside the pocket. The kids are aware.”
That containment strategy requires both aggression and discipline. The Wildcats want to harass Burmeister, of course. But they can’t go flying upfield knowing he could run past them.
“We just have to stay in our rushing lanes,” Harris said. “A lot of it has to be power rushes and making sure he’s not getting outside of us — or inside of us. So we just have to, as a D-line, work together.”
Quarterback Will Plummer is helping the defense by playing the role of Burmeister for the scout team. Plummer started seven games last season. He’s still rehabbing from shoulder surgery and was listed fifth on the depth chart released Monday.
Extra points
Nansen on what motivates him: “The kids. When they move on and graduate from college and have the opportunity to better their families, go into the NFL, that’s what drives me every single day when I get up. What can I do to help these young men become better people and better players?”
Carroll isn’t planning to rotate along the offensive line, but will do so if necessary. “We’ll see, wind-wise, how everyone’s holding up in terms of just being able to play really fast,” he said. “We could keep all five out there (the whole game). If we need a guy (it will be) a series here, series there.”
The UA tweeted that more than 4,000 new season tickets have been sold for 2022. The Wildcats’ home opener is a week from Saturday against Mississippi State.
