Banker and company have developed into one of the best

By Cliff Kirkpatrick
Gazette-Times Reporter

Defensive success has been the mainstay of the season for the Oregon State football team, and it’s not a surprise to the coaching staff.

It’s a slow process to reach the level the Beavers are playing with recruiting, player development and learning the scheme defensive coordinator Mark Banker and his staff teaches.

Those aspects have come together to create the best defense against the run in the country, with the squad 13th overall in total defense.

All this is happening without a superstar. It’s a group effort with heavy rotation in the defensive line, some at linebacker and a veteran secondary sharing time with younger players due to injury.

“We have quite a few players who are juniors or seniors who have played in our system and have experience,” Banker said. “This year, it’s a combination of the recruiting process, time in the system, players with good ability.”

Banker’s second tour with OSU began in 2003 with coach Mike Riley after their stint with the San Diego Chargers. A solid defense was already in place that year and the team excelled, ranking in the top three in the conference in many categories.

Since then, it has been a long rebuilding process. Different experience levels caused weaknesses in the defense.

In 2004 there were problems in the front seven but a strong secondary. The following year, the situation reversed. Then experience met development in the middle of last year.

Banker can now get the most out of his players because they know what they are doing, so he can go deeper into teaching the game. And there’s depth so Banker can rest starters or fill in for them if hurt.

“He spends a lot of time putting together a plan for these players,” Riley said. “He’s a great technical coach with the overall coordination of the defense. He does a great job of utilizing personnel, and he helps motivate these guys to play with the passion they do. He’s a great mentor for them off the field.”

Teaching players

Once the defensive coaches ingrain their scheme into the players — and that takes some time — much of their effort goes into teaching them about the opponent’s offense each week.

Banker wants the players to understand the generalities of the offense, and then get specific on what happens on the different downs and distances.

After seeing the spread offense so much in the last year, it’s now an easy scheme for the Beavers to defend.

“We make it our focus to teach our defense the opponent’s offense so it becomes second nature to them,” Banker said. “While the game unfolds, what they are seeing is what they’ve seen in practice. What we want the players to do is be familiar with what they do, so they can execute the plan fast. It’s more of a reaction. We try to maximize their experience within the scheme so it’s second nature.”

Changing the scheme week-to-week is limited. If an opponent does anything peculiar, there are a few updates.

Most of the variation comes on the stunts at the line of scrimmage to blitzes. Linemen and linebackers change which gaps to go through.

“He does an excellent job teaching us, but the biggest thing with coach Banker is he makes the game fun,” outside linebacker Joey LaRocque said. “He makes the atmosphere out here fun, and everybody wants to go out and play for him. And everyone respects the man.”

The scheme

The Beavers are a gap cancellation team, a scheme that was started by linebackers coach Greg Newhouse in 1997. Newhouse was the defensive coordinator for the Beavers at the time and Banker the secondary coach.

Newhouse and Banker were influenced by the same people during their careers, so their styles merged. That’s why they work so well together today.

They place the front seven players in position to cover all the gaps a running back comes through, and then let them go to the ball. Speed and aggressive attitudes are musts.

“Against the run we want to take away the north-south runs,” Banker said. “We want to spill everything to the outside. We don’t contain things. We spill them to the outside so we can use our team speed to run things down. We feel if the running back is going east and west, we have the best chance of stopping him. We don’t want him to go down the middle of the field.”

When covering the pass they have a similar approach. They take away the middle of the field, and force out passes. Banker believes there’s a lower percentage chance of completing the outside pass and the defense can trap receivers on the sidelines.

Outside routes take more time to complete, so there’s a better chance to recover if beat on coverage and it allows the linemen time to get to the quarterback.

“That’s part of the teaching process,” Banker said. “You have to know how to play the outside run and know how to play the outside routes.”

Changing scheme

Banker believes in sticking with his scheme, but sometimes holes are found. Riley typically helps with adjustments, being an offensive-minded coach.

OSU was running only one pass coverage scheme in 1997 and early 1998, but Riley didn’t like how passes were completed in the flat. Two more coverages were added, which remain in the deep variety used today.

Riley watched his young secondary struggle in 2005 and early last year, so he suggested the nickel package. It worked and is still used heavily today.

“Things evolved,” Banker said. “We’ve continue to evolve the package to fit what we need in the Pac-10 style of offense.”

Defensive problems usually happen because players are inexperienced seeing the offense and knowing how to react.

The staff made changes to help the young secondary in 2005, but those changes overworked the veteran linebackers.

“You try to give them different ways to be successful if it’s through scheme, or another way to play technique,” Banker said. “You try to help them have success and so therefore you have success. But you have to do it with a philosophy within a scheme and go from there. We have a belief in what we do, and the process. Like anything, it takes time.”

Riley connection

Banker worked his way through the college coaching ranks, starting by spending 13 years at Cal State Northridge — 11 as the defensive coordinator. He made brief stops at Hawaii and Southern California.

While at USC in 1996 he met Riley and their families bonded. Banker was inspired by Riley, who was a successful offensive coordinator at this level and a family man.

“It’s neat working with him,” Banker said. “He’s not a micromanager, that’s fun. He makes me feel comfortable, and want to do your absolute best all the time.”

When Riley came to OSU, Banker followed him and then to San Diego to try the NFL. Banker was promoted to defensive coordinator of the Chargers in the middle of 2002.

After returning to Corvallis in 2003, Riley set him to work coordinating the defense. He mostly leaves that side of the ball to Banker.

“I have total trust in him, and I try to stay out of the way,” Riley said. “We talk about stuff from time to time, but I have total trust in him. We’ve been together at USC, here, the Chargers and back here. I think it gives me a lot of freedom. I have a lot of trust in him and all those defensive coaches and what they do.”

Relating to players

Like Riley, Banker has a down-to-earth approach that appeals to the players. He’s a little more of screamer than Riley, but most of that is done in private.

“The beautiful thing about him is he’s very blunt,” Riley said. “When you go into meetings you better be ready for the truth, whatever it is. You may not always like it, but he tells it like it is.”

Banker is honest because he wants his players to be honest to him, and to themselves. He believes improvement comes once you admit your faults and address them.

At the same time, he tries to accentuate the positive.

“He knows how we are feeling,” LaRocque said. “He reacts to how we are playing. He inspires you. When he’s yelling at you, you don’t want him to be yelling at you again.”

Riding the storm

Banker doesn’t motivate with fear, but through trust. He has faith in his athletic and mental evaluation of players. Then he supports them through tough times on the field, even though he may be criticized for the team’s play.

He accepts that, and goes on. Stress comes with the job.

The Beavers are doing well at the moment, and he’s working hard to keep it up.

A drop-off may happen next year with 12 defensive players running out of eligibility after this season.

The Beavers don’t like to lose that many players at once, but it’s a fallout of so many freshmen going without redshirt seasons and junior college players brought in the last few years.

There will be an experienced secondary with many new defensive linemen. The linebackers will have some experience, but all the starters are gone.

“The biggest thing to learn is emotional stability,” Banker said. “There are no peaks or valleys. You travel down the path. You enjoy every moment. I’m a one-day-at-a-time person — live in the moment. I don’t want to be fatalistic about it, but it could change in the blink of an eye. You live life the way you want to live it.”

His future

Banker signed a two-year contract before the season, and wants to stay around a long time.

He wouldn’t mind being a head coach at the college level or returning to the NFL as a position coach, but he says it’s hard to beat the opportunities he has now.

“I could be satisfied here,” Banker said. “As far as the environment, my family, football, the university, location, players and program, it’s hard to beat. I love working with the young men here because they want to learn, and we can teach.”

Riley believes Banker can excel anywhere, but is glad to have him for now.

“He’s a perfect example of a guy who combines the leadership of student-athletes with a tremendous expertise in the game,” Riley said. “It comes through hard work. Mark is a tremendously hard-working guy. He coaches these guys hard, and prepares these guys well. I think he’s as good as there is in college football.”