Colorado University Athletics
Clark/Tumpkin Named FootballScoop DB Coaches of the Year
January 04, 2017 | Football
Clark and Tumpkin guided CU's secondary, which was one of the best in the entire FBS in 2016
BOULDER – University of Colorado assistant coaches Charles Clark and Joe Tumpkin have been named the 2016 Defensive Backs Coaches of the Year by FootballScoop.com.
The honor is presented by ProGrass and is selected by previous winners of the award, as this is the ninth season the award has been in existence. Clark and Tumpkin will receive their award and be recognized at an event held at the AFCA Convention in January.
"Number one, they've done a great job the last couple of years working with their players to get them to this point; these were the fruits of a lot of investment by both Joe and Charles and the players," CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "Of course this year, they did a phenomenal job of having their guys play really tight coverage. We were very consistent on the back end, just very, very sound. There were only a few busted coverages, and that shows good coaching. They complement each other very well and do a great job working together."
Clark is CU's assistant coach in charge of the cornerbacks and just completed his fourth season at CU. Tumpkin coaches the Buffalo safeties and in his second year at CU he led safety Tedric Thompson to second-team All-America honors in a selection by CBSSports.com. Thompson tied the CU single-season record with seven interceptions under Tumpkin's guidance this season while Ahkello Witherspoon's 22 pass breakups also tied a CU single-season record playing under Clark.
Opposing passers posted the third-worst rating in college football going up against Clark and Tumpkin's secondary. CU's 49.8 opponent completion percentage rate was No. 4 in the country, its 5.7 yards per attempt average was tied for third, its 18 touchdowns allowed on 472 attempts was among the best ratios in college football and its 15 interceptions tied for 22nd nationally (all numbers are prior to the start of the bowl season).
The Buffs produced gems such as Oregon State's 13-of-32 performance in which the Beavers threw for only 100 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions (a 54.38 quarterback rating) or Stanford's 16-of-29 for 170 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions, a gargantuan performance in a 10-5 Buffaloes win.
In a Nov. 19 win over 20th-ranked Washington State, Clark and Tumpkin's secondary held Cougar quarterback Luke Falk to 26-of-53 passing, or 49.1 percent, when he entered the game leading the nation wiht a completion percentage of 73.9 percent.
In the regular season finale against Utah, Colorado limited the Utes to 13 completions on 40 attempts for 160 yards with a touchdown and two picks in a 27-22 Buffs victory, sending them to the Pac-12 Championship. Even in the Pac-12 title game, a Colorado loss, the Buffalo secondary held Heisman candidate Jake Browning to 9-of-24 passing for 118 yards, the second-worst rating of Browning's season.
Colorado's secondary actively made life difficult for opposing passers and wide receivers by disrupting as many passes as any group in college football. The Buffaloes ranked second nationally with 89 passes defended and 74 pass breakups, each the most in the country on a per game basis.
As a group, Colorado placed 16th in FBS with 4.87 yards per play allowed and placed 20th with 21.7 points per game allowed.
Colorado placed three of its defensive backfield starters on the All-Pac-12 team, with Chidobe Awuzie, Thompson and Witherspoon all netting second-team nods.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Torrian Gray [Florida], Jim Leonhard [Wisconsin], Greg Schiano/Kerry Coombs [Ohio State], Scot Sloan/Bryan Brown [Appalachian State], Brian Smith/Michael Zordich [Michigan] and Clark and Tumpkin) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the Defensive Backs Coach of the Year award are Tim Billings (Wake Forest, 2008), Everett Withers and Troy Douglas (North Carolina, 2009), Chad Glasgow and Clay Jennings (TCU, 2010), Ron Cooper (LSU, 2011), Bill Busch and Kendrick Shaver (Utah State, 2012), Jeremy Pruitt (Florida State, 2013), Dave Wommack and Jason Jones (Ole Miss, 2014) and Mike Reed (Clemson, 2015).
The honor is presented by ProGrass and is selected by previous winners of the award, as this is the ninth season the award has been in existence. Clark and Tumpkin will receive their award and be recognized at an event held at the AFCA Convention in January.
"Number one, they've done a great job the last couple of years working with their players to get them to this point; these were the fruits of a lot of investment by both Joe and Charles and the players," CU head coach Mike MacIntyre said. "Of course this year, they did a phenomenal job of having their guys play really tight coverage. We were very consistent on the back end, just very, very sound. There were only a few busted coverages, and that shows good coaching. They complement each other very well and do a great job working together."
Clark is CU's assistant coach in charge of the cornerbacks and just completed his fourth season at CU. Tumpkin coaches the Buffalo safeties and in his second year at CU he led safety Tedric Thompson to second-team All-America honors in a selection by CBSSports.com. Thompson tied the CU single-season record with seven interceptions under Tumpkin's guidance this season while Ahkello Witherspoon's 22 pass breakups also tied a CU single-season record playing under Clark.
Opposing passers posted the third-worst rating in college football going up against Clark and Tumpkin's secondary. CU's 49.8 opponent completion percentage rate was No. 4 in the country, its 5.7 yards per attempt average was tied for third, its 18 touchdowns allowed on 472 attempts was among the best ratios in college football and its 15 interceptions tied for 22nd nationally (all numbers are prior to the start of the bowl season).
The Buffs produced gems such as Oregon State's 13-of-32 performance in which the Beavers threw for only 100 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions (a 54.38 quarterback rating) or Stanford's 16-of-29 for 170 yards with no touchdowns and three interceptions, a gargantuan performance in a 10-5 Buffaloes win.
In a Nov. 19 win over 20th-ranked Washington State, Clark and Tumpkin's secondary held Cougar quarterback Luke Falk to 26-of-53 passing, or 49.1 percent, when he entered the game leading the nation wiht a completion percentage of 73.9 percent.
In the regular season finale against Utah, Colorado limited the Utes to 13 completions on 40 attempts for 160 yards with a touchdown and two picks in a 27-22 Buffs victory, sending them to the Pac-12 Championship. Even in the Pac-12 title game, a Colorado loss, the Buffalo secondary held Heisman candidate Jake Browning to 9-of-24 passing for 118 yards, the second-worst rating of Browning's season.
Colorado's secondary actively made life difficult for opposing passers and wide receivers by disrupting as many passes as any group in college football. The Buffaloes ranked second nationally with 89 passes defended and 74 pass breakups, each the most in the country on a per game basis.
As a group, Colorado placed 16th in FBS with 4.87 yards per play allowed and placed 20th with 21.7 points per game allowed.
Colorado placed three of its defensive backfield starters on the All-Pac-12 team, with Chidobe Awuzie, Thompson and Witherspoon all netting second-team nods.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Torrian Gray [Florida], Jim Leonhard [Wisconsin], Greg Schiano/Kerry Coombs [Ohio State], Scot Sloan/Bryan Brown [Appalachian State], Brian Smith/Michael Zordich [Michigan] and Clark and Tumpkin) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Previous winners of the Defensive Backs Coach of the Year award are Tim Billings (Wake Forest, 2008), Everett Withers and Troy Douglas (North Carolina, 2009), Chad Glasgow and Clay Jennings (TCU, 2010), Ron Cooper (LSU, 2011), Bill Busch and Kendrick Shaver (Utah State, 2012), Jeremy Pruitt (Florida State, 2013), Dave Wommack and Jason Jones (Ole Miss, 2014) and Mike Reed (Clemson, 2015).
Players Mentioned
Monday, June 22
Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11
Saturday, April 11