Red Storm head football coach Scott Brumfield guides the program to a fifth season of existence in the NCAA D-II ranks beginning Saturday in Alamosa, Colo., against the Adams State College Grizzlies. The Red Storm team will try to get off to a fast start in 2010 by playing four quarters of ramped-up and committed ball, hopefully a precursor of things to come this fall.
The Q and A’s with coach Brumfield have been well stocked of the word ‘finish.’ His gentle accommodating manner when giving a supply of the A’s (answers) also includes answers about completing tasks and attacking tasks with vigor and dedication.
Another Brumfield-ism is his humbleness. He dispenses credit to others quicker than and as frequent as a Peyton Manning release. Lots of coaches and leaders talk the talk, but when the speaker has actually walked the talk, or is currently walking the talk, the messages have more value.
He constantly expresses the need to perform fast and to finish every play to the fullest. Brumfield’s six-years of NFL experience may be lending to practice techniques that have created increased pace and a demand for heightened intensity by his players. He predicts an excitable Red Storm effort.
“You’re going to see a high intensity team,” said Brumfield. “We are going to be a team that flies around the field.”
The team is coming off of back-to-back 4-7 seasons under former coach Ron Haun, who retired in November. Haun was at the helm for four seasons during the transitional phase from a successful junior college program to a Division II competitor. In Haun’s four seasons, DSC went 12-31 overall.
After serving four years as Haun’s offensive coordinator, Brumfield was named the new coach in January to continue the program’s progression in the NCAA ranks.
Brumfield coached teams have always showed gradual improvements. The Red Storm offense went from averaging 16 points per game in 2006, to 20 points per game last season. In 2008, the offense averaged its best scoring output of 24 points per game.
He coached at Spanish Fork High football from 2000-2005 compiling a 28-34 overall record and qualified the Dons four of five seasons in the 4A and 5A playoffs. The Dons’ increased its scoring from 13 points per game in Brumfield’s first season as coach to 22 points per game in his last season.
The Red Storm offensive attack will be rely on the stability of seniors Adam Wells, Kyser Christensen, Cliff Leavitt, Nash Fowler, and much experienced juniors Jesse Ence, and Darren Carter to help first-year starting sophomore quarterback Nick Marinko make positive plays happen.
Brumfield said the group of returning veterans mixed with some transfers gives him confidence and that the depth at the wide receiver position is a strong area.
“We’ll try to be balanced, obviously we got a guy like Adam Wells we need to get the ball to though,” said Brumfield. “We got the weapons on offense to do what we want to. We will definitely mix it up and use our many skilled players. We feel like our group of receivers is the bread and butter of the offense.”
The air attack will begin from the arm of Marinko, granted he benefits from quality blocking from his line. The former Pine View Panther replaces graduated signal-caller Judd Thompson, who averaged over 250 yards passing per game in 2009. Thompson was a durable player starting all 11 games for the Red Storm last season. Brumfield said Marinko’s abilities are impressive and he believes in the young signal-caller’s potential.
“Marinko is an unbelievable athlete who has worked hard this off-season,” Brumfield said. “I feel very comfortable about our quarterback situation.
The program’s brief Division II history only includes five quarterbacks that have over 100 passing attempts. Judd Thompson and Dexter Hill are the standard-bearers as far as throwing quarterbacks are considered. They are the only two with over two thousand passing yards and 200 pass completions in a career. If Marinko sticks around, his name could be entered at the top of the list. In Marinko’s senior season (07’) at Pine View, he led the Panthers to an 11-1 season, throwing for 2900 yards, 37 touchdowns against only 11 interceptions.
Brumfield went out and secured a disciple of legendary offensive guru Norm Chow to help the Red Storm offense, and hopefully Marinko, progress even more this season. He hired Phillip Rauscher as the o-coordinator. Rauscher spent three years at UCLA as a graduate assistant, and intern assistant on the Bruins football staff. Brumfield said Rauscher brings valuable insight and guidance to Dixie.
“Coach Chow talked unbelievably about Phil,” Brumfield said. “Chow has had some great graduate assistants through the years, from Lane Kiffin to Steve Sarkisian. And we put Phil up there with any of them.”
Cole Wilson directs the Storm defensive unit and will lean on the experience of senior linebackers Keauntea Bankhead, Nick Cragin, and d-lineman Nick Rocco to help blend the returning players with the newly arrived junior college transfers, and most importantly, to stop opposing offenses.
The secondary experienced player turnover and was one of the biggest concerns in the off-season, but Brumfield and his staff went out and got what they needed.
“We filled in some holes with some junior college transfers,” said Brumfield. “We feel like our secondary could be one of the strong points of our defense with the recruits and transfers that we got.”
As if preparing for his first season as a college football coach was not enough, Brumfield was tasked with a health challenge. The Dixie State College athletic department announced that Brumfield was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in late July. Since then, he has been through some chemotherapy treatments and returns to the practice field when his strength allows, which is most often.
“I feel great,” said Brumfield. “I feel confident about beating this. You just have to be positive. We were a little nervous when we first learned about this, but then we explored all the possibilities and I feel very fortunate about being here in St. George.”
Brumfield said he is very appreciative of his assistant coaches: the way they have helped him get through training camp and get the team prepared for the season, especially at times when his schedule has been compromised because of the effects of cancer and the treatments he goes through. The coaching staff even shaved their heads to show coach Brumfield a visual sign of support when he started to experience hair-loss from cancer treatments.
“These guys have done a great job covering for me at times,” said Brumfield. “I told them that I do not know if I would have done the same for them. It was an extremely nice gesture by them. When I walked into the room and seen them with their bald heads, it was emotional.”
Brumfield has received a few rounds of chemotherapy, and is scheduled for another round on Monday after his team returns from Colorado. He said the experience gives him perspective regarding people who battle cancer.
“Anybody who has been through chemo, I have a tremendous amount of respect for,” said Brumfield. “It kicks your butt and you’re down for a few days. You just deal with those days and plan on getting better. I don’t plan on missing any games, and hopefully, God willing, I’ll be at every game and just miss a couple of practices.”
Brumfield has been demanding of his players to perform faster, with intensity and to finish what they start. He is not asking anything more of his Red Storm football players than what he is currently doing himself.
Brumfield’s attitude and admirable fortitude in confronting cancer is an exhibition of character. His friends, Red Storm fans, and cancer patients, who fight on, appreciate the example he is providing.
The Red Storm will try to unleash a copy of Brumfield’s spirit Saturday at 12 p.m.
Dixie State College football games are radio broadcast on St. George local 91.3 FM.