Dave Wommack took a phone call awhile back, and by the time he hung up he was reminded once again of what he loves most about coaching college football. His telling of the story illustrates some of what makes him different.

Georgia Tech's new defensive coordinator surely loves to win, and he relishes the challenge of building something from whatever he's given to work with. As much as any of that, he embraces callbacks.

JOHNNY CRAWFORD/jcrawford@ajc.com (ENLARGE)

Dave Wommack says there are many ways to communicate effectively with players without being a 'hollerer or a screamer.'.

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"You know what, as much as anything ... when those guys call back in two or three years, or five or 10, and say, 'Hey, Coach, you made a difference in my life,' " it may not seem like a whole lot," Wommack said. "To me, it's totally rewarding. I enjoy that.

"I had a guy named Tony Gonzalez who played for us at Southern Miss. This summer he called and told me all that stuff."

Then came a warm smile.

Dave Wommack has made 10 stops, including stints at Arkansas and Missouri in a six-year run as a graduate assistant, in a 28-year career. He has seen plenty.

Tech defenders have not seen the likes of him.

This is not about Wommack's background, or the way he channels X's and O's into game plans. This is about the way he relates to players.

Former Yellow Jackets defensive coordinator Jon Tenuta, now at Notre Dame, was often brusque, frequently loud, and viewed at least from afar as intimidating. He did not evoke warm or fuzzy in seven distinguished years at Tech.

It's too early to typecast Wommack to the bone, but not too soon to call him different. When he gets irked and loud, that is not his baseline method.

When that happens, "It really catches your attention," said senior defensive tackle Darryl Richard. "It highlights that you'd better listen. A lot of times, that makes you a more effective communicator. If you're one way all the time, people will begin to turn you off whether you're very loud or quiet."

Richard said good things about Tenuta, and Wommack was not about to indict another coach's style after practice Thursday. But consider that one of his coaching models was former Nebraska coach Tom Osborne, "for his demeanor and the way he was."

Tenuta grew up worshipping Ohio State coach Woody Hayes.

"I [also] admired my high school basketball coach [at Reeds Springs in Missouri]." Wommack said. "His name was Doyle Price. I thought he had a firmness, yet he wasn't going to cuss or browbeat players down. Everybody's got their own style. I'm not saying that's good or bad."

Wommack works with safeties. One of them, sophomore Morgan Burnett, said, "If you need something to talk about, you can go to his office. He's always available. Coach Tenuta was more like ... he was a tough coach. He was real hard on you, but he was a good coach. You had to earn your stripes."

The new defensive coordinator knows he's under microscopes from outside the program and from within.

"I think anytime you go somewhere, guys are going to size you up, and a lot of times they'll try to take advantage of what they can take advantage of," Wommack said with a grin.

"I would not classify myself as a hollerer and a screamer. But I think they respect me, and I respect them, and there's a lot of ways to get that accomplished."