Marcus Caffey’s introductory lesson to being a cornerback made the job sound so simple: This is your man. Cover him. Don’t let him catch the ball.
It does sound simple, but it was something that Georgia State had trouble with last season. The cornerbacks were fast enough, but at 5-foot-9 and 5-10 and each less than 180 pounds, they weren’t big enough to be left in man-to-man coverage.
Both the starters completed their eligibility, and those spots are now filled by 6-foot, 195-pound Caffey and 5-10, 187-pound Bruce Dukes. The duo brings the same speed as last season’s starters along with the size that will enable defensive coordinator Jesse Minter to leave them in solo coverage if he wishes, and he does wish.
“To play (man-to-man) you have to make one-on-one tackles in open field, and they have ability to do that,” Minter said. “And they have ability to press, which will allow us to disguises some things and at times give them help.”
Minter rarely played man-to-man last season. He attempted some in the season’s fourth game against Jacksonville State. The result was disastrous. The Gamecocks passed for 339 yards, including four pass plays of at least 30 yards. Some of the passes were equally contested, but because the receivers were bigger than Georgia State’s defensive backs, they made the plays.
Minter reverted to mixed coverage schemes for most of the rest of the season.
The Jacksonville State game was symptomatic of the season’s issues. The team finished sixth in the Sun Belt in pass defense (245.2 yards per game), and tied for last in interceptions (six). To be fair, the secondary wasn’t helped by a pass rush that was last in the Sun Belt with 11 sacks. But when you have to leave men in a zone to defend the pass, it’s hard to get to the quarterback when there are more blockers than rushers.
Minter hopes that Caffey and Dukes can sometimes take on their man with no help, which will enable him to use the remaining nine defenders to focus on the run or get to the quarterback. It’s something Minter was able to do his last season at Indiana State. Opponents averaged 167.4 passing yards per game, and129 rushing yards that season, with 23 sacks.
“They’ve shown a lot of improvement,” position coach J.D. Williams said. “Every day they have a mindset to work hard. I try to challenge them every day to leave the field better than when they took the field.”
Dukes transferred from Central Florida and had a standout career at Sandy Creek High. Minter said Dukes is not as big as Caffey, but he has a 40-inch vertical jump and strength that enables him to play bigger than his size.
Dukes said his best asset is his hands. In press coverage, when he is at the line of scrimmage, he can get his mitts on receivers and disrupt their routes at the line of scrimmage. He developed his hand-eye coordination as a boxer for a few years when he was a jabbing southpaw. Minter said that ability to jam receivers is necessary in man-to-man coverage.
“I’m not the type of guy to talk about myself,” Dukes said. “But they think I’m a leader and I can take away a side of the field.”
Caffey said his best asset is his ability to play man-to-man coverage. Plus, he knows this defense because he played in it for a short time under Minter’s father, Rick, at Kentucky. Caffey transferred to Iowa Western Community College and played for a season before signing with the Panthers.
“Mentally and experience-wise, they are both BCS players,” Williams said. “We’re fortunate to have them here. They will bring leadership to a young group, and toughness.”
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