Glenn Connelly / Assistant Photo Editor

To get a feel for how special Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher is, you have to go back to his days at New Mexico. Nine years to be exact.

The NFL Pro Bowler was a 6-foot-3-inch, 249-pound “Lobo.” He was a hybrid. A cross between a smashmouth linebacker and a roaming free safety. He played a position unlike any other 8212; one that was a unique feature in then-New Mexico head coach Rocky Long’s 3-3-5 defense.

The position required someone with the ability to cover wideouts, but also the skill set to blast a running back coming through the hole. Urlacher was the perfect fit.

While Long, now the San Diego State football team’s defensive coordinator, can’t have Urlacher back, he is bringing the “Lobo” position to SDSU. Only now, the position has a new moniker.

“It’s the “Aztec,'” Long said. “They’ve got to be aggressive guys; they’ve got to be able to play linebacker; they’ve got to be able to go outside and play man-to-man on the slot or wide receiver and they’ve got to blitz like a linebacker inside and outside.”

The position is a staple of Long’s 3-3-5 defense, and one senior safety Nick Sandford hopes to fill in the fall. Though smaller than Urlacher at 6 feet 2 inches, 210 pounds, Sandford has some of the abilities Long looks for in the “Aztec” position. In just nine games last season, Sandford was eighth on the team with 44 tackles from the safety position.
“It’s the spot that everybody wants to play,” Sandford said. “You’re supposedto lead the team in tackles. You have to be an aggressive player who likes to hit.”

According to Sandford, the 3-3-5 is all about aggression. With a blitz coming at least 80 percent of the time, Long’s scheme is built around wreaking havoc.

“There’s guys all over the place,” sophomore quarterback Ryan Lindley said. “At first, your head’s spinning because you don’t know who’s going where and what each guy’s doing.”
At SDSU’s first scrimmage this past Saturday, Long’s 3-3-5 never had two defensive sets look the same. At times there would be eight men on the line of scrimmage, or just three. Safeties would walk up and blitz and linebackers would roam the field 8212; a complete 180 from last season.

“We could send everybody or one or two players,” Sandford said. “This defense is attacking; last year’s was more passive.”

The 3-3-5’s name derives from the players on the field. The scheme boasts three down defensive linemen, three linebackers and five defensive backs. The biggest advantage, Long said, is the speed. With five defensive backs, the 3-3-5 can adjust to multiple wide receiver formations more easily and make plays all over the field.

“We’ve had a lot of success with it,” said Long, who first learned the scheme in 1981 as an assistant coach for Wyoming. “At New Mexico we were in the top 30 in defense probably six or seven times out of 11 years.”

While the scheme may have been effective at Long’s other stops, the Aztecs’ defense was statistically one of the worst in the NCAA last season. It ranked 118th in rushing defense, 113th in total defense and 108th in sacks recorded.

“I don’t think it matters what defense you play,” Long said. “It’s how you execute it.”