Football's defense leads NCAA in turnovers gained after regular season
Senior defensive back Josh Cox runs ball after interception on Nov. 9 at Kelly/Shorts Stadium.
Prior to the start of the 2017 season, the Central Michigan football team set a goal to earn 20 takeaways over the course of the head coach John Bonamego’s third season.
By the end of the regular season, the Chippewas logged 31 takeaways to lead the NCAA.
“It was huge for my teammates and me because that’s what we strive to do,” sophomore defensive back Sean Bunting said. “Passing 20 turnovers was hard work, but it was a great feeling for us.”
CMU earned 12 fumble recoveries and 19 interceptions in 12 games. Miami (FL), Wyoming, and Memphis finished second with 30 takeaways.
Senior defensive back Josh Cox knew it was time to make a statement, so he made it a plan to do so coming into the season.
“We are just trying to make an identity for ourselves,” Cox said. “Every year I’ve been here, our secondary has gotten better. We’re trying to make this 'Defensive Back University.'”
The next highest Mid-American Conference team was Akron, tied for sixth place with 27 turnovers gained.
“Our crew isn’t anything to be messing around with,” Bunting said. “Our defensive backs work hard every day and same with our linebackers. It’s benefiting us in the end.”
The secondary of CMU has been anchored down by defensive backs coach Archie Collins.
“As far as defensive philosophy, I was coached by Nick Saban (at Michigan State),” Collins said. “He got me a lot of good core values and my defensive back coach at the time was Mark Dantonio. He always emphasized fundamentals and technique, which is how I coach.”
Prior to coaching for the Chippewas, Collins spent seven years in the Detroit Public School League with Cass Technical, Mackenzie and Southeastern.
Following his time at the high school level, the former MSU safety made his way to his alma mater, coaching under Dantonio from 2010 to 2012.
“He’s a huge influence on our lives on and off the field,” Cox said. “He had us with the perspective that someone else is always out there putting work in. He taught us the film room is just as important as on-field work, so that helps too.”
Cox, a 5-foot-11, 190-pound athlete, led the Chippewas with six interceptions this season. He started off the season on the right track, earning two interceptions in CMU’s 30-27 triple-overtime victory over Rhode Island in Week 1.
“I definitely try to get some hints off the quarterback, so I know if the ball goes up by me, it’s mine,” Cox said. “I usually read the guard, I get the quarterback’s pass progression, I recognize the route, then I know where the quarterback wants to go with the ball.”
Unlike Cox, Bunting was slow to earn his interceptions. The 6-foot-1, 180-pounder from Chippewa Valley High School in Clinton Township did not pick off a pass for the first eight weeks of the season.
In Week 9, Bunting earned his first interception, picking off Western Michigan quarterback Reece Goddard in CMU’s 35-28 comeback victory in Kalamazoo. Bunting earned an interception in each of the last four games of the season, tallying a total of five in 2017.
“I was trailing everyone the entire season. They always make fun of me when they get interceptions and I don’t, so every time the quarterback threw the ball up I said I was going to go get it. That was my main focus.”
While Collins knows his unit was special in the regular season, he has been quick to give credit to the defensive line.
“The defensive line, led by coach (George) Ricumstrict, has been getting to the quarterbacks all year,” Collins said. “Sacks and hurries lead to opportunities for interceptions.”
