Aloca's Gary Rankin approaching 400 wins with defensive mindset
Gary Rankin’s thought process has never wavered in 36 years of coaching high school football.
If the other team can’t score, it can’t beat you.
His 397 career victories and 12 state championships stand as testaments to that simple, but tough-to-execute mindset.
In the last 25 years, Rankin has produced some of the top defenses in Tennessee prep history – first at Riverdale and now at Alcoa.
“If you can play pretty good defense you’ve got a pretty good chance to win,” Rankin matter-of-factly said, as he put the Tornadoes through the paces Monday during the first day of practice in full pads.
Defensive proficiency
Rankin said there’s no big secret why his teams are perennially stout on defense.
“We’ve been very fortunate to have some great defensive coordinators at Riverdale, and when I came here (Alcoa), with Brian Nix, of course,” he said.
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“We always emphasize defense. We certainly concentrate on a lot of defensive fundamentals, and it starts with tackling.
“Some of the younger coaches have maybe gotten away from the basics of blocking and tackling. A lot of things in football have changed, but that hasn’t. You still have to do those things to win football games.”
Jack Warwick, a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior who had a team-high 174.5 tackles last season, said it all starts with intense practices.
“Coaching is the difference,” said Warwick.
“The way coach Nix practices, he doesn’t settle for ‘almost right.’ He pays attention to the little things, and coach Rankin holds us accountable for everything.”
In 2016, Warwick he became the sixth Alcoa player in 14 years to win the PrepXtra Defensive Player of the Year — a testimony to the Tornadoes’ consistency of excellence on defense through the years.
“He took it to the next level last year,” said Rankin.
“He’s a throwback with his toughness and the way he goes about his business. Jack is one of the five toughest players I’ve ever coached.”
Aiming for another state title
It’s not surprising, but Rankin has already focused on the defense as a key to success this season as Alcoa chases its third consecutive state title in Class 3A.
“The key is our defense and how fast we can mature,” he said.
“We lost quite a bit on defense, we’re pretty young and we’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Rankin first set the defensive bar high at Riverdale.
His 1994 Warriors claimed seven shutouts and gave up just 3.9 points a game on their way to the 5A state championship.
It was a portent of things to come when Rankin left for Alcoa in 2006.
Eight state championships later, the Tornadoes have registered shutouts in 41 of 161 games on Rankin’s watch.
In 2015 Alcoa surrendered only 6.9 points a game and blanked five opponents.
Alcoa’s 2008 defense was also superb, recording eight shutouts.
This season, as it is each season, Warwick said it’s about living up to a legacy of great defense at Alcoa.
“We’re not massive like we were in 2015, but we have a lot of quick, fast guys out there,” he said.
“I think we’ll be just as good as last year on defense, if not better. You never want to be the team that lets down on defense at Alcoa.”
Mike Blackerby is a freelance contributor