WSU Football
All-out defense: Akey's energy keep WSU defenders flying to the ball

By Craig Smith
Seattle Times staff reporter

	JIM BATES / THE SEATTLE TIMES WSU defensive coordinator Robb Akey instructs his squad during the Cougars' 25-0 victory over the Idaho Vandals on Aug. 30.
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PULLMAN — The guy in charge of the pumped-up, energetic Cougars defense is, well, pumped up and energetic himself.

Robb Akey, 37, has a thunderous voice that can be heard all the way to the Idaho border. The exceptions are Sundays and Mondays, when he often is hoarse from the previous week of practice and game.

"If I expect them to fly around on the football field and they can see me flying around the same way, it opens the window a little bit," Akey said. "It's the natural way I am a little bit, too. If I was coaching on the offensive side of the ball, I'd have to tone that down because you have to be under a little more control."

When Bill Doba was promoted from defensive coordinator to head coach, Akey was instantly offered the defensive-coordinator position.

"He was my right-hand man," said Doba. "He's doing a good job."

No argument there. The sixth-ranked Cougars (6-1, 3-0) lead the Pac-10 in four defensive categories and have allowed only three rushing touchdowns as they head into tomorrow's home game against Oregon State (5-2, 2-1).

Senior cornerback Jason David said Akey's energy is contagious.

"It makes it easy to come out and practice," he said. "Sometimes, you're out there feeling down a little bit, but when you have a coach who is going to come out and get the team going, it makes a big difference."

Senior defensive end Isaac Brown calls Akey "a different character" and "someone I click with."

"He's always excited, always energetic," Brown said.

The Cougars' defense is a hot commodity, and Akey could become one, too. He has head-coaching ambitions.

"I'd like to be a young head coach if I could," he admitted.

Akey's wife, Molly, knows plenty about college athletics and head coaches. Her father, Richard Hannan, a former basketball coach, was athletic director at Weber State (where Robb and Molly met) and Lewis-Clark State in Lewiston, Idaho.

They have two sons, Jack, 7, and Daniel, 5, names that draw chuckles when said together because of the whiskey of the similar name.

Mike Price brought Akey onto the Cougars staff in 1998. Price had recruited Akey, who had been a three-sport star at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs, to Weber State.

At Weber State, the 6-foot-4 son of two teachers played tight end, outside linebacker and defensive end. When Akey finished playing, Price made him a graduate assistant. Akey was promoted to full-time defensive-line coach at age 21 when Price departed for WSU. Akey probably was the youngest full-time assistant in the nation at a Division I or I-AA school.

In 1994, Akey left Weber State for Northern Arizona, where he was promoted to defensive coordinator in 1996. Pullman was the next stop; he was assigned to the defensive line, a group he continues to coach.

Akey's roles have reversed a bit with his promotion.

Previously, when Doba was the defensive coordinator, Akey was one of the idea-a-minute guys spitting out suggestions and schemes. Of course, only some can be adopted because too many changes lead to confusion.

"Now I'm the 'whoa guy,' " he said.

New ideas still keep coming, and some have been adopted. New linebackers coach Leon Burtnett has been in football for 38 years and was head coach at Purdue and offensive coordinator of the Indianapolis Colts. When Burtnett speaks, people listen. The résumé of new secondary coach Ken Greene includes seven years in the NFL. The Cougars have adopted some of the pass defenses Greene used in recent years as defensive-backs coach at Purdue.

Akey and his staff enjoy the same kind of freedom Price gave Doba, with no second-guessing on Sunday mornings.

On game days, Akey said Doba doesn't give specific instructions but sometimes will switch to the defensive channel on the headset and say, "Don't be afraid to do this or that."

Of course, it helps to have aggressive linebackers such as Will Derting and Don Jackson. "I would prefer to attack rather than be the one being attacked," Akey said.

Notes

• Jonathan Smith will start at running back tomorrow against Oregon State with Chris Bruhn and Jermaine Green (rib) as backups.

• Starting tackle Sam Lightbody (shoulder-arm) and backup tight end Jesse Taylor (shoulder-arm) are out. Starting tight end Troy Bienemann (back) is questionable. Redshirt freshman Charles Harris will start for Lightbody, said Doba. It will be his first career start.

Craig Smith: 206-464-8279 or csmith@seattletimes.com

Copyright © 2003 The Seattle Times Company