Colorado State University Athletics
Dede Brings Added Knowledge to His Position
5/21/2020 12:00:00 PM | Football, RamWire
Coach has Ph.D, but also a insider's view to the new system
FORT COLLINS, Colo. – Make the most of the time.
As a member of the Colorado State football staff, it's what Kap Dede will demand of his players. He'll want them to maximize their potential as Rams on the field, but his request won't stop there. Dede will be looking for maximum effort in all walks of their life.
Just like he gave. He played collegiately at Auburn, had his shot at the NFL, but the Rams' outside linebackers coach also earned his Ph.D in Administration of Higher Learning.
"Every kid who comes to play college football, their goal is to get to the NFL, and that was my goal, also. I went to Auburn University, that was my goal, but you also have to have the sight of your future," Dede said. "I think a lot of them, what they see, is you're not just a football player, you're a student, you are also an individual in society. I think the biggest thing is just taking advantage of every opportunity you have, so it's not just go to class.
"A lot of guys, what I talk to them about, I say listen, you may not think a lot about your undergrad right now, but when you're 24, 25, 26 and football comes to an end and you want to go to grad school, they're going to ask what was your undergrad GPA. I teach a lot of them it's all going to come back into the fold."
Defensive coordinator Chuck Heater can't remember being on staff with another coach who had a Ph.D on his resume, but the uniqueness doesn't end there.
Dede will be in charge of working with the Sam and Fox linebackers, positions in the CSU defensive system which both carry specific tasks which don't easily mix into the normal linebacker fold. Dede has served as a quality-control coach in the past, so this will be his first on-field assignment. In looking at the resume as a player, a coach and who he has worked with, Heater valued the addition of Dede to the staff.
"They're both unique enough -- outliers enough -- that it's great if you have a guy who can coach them," Heater said. "That's the outside backer part. He's really involved with the Sam linebacker and the Fox. Both are very unique, and require special skills, special coaching.
"He's been around. Todd Grantham (the current defensive coordinator at Florida) is a guy when I was at Florida last year, I've been very impressed with what they did. I me Kap there, and I was impressed with his knowledge of that defense, parts that I wanted to evolve with us here, and I knew he'd be a great resource there. He knew Grantham's defense from Louisville, Mississippi State and from Florida, and he was very knowledgeable with what he did. He worked with linebackers one year, secondary another year. He had a pretty varied background in the backend and at linebacker."
Naturally, Dede is intrigued with the players he gets to work with and the tasks he'll ask them to perform. As a player himself, he was asked to do the same things, so he's familiar with the training involved.
That's the fun part. He feels the "handcuffs" have been removed, no longer just in the corner adding input, but being able to do the hands-on work. The skillset is unique, and so will be his day-to-day teachings.
"It's very unique in the sense of some guys can probably plan their practices for two, to three, to four weeks, because they know I'm going to have the same guys, they're going to be doing relatively the same jobs over a period of time," Dede said. "I work with what we call the Fox end, who is the outside linebacker, I work with the Sam linebacker and also work with the nickels. Because of that, at different points I have coordinate with defensive line coach Antoine Smith, I have to coordinate with linebackers coach Sean Cronin, how these pieces fit together and how are we going to structure it. There are a lot of different ways to organize and structure a defense to do it, but I think it really helps me, because it forces me to learn not just what my guy has.
"For me I think it's really learning the defense front to back and it gives me a broader perspective, and I think overall in my development as a coach, it's helpful."
Being a first-year coach on the field and joining a newly structured staff presents the perfect situation from Dede's point of view. Yes, he is the newest member, but he's not the only new guy at Canvas Stadium. Most of the coaches have intersected at some point in their careers, meaning the base is pretty standard for all of them with each possession the ability to build nuances to the scheme.
The chance to teach, as well as learn and grow was more than intriguing.
"If you're going into a place where it's long sense established, maybe you feel like the outsider. I don't feel that way," Dede said. "I feel like we're all new here, we're all building. Coach Steve Addazio has set a path for us, and we're all going to follow his lead. We're going to talk his language, we're going to learn exactly how he wants to do things and follow that. I think we're all on the same page in doing that. We're all kinda learning."
And some of the veteran coaches are learning the new kid. You know, the one with the advanced education. The guy at the table who sometimes uses the "big" words.
"If he does, we just tell him to slow down a little bit," Heater joked, adding the players definitely have a mentor they can look to for inspiration.
"It certainly speaks to the empowerment of education," Heater said. "It should be impressive to a kid, especially if they decided to take education on and let it be the force it can be in your life. Besides, I like having guys in the room smarter than me."
As a member of the Colorado State football staff, it's what Kap Dede will demand of his players. He'll want them to maximize their potential as Rams on the field, but his request won't stop there. Dede will be looking for maximum effort in all walks of their life.
Just like he gave. He played collegiately at Auburn, had his shot at the NFL, but the Rams' outside linebackers coach also earned his Ph.D in Administration of Higher Learning.
"Every kid who comes to play college football, their goal is to get to the NFL, and that was my goal, also. I went to Auburn University, that was my goal, but you also have to have the sight of your future," Dede said. "I think a lot of them, what they see, is you're not just a football player, you're a student, you are also an individual in society. I think the biggest thing is just taking advantage of every opportunity you have, so it's not just go to class.
"A lot of guys, what I talk to them about, I say listen, you may not think a lot about your undergrad right now, but when you're 24, 25, 26 and football comes to an end and you want to go to grad school, they're going to ask what was your undergrad GPA. I teach a lot of them it's all going to come back into the fold."
Defensive coordinator Chuck Heater can't remember being on staff with another coach who had a Ph.D on his resume, but the uniqueness doesn't end there.
Dede will be in charge of working with the Sam and Fox linebackers, positions in the CSU defensive system which both carry specific tasks which don't easily mix into the normal linebacker fold. Dede has served as a quality-control coach in the past, so this will be his first on-field assignment. In looking at the resume as a player, a coach and who he has worked with, Heater valued the addition of Dede to the staff.
"They're both unique enough -- outliers enough -- that it's great if you have a guy who can coach them," Heater said. "That's the outside backer part. He's really involved with the Sam linebacker and the Fox. Both are very unique, and require special skills, special coaching.
"He's been around. Todd Grantham (the current defensive coordinator at Florida) is a guy when I was at Florida last year, I've been very impressed with what they did. I me Kap there, and I was impressed with his knowledge of that defense, parts that I wanted to evolve with us here, and I knew he'd be a great resource there. He knew Grantham's defense from Louisville, Mississippi State and from Florida, and he was very knowledgeable with what he did. He worked with linebackers one year, secondary another year. He had a pretty varied background in the backend and at linebacker."
Naturally, Dede is intrigued with the players he gets to work with and the tasks he'll ask them to perform. As a player himself, he was asked to do the same things, so he's familiar with the training involved.
That's the fun part. He feels the "handcuffs" have been removed, no longer just in the corner adding input, but being able to do the hands-on work. The skillset is unique, and so will be his day-to-day teachings.
"It's very unique in the sense of some guys can probably plan their practices for two, to three, to four weeks, because they know I'm going to have the same guys, they're going to be doing relatively the same jobs over a period of time," Dede said. "I work with what we call the Fox end, who is the outside linebacker, I work with the Sam linebacker and also work with the nickels. Because of that, at different points I have coordinate with defensive line coach Antoine Smith, I have to coordinate with linebackers coach Sean Cronin, how these pieces fit together and how are we going to structure it. There are a lot of different ways to organize and structure a defense to do it, but I think it really helps me, because it forces me to learn not just what my guy has.
"For me I think it's really learning the defense front to back and it gives me a broader perspective, and I think overall in my development as a coach, it's helpful."
Being a first-year coach on the field and joining a newly structured staff presents the perfect situation from Dede's point of view. Yes, he is the newest member, but he's not the only new guy at Canvas Stadium. Most of the coaches have intersected at some point in their careers, meaning the base is pretty standard for all of them with each possession the ability to build nuances to the scheme.
The chance to teach, as well as learn and grow was more than intriguing.
"If you're going into a place where it's long sense established, maybe you feel like the outsider. I don't feel that way," Dede said. "I feel like we're all new here, we're all building. Coach Steve Addazio has set a path for us, and we're all going to follow his lead. We're going to talk his language, we're going to learn exactly how he wants to do things and follow that. I think we're all on the same page in doing that. We're all kinda learning."
And some of the veteran coaches are learning the new kid. You know, the one with the advanced education. The guy at the table who sometimes uses the "big" words.
"If he does, we just tell him to slow down a little bit," Heater joked, adding the players definitely have a mentor they can look to for inspiration.
"It certainly speaks to the empowerment of education," Heater said. "It should be impressive to a kid, especially if they decided to take education on and let it be the force it can be in your life. Besides, I like having guys in the room smarter than me."
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