FootballScoop is proud to announce that Bob Trott is the 2017 FootballScoop FCS Coordinator of the Year presented by AstroTurf as selected by prior winners.
A year ago, James Madison leaned on its offense en route to winning an FCS national championship. This season, the Dukes are on a collision course to defend their FCS crown thanks to a defense that's as good as any in college football.
Let's start with the obvious: this is the toughest defense to score on in FCS. James Madison leads the subdivision with a 10.7 scoring defense average; 13 of the Dukes' 14 opponents to date have been held to 16 points or fewer, and eight have been limited to 10 or less.
James Madison is also the best in FCS in another key metric -- takeaways. The Dukes have snared 31 interceptions, the most in the entirety of the NCAA, and recovered a dozen fumbles, and their 43 total takeaways are also the most in the NCAA.
Finally, James Madison also leads FCS in pass efficiency defense. Opponents have completed 194-of-437 attempts (44.4 percent) for 2,293 yards (5.25 per attempt) with nine touchdowns against those 31 interceptions -- good for an 81.08 efficiency rating, that is more than 14 points ahead of No. 2 North Dakota State. This means James Madison's pass defense is more than 17 percent tougher than the next-closest competitor.
James Madison is also stingy against the run. The Dukes have surrendered 1,223 yards on 476 carries -- 2.57 a carry and 87.4 a game, both which rank sixth nationally.
The Dukes permitted third-down conversions on 29.7 percent of attempts, eighth fewest nationally, and surrendered scores on 68.2 percent of red zone trips, tied for 10th fewest in FCS. As a unit, James Madison allowed 251.1 yards per game, tied for third nationally.
Defensive lineman Andrew Ankrah and defensive back Jordan Brown were named First Team All-Americans by the Associated Press. Ankrah was also named the Colonial Athletic Association's Defensive Player of the Year, and he was joined on the First Team All-CAA by defensive lineman Simeyon Robinson, linebacker Kyre Hawkins, cornerback Jimmy Moreland, cornerback Rashad Robinson, and safety Raven Greene. Brown was named a Second Team All-CAA performer.
James Madison will compete for a second straight FCS national championship against North Dakota State on Saturday, Jan. 6, in Frisco, Texas.
A former North Carolina defensive back, Trott's career began as a graduate assistant at his alma mater. He has since served as a defensive coordinator at Arkansas, Clemson, Duke, Baylor, Louisiana-Monroe and Richmond in addition to James Madison, and deposited NFL stints with the New York Giants, New England Patriots and Cleveland Browns.
The FootballScoop Coaches of the Year awards presented by ProGrass are the only set of awards that recognize the most outstanding position coaches in college football. The finalists (Nathan Brown [Central Arkansas], Grant Chestnut [Kennesaw State], Tanner Engstrand [San Diego], Matt Entz [North Dakota State], Sam Washington [North Carolina A&T] and Trott) were selected based off of nominations by coaches, athletic directors, and athletic department personnel. The prior winners selected this year's winner.
Trott will receive his award and be recognized at an event at the AFCA Convention in January.
Previous winners of the FCS Coordinator of the Year award are Heishman Northern (Prairie View A&M, 2008), Bob Shoop (William & Mary, 2009), Nick Rapone (Delaware, 2010), Scott Stoker (Sam Houston State, 2011), Chris Klieman (North Dakota State, 2012), Sterlin Gilbert (Eastern Illinois, 2013), Don Bailey (Idaho State, 2014), Lyle Hemphill (Stony Brook, 2015) and Phil Longo (Sam Houston State, 2016).
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