Austin Armstrong brings energy, Florida Gators' defense will bring pressure

You’ll hear Austin Armstrong before you see him when the Florida Gators are practicing. The 29-year-old defensive coordinator is loud. He brings energy to the defensive side of the ball that the previous coordinator didn’t.

“It all starts off with his energy, his energy that he brings, you know. You see him in the hallways, he’s screaming your name way down. So just his energy, and, you know, it contributes to everybody,” cornerback Jason Marshall said at SEC Media Days. “So one person pick on it, it’s like contagious, so, I mean, it’s going to help the defense and I like where the defense is at right now, so. We’re really confident in the defense as well.” 

Armstrong cut his teeth at West Georgia as a graduate assistant before joining Billy Napier’s staff at Louisiana in 2017 and 2018. He went on to Georgia in 2019 and back to Napier in 2020 before getting his first opportunity to call plays at Southern Mississippi. There his defense was known as the “Nasty Bunch.” They ranked sixth in the Sun Belt in scoring defense (23.5 ppg), a mark that ranked 45th nationally in 2022. The Golden Eagles were third nationally in tackles for loss per game (8.3), fifth in sacks (3.38) and seventh in interceptions (17). USM was also third in fourth down conversion defense (.231).

Billy Napier steals Armstrong from Nick Saban

That defense and defensive playcalling earned him a call from Alabama head coach Nick Saban. Armstrong accepted the job as inside linebackers coach and the opportunity to learn from one of the greatest coaches in the history of college football. It wasn’t just that opportunity. It was the chance to go home as well.

“Grew up an hour from Tuscaloosa. My brother and his wife lived there. Grew up in the passion of that state of pulling for that team, that organization. It was like a dream come true,” Armstrong said during spring camp. “You know, the two closest places to my hometown are Southern Mississippi and the University of Alabama. We lost my mom in September and all that happens for a reason. Next thing you know you’re coaching at Southern Miss and Alabama. Two closest places to home and you think it’s all worked out.”

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Then Patrick Toney accepted a job in the NFL and Napier needed a new defensive coordinator. It was an unexpected phone call but when his former boss showed up on caller ID, Armstong picked up and listened.

“You take the job that you had at the University of Alabama to come to a place like Florida. I just didn’t think it was going to happen in a month,” Armstrong said. “It’s been a whirlwind for my wife, Tiffany, and I, but an opportunity to come work here in an elite institution on and off the field, to be with Coach Napier, to be with this staff, to be associated with the University of Florida, it’s a no brainer. God’s been good to us and we’re very excited to be here.”

What will the defense look like

The stories are nice but fans want to know what the defense will look like. Armstrong is thought to be an up and comer in the coaching ranks but the last guy was too and Florida’s defense was putrid in 2022. What makes this coach and this defense different?

One player told Gators Online that the defense is aggressive. They will blitz and bring pressure. It’s an attacking mentality. Armstrong’s familiarity with Napier’s program and with the defensive system that the team ran last year helped him hit the ground running when he arrived in Gainesville.

“Austin has worked with me two different times before. He’s been in this blueprint at Georgia for a year. So, you know, he is a little more prepared,” Billy Napier said of Armstrong on Wednesday. “We’ve worked together and collaborated together, installation scripting, practice planning. So that has been seamless.”

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