USF Athletics

New Safeties Coach Neighbors Brings Lots of Winning Experience to Bulls

April 27, 2020

COACHES PROFILE SERIES: While we wait for USF football to hit the field once again, Senior Writer Tom Zebold and Voice of the Bulls Jim Louk give Bulls fans a window to know more about the people and personalities on head coach Jeff Scott's first USF staff.

The series continues with a story on five-time national champion Wes Neighbors, USF's new safeties coach who achieved more notable success with FAU the past two seasons.

LISTEN: Neighbors' interview with Voice of the Bulls Jim Louk HERE.
 
PAST PROFILES:
Charlie Weis Jr. - Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach
Glenn Spencer – Defensive Coordinator/Linebackers Coach
Xavier Dye – Wide Receivers Coach
Jules Montinar – Cornerbacks Coach/Recruiting Coordinator
Allen Mogridge - Offensive Line Coach/Assistant Head Coach
Da'Quan Bowers – Defensive Line Coach
Pat White – Running Backs Coach
 
By TOM ZEBOLD
USF Senior Writer

TAMPA, APRIL 27, 2020 – Safeties coach Wes Neighbors fits right in as a member of USF's new football staff he calls "relentless champions."

"It doesn't matter what time of day or what time of night, if something has to be done to help the university, this football team or the players in it, it's gonna be done," he said.

Neighbors' "never-gonna-stop attitude" was instilled in him during his Alabama dynasty days as a player and staff member who was a part of five national title teams (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017).

Most recently, Neighbors tirelessly achieved more success as Florida Atlantic's safeties coach the past two years. First working with new Bulls defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer in 2019, Neighbors helped transform the conference champion Owls into a takeaway machine that led the nation in numerous stat categories.

Since then, Neighbors has rejoined Spencer in Tampa and he's eager to enhance the skills of USF's talented ball-hawking safeties.

"South Florida has great DBs," Neighbors said. "The good thing about them is their willingness to work each day. They really want to get after it."

Neighbors also has noticed that familiar desire to be great among many other Bulls in the building.

"I know this team wants to be champions bad and they're gonna do whatever it takes," he said. "To me, that's kind of who we're striving to be and we won't stop until we are that."

Neighbors Rolls With Tide
Alabama football is a family tradition for Neighbors, a Huntsville native who grew up knowing all about the program.

Following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and uncle as a player for the Crimson Tide, Neighbors was a safety and member of Alabama's special teams units from 2008-11. Unfortunately, his playing career ended in injury, but another door opened.

"At that point, I knew I wanted to continue in ball and the next-best thing I could do was coach,"  he said. "Coach Saban gave me that opportunity."

Neighbors still counts his blessings for his initial student assistant role with Alabama that paved the way for a career he cherishes.

"I think my overall purpose in life is to coach ball and impact people," the 30-year-old said.

The amount of information Neighbors could obtain to do just that was endless at Alabama. His educational experience began in 2011, when he worked with special teams assistant Joe Judge, now the head coach of the New York Giants

"He let me get under his wing and just helped me really gain those organizational skills and that mindset of, 'You gotta just grind, man," Neighbors said. "I'm really thankful for that opportunity, which allowed me to inevitably get into defense."

From there, Neighbors' Tide coaching career continued as an off-field grad assistant on special teams. By 2013, he moved over to a defensive intern role and kept growing as a coach on that side of the ball during his memorable run at the top of the college football world with the Tide (2009, 2011, 2012, 2015 & 2017).  

"I've been able to work under some very successful coaches and head coaches at this point," said Neighbors, who credits more big-name Alabama mentors like Kirby Smart and Jeremy Pruitt, now leaders of programs at Georgia and Tennessee.

Full-Time FAU Coach and Success With Spencer
Neighbors' strong work ethic with the Tide eventually led to his big break as a full-time FBS assistant from 2018-19 at FAU under Lane Kiffin, a fellow staff member at Alabama.

In his debut season with the Owls, Neighbors coached Jalen Young, a Second Team All-C-USA pick who ended his FAU career tied among all active FBS players with 13 interceptions.

Last season, Neighbors helped the Owls lead the nation in total takeaways (33), interceptions (22) and turnover margin (+21). FAU won 11 of its final 12 games while Neighbors really got in a coaching groove with defensive coordinator Glenn Spencer.

"We had a lot of success and I'm very grateful for that opportunity to work with him there," Neighbors said. "I'm grateful to be here again with him now."

Continuity between the two coaching minds will certainly help the Bulls' secondary learn the ins and outs of a dynamic new defense. Spencer's multiple approach features a hearty helping of his effective "30-float" scheme that provides Neighbors' safeties plenty of opportunities to make plays.

"(It's) putting people in different places to kind of put some confusion on the quarterback and on the coordinators that we've faced to make them made a decision pre-snap," Neighbors explained. "They can't make a decision post-snap a lot of the time, so it kind of puts them back in that one-dimensional game, which is where you want to have them in order to keep them in front of you and get them behind the sticks."

Neighbors Hits the Ground Running With USF Safeties
Neighbors eagerly headed to Tampa as the final coach hired on Jeff Scott's primary USF staff in January.

"It was a very quick transition," he said. "To me, the good thing about the coaching profession is you have to learn while being on your toes - just learn at a very fast pace and be able to react."

It didn't take long for Neighbors to see he has lots of talent to work with at safety, including 22-game starter Nick Roberts and seasoned returner Mekhi LaPointe (20 games, four starts).

"Athletically, they're gonna be extremely gifted," Neighbors said. "To me, it's gonna be about who is able to process the information that we have at hand and be able to put it out there on the field and execute it at a high level the quickest."

Although he only had one spring practice with his new Bulls, Neighbors has been impressed with his position group's ability to still make steady mental progress in the new defensive approach away from campus.

"When we talk about it virtually, they've done a great job of being able to spit it out and say, 'This is what we're doing. That's how we need to do it. This is why it's important to do it that way,'" he said.

In Neighbors' mind, dealing with all this COVID-19 pandemic adversity will strengthen the Bulls' bond and motivate them even more to chase after a conference crown. Until then, the hard-working coach is making the most the current situation with his players.

"I'm extremely excited to be with these guys and work with these young men. They've done nothing but just come in each and every day with a great attitude and a great work ethic," he said. "I'm really looking forward to whenever we get back on the field because they're hungry and so am I."
 

About USF Football
The USF football program first took the field in 1997 and completed its 23^rd season (20^th at the FBS level) in 2019. The Bulls have posted 15 winning seasons, earned 14 All-America selections and 29 first-team all-conference selections and has seen 30 players selected in the NFL Draft. USF has made 10 bowl games appearances (going 6-4 in those games) and posted a program record six straight appearances from 2005-2010. The Bulls most recently made four straight bowl appearances from 2015-18 and posted back-to-back 10-win seasons in 2016 and 2017, logging a program-record 11-2 mark in 2016 while finishing both seasons ranked in the Top 25. USF spent a program record 20 straight weeks ranked in the Top 25 during the 2016 and 2017 seasons and reached as high as No. 2 in the national rankings during the 2007 season.
                                                                                
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