Syracuse, N.Y. — Whenever Zach Arnett could find a quiet moment during the American Football Coaches Association convention, he’d ask Tony White a question.

Arnett, having signed an offer sheet to be Syracuse football’s defensive coordinator, wanted to know how White and Danny Gonzales installed the 3-3-5 defense at Arizona State.

What did the players understand from the get-go? What needed time? How did they go about teaching the rest of the coaching staff?

White was Arnett’s sounding board during meals and between clinics in Nashville, Tenn. Three weeks later, with Arnett opting to go to Mississippi State, White is now in the exact situation he was advising. White signed an offer sheet to be SU’s next defensive coordinator on Tuesday, he told The Post-Standard | Syracuse.com on Wednesday, and will arrive in Central New York this weekend. He plans to begin working as soon as his background check is completed.

White will be the one bringing Rocky Long’s 3-3-5 scheme to Central New York. He’ll be the one taking on the challenge of teaching SU’s coaches and players, starting this spring, and going head-to-head with the best offensive minds in the Atlantic Coast Conference in the fall.

White’s roots run alongside those of Arnett. White was Arnett’s linebackers coach for his senior year at New Mexico in 2008. Three years later, Arnett joined White on Long’s staff at SDSU. While White served as cornerbacks coach and recruiting coordinator, Arnett rose from graduate assistant to linebackers coach. And when White went with Gonzales to New Mexico, Arnett was promoted to SDSU’s defensive coordinator.

Before Arnett signed his offer sheet with Syracuse on Jan. 11, White said he spoke with SU head coach Dino Babers about Arnett and the 3-3-5 as a reference. On Monday, White heard from Babers for the first time since.

Babers asked more about the scheme, clinicing with the coaches and the installation process. After taking care of some recruiting obligations, Babers called back and extended the offer.

“When he was calling around for Zach and everything, of course, you get visions in your head,” White said. “It would be pretty cool to be with a guy who has been successful everywhere he’s been and has an explosive offense, and to have a chance to implement the defense that he wants. He wants this defense.

“You start daydreaming about it, but when he calls (to offer), it’s kind of surreal. And now, guess what? You’ve got a decision to make.”

White described the moment as “kind of shocking” and said he and his wife, Angela, stayed up until 1 a.m. Monday night considering their options. Then White drove to ASU in the morning and consulted with Herm Edwards, Marvin Lewis and Antonio Pierce.

“It’s crazy because the first initial thought that I had when I went to bed that night is, ‘Maybe we stay,’” White said. “But then, getting up in the morning, looking at the team, looking at the defense, looking at the coaches there and then talking to everybody, it was like, ‘This is an opportunity to go make something special happen.’”

White said Babers’ infatuation with the 3-3-5 was one of the driving factors behind his decision to leave Arizona State – a situation that he was comfortable in. After Gonzales took the head coaching job at New Mexico earlier this offseason, White was promoted from ASU’s cornerbacks coach/defensive passing game coordinator to defensive coordinator in December.

Babers got a taste of the 3-3-5 when Eastern Illinois opened its 2013 season at San Diego State with a 40-19 win. He returned to SDSU after the 2016 season, his first at the helm of SU, to learn more about the system that Long had fine-tuned over two decades -- one at New Mexico and another at SDSU.

“When he came to visit us about the defense, I saw his interest in it,” said White, who served as SDSU’s cornerbacks coach from 2009-17. “He was the head man and he’s at an ACC program. You’re talking about him wanting to run this defense, trying to learn this defense, trying to hire guys from this defense. I saw that he wanted this defense. He wanted to take this and have this be a part of his arsenal.”

Babers’ intention to bring Long’s 3-3-5 to Central New York has been steadfast this offseason. Long himself was offered first, White said, before Arnett and then White. White clarified that he was not offered the position previously, contrary to a report from Sun Devil Source of 247Sports.com.

“It all depends on the personnel, but when it’s installed, you’re going to see different guys in different positions, different alignments,” White said. “You’re going to see a lot of movement, a lot of aggression. This whole defense is predicated on being aggressive.

“… We want to be fast. We want to be physical. We want to blitz from all different angles, with all different people. Play man and lock up when we have to, be able to keep stuff in front of us and not give up (big) plays.”

White sent a text to his defensive assistants on Wednesday morning to tell them that he’s looking forward to getting started.

While White has yet to make any in-person evaluations, he sees defensive personnel that the 3-3-5 can mold to fit – and the wording there is key. The scheme morphs to the personnel. A unit with a strong defensive line can go to an even front and operate as a 4-2-5. A deep linebacker corps likely means more 3-3 base.

And the more versatile the players, the greater the level of deception and the lesser the need for substitutions.

“You can be a little bit undersized, but as long as you’re fast and athletic, I think that’s where the 3-3-5 comes in,” White said. “It allows you to be really versatile, show a lot of moves and put players in position to make plays.”

“… The base mold is a 3-3, but because it’s so flexible, it’s always about the personnel you have on the roster. You’ve got to go back through and say, ‘Who are your best 11 football players?’"

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Pace, White said, is his top priority in the installation process. Finding the threshold at which coaches and players are digesting information to the point where they can teach or execute is essential. But just as important is building a culture that takes the strengths of those individuals and matching them with the Xs and Os. Those elements of freedom can bolster group buy-in significantly, White said.

“My job is going to be to combine those two and say, ‘This is what those kids can absorb, this is what we can teach at a high level,’” White said. “’So, let’s go and execute that and, from there, get a good foundation to start off with and install as we go.’”

Babers said on Wednesday that the 3-3-5 provides no guarantees. While it’s viewed by some as a change-up that requires extra preparation from opposing coaches, White sees the 3-3 base spreading. Clemson utilized it in the national championship game against LSU.

But the hope is that the 3-3-5 will mask some of SU’s deficiencies and allow its playmakers to excel. And soon, White will take the answers that he gave Arnett at the AFCA convention and put them to use himself.

Said White: "It’s a special opportunity for me. I truly think it is. Dino wants to run this defense. He’s got an explosive offense. I know he had a defensive change and some coaches coming in and out, but this situation was different because it wasn’t like I was at a Group of 5 school or I was on the outs. I had a really great opportunity to learn and be over there with Herm and Marvin and those guys.

“And then when Syracuse and Coach Babers came calling, that’s how much I truly believe that Syracuse is and can be a special place.”

Stephen Bailey covers Syracuse football for The Post-Standard/Syracuse.com. You can follow him on Twitter @Stephen_Bailey1 and on Facebook. He can also be reached anytime via email.

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