People look back on the Alabama football staff and wonder how many coaches could have been on a single team.
Lane Kiffin (now at Ole Miss), Kirby Smart (Georgia), Mel Tucker (Michigan State), Mario Cristobal (Miami) and Billy Napier (Florida) are all Power 5 head coaches.
"Everyone messes with me about that a little bit," the Houston associate head coach said. How are you left off the list?
He was a graduate assistant on the Alabama staff. He is a rising star in college football. He left West Virginia to join the Houston team as co-defensive coordinators and safeties coach.
A unit that was sixth in the country in total defense (302.2 yards), tied for 13th in turnovers forced (23) and 19th in points allowed per game (20.4) was led by Belk in his new role. The success that Belk has had since he left Alabama has made him a hot commodity in coaching circles, including with the man who tried to bring him back to Tuscaloosa.
He tried to hire him a few times. I've been unable to hire him. He did a great job when he was at Alabama, and he's doing a great job now.
He believes he is one of the luckiest people in the world for having the experience of learning and growing during his time at Alabama.
"But, you know," he said, "I have my own thoughts and different things I like to do that are different than them."
Things didn't get off to a smooth start for the two men. The transfer portal resulted in significant losses for the team, most notably quarterback D' Eriq King who transferred to Miami for the 2020 season.
The scout team was better than the guys we were playing with.
In the COVID-impacted season of 2020, six of Houston's games were canceled because of the virus.
He had offers to become the defensive backs coach at several SEC schools. He stuck through the tough times for the same reason he took the Houston job.
A lot of people in the business don't invest in people. It's one of my biggest passions. I thinkHolgorsen's investment in me has been very good. He sat me down and said, "Hey, this is why I'm doing this,' or he made roster adjustments and things like that." I have been learning and growing with him in a different way.
The Houston program's loyalty to Holgorsen was appreciated by him.
When we took this, we knew it was the reason we signed him to a three-year deal. We knew there would be a lot of work and it would take a while. We are here because of how hard we work together.
When they moved to Houston, Holgorsen didn't think Belk was ready to be a defensive coach, but he did want to bring him with him to the new job.
The kids were attracted to him. I had a hunch that if I didn't make him DC, he wouldn't be here very long. I switched to that one. He was ready.
According to Holgorsen, Alabama and Georgia offered the position of Belk. It was a good thing for me to do that.
The leader's style is different. "You know, sometimes unconventional just from the outside, and people see the Red Bull drinkin' and the headset slammin', and it doesn't correlate with the demeanor of other people," he said. It's not much different for him and the others. He's very smart and strategic. It's fun to be around him, and he's given me a lot of opportunities to grow.
The one thing that I like about Coach Hol the most is that he encourages you to be who you are. He allows me to be who I am and all the others around me.
Some Air Jordans or Air Maxes are what Belk wears every day. He says he isn't overly emotional. He leads by example with his work ethic.
The recipe for Houston's defensive resurgence has been the combination of Belk's passion for people and growing relationships and Holgorsen's insistence that he be himself and give him more responsibilities.
"We've got the same players, we've just got to change the way they think," he said.
He leaned into Houston's culture in order to do that.
He said that the defense had been changed. The Third Ward is in the middle of Houston. We say it isn't for everyone. The third ward defense was brought back.
The Third Ward defense is a nickname that has layers to it. The Houston defensive backfields used to call themselves the Jack Boys. D' Anthony Jones dubbed the defensive line "Sack Ave." after talking tons of trash at a practice.
"All that stuff makes us different," Houston's Donavan Mutin said. The only thing that really took us to the next level was our mindset. The mindset that we have was given to us byBelk.
His passion for investing in people is what brought the culture change. People joke with him about being two different people.
The coach is the ultimate competitor.
He will tell you how you messed up. He's going to talk to you in the same way we speak. He won't call you outside of your name or do anything like that. The man doesn't have to. He's eager to give you praise but he's also going to make sure he expresses what you did right or what you did wrong.
If we don't see championship effort on tape, then I will challenge them and coach them. Each man should be coached fairly. I don't believe that every guy should be taught the same things.
"He's good at finding out what buttons he can push for each player, he coaches each player different." He could get on me because he knows he's going to motivate me to go. He might not yell at the next player because he doesn't think that makes them produce.
He says that the side that loves you harder is the other side of Belk.
He said that until you get to know people and dive into what makes them tick, you don't know how to coach them. I feel like I know people even though I'm not a specialist in that area. I value the relationships we have with our players and how they can help us on and off the field.
From talking with his players, it's clear that the synergy is there. It would be hard to tell if it was the coach or his players who said something because their messages are the same. The authenticity of Belk has been a key part of his success, as well as getting everyone on the defense to buy in.
He's the same guy every day. That is what makes him special. A lot of the coaches I've had are fake. They can't remove the coach hat because they don't know how to be a normal person. No matter what the subject of the conversation is, they don't know how to meet you where you are. He's himself, man. He is as successful as he is.
The ultimate trust on the football field can be found on the two sides of the game. Being himself gives players the freedom to speak up.
Williams didn't know much about football when he first arrived in Houston. He helped build my confidence because he helped me learn how to fix my mistakes and talk about ball.
In meetings where we take control, he started building our confidence.
The field is where the players can change up their play calls.
That's why we're as good as we are. "We'll be on the field and there are certain things in the defense that are in the game plan." We will handle this as this. He always says, "I don't play a single snap, y'all are the ones playing the snaps." I never play a down. If y'all don't like what we're doing then that's the problem.
That sets him apart and gives everyone confidence. We have a coach that is on that page with us. We're only going to be good if everyone understands what we're doing.
In the final minute of the Birmingham Bowl, Houston led Auburn 17-13 with the Tigers facing fourth-and-2 on their own 33 yard line. The players were asked what plays they wanted to run.
They said they wanted to do it. I told them to do it. We go win. They're the ones. I don't need to do that. I always say that, but I think so. It's even better if I can make them feel comfortable.
Belk was born in Georgia and grew up there. He got his first taste of high-level football when he was the starting quarterback at Lowndes High School.
Georgia high school football is considered to be one of the best in the country, but southern Georgia is on another level.
He said that nobody from metro Atlanta would want to go down I-75.
Two of the school's three state titles in four years came after he lost to rival Valdosta in his sophomore year.
He was going to play in the Canadian Football League in the year of the NFL Lockout. Valdosta State head coach David Dean and co-defensive coordinators Earl Chambers recruited Belk to join their staff. He did not see it for himself.
Belk majored in computer information and business management. I was going to get into some type of tech technology or into the sales world before I began coaching.
In 2012 the Blazers won a national championship.
He fell in love with the locker room. Being a part of a locker room and a group of friends intrigued me the most. I think I got that at a young age. That's the most important part, more than anything else.
After the national title win, Belk formed a relationship with Kirby Smart, who started at Valdosta State.
He called me and we linked up. He told me to come to Alabama to be a graduate assistant. Leaving Valdosta State to go to Florida State was what he did. I was in Tuscaloosa a week after interviewing and working for him and the coach.
On the day of Super Bowl 51, when the New EnglandPatriots staged a historic comeback to beat the Atlanta Falcons, there was a phone call from then-West Virginia defensive line coach TonyGibson.
"I'll never forget that one, I've been a Falcons fan all my life," he said. It was a long day for us.
While Holgorsen was out of the country, Belk flew up to interview for the corner's job with Gibson, who called to tell him that he'd been hired.
"You just get around the guys that you know are going to be the coordinators and keep progressing in the game." He was that kind of guy from the beginning.
The thing that separated him from some of the other guys was his ability, the relationships he builds with the kids and the recruiting aspect of it.
When Belk finalized his deal, he slid the contract back across the table and forgot to look at it.
"I would have gone for free at that point if I cared about money," he said. I slid it back and said I was in. I'm going to make a living.
Belk spent a lot of time with Mike Locksley, who was an analyst on the Alabama staff, when he was a graduate assistant. The next generation of head coaches, according to Locksley, will be led by Belk.
"Coaches who are good with X's and O's, some who are good at recruiting, some who are good at managing players, but very few are able to do all three." He's able to connect with the student-athletes. He's absorbed that piece of it because he's been around good defensive coaches. His ability to do all three of those things makes him stand out.
He likes being his own person.
He takes pride in the fact that he has a good relationship with Nick and Kirby. He's proud of how far he's come without them. He has a good relationship with them. I think that's a tribute to him because he found his own way.
He's going to be a good head coach. I don't know. I'll be happy for him when it's over.
Mark Richt spoke at the American Football Coaches Association convention in 2011. The notes he kept on his phone are still in his possession.
When he was the quarterbacks coach at Florida State, Richt was worried about the next job. He became a head coach after a lot of success and talked about what was important to him. That lesson has stayed with me.
When you worry about things that you can't control, you can overlook the details. I can only control how hard I work and how I lead the guys that I'm supposed to do my job with. I like coming to work each and every day.
I don't shy away from that because I'm young and black. If I don't do what I'm supposed to, I could be holding someone else back. I take that kind of stuff seriously because a lot of people in this business talk about doing things right and sticking together. The more success I have, the more likely it is that someone else will join us.
The attention he has received has made him work harder at his job. The Houston football team is one of the favorites in the American Athletic Conference as they transition to the Big 12 in 2022.
I feel like part of my obligation to our head coach and our players is to win a championship, and that's why I'm here. Our players' goal is to win.
You know, getting a taste of it last year when the confetti was falling in Cincinnati, and our players were hoisting the trophy in the middle of a home game against auburn.
Let's win this conference and see where it leads us next season.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
