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The John Pennington Show – Homecoming Week, Corlan Witcher's Journey, and West Liberty Preview · The John Pennington Show

• 0:09
  Speaker 1: It's time for the John Pennington Show live from the
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: pitch at Shawnee. Your weekly look inside the West Virginia
• 0:17
  Speaker 1: State Yellow Jackets. Join us all season long at the
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: pitch to break down Yellow Jacket football like nobody else
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: does with West Virginia State Head Coach John Pennington. Now,
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: live from the pitch at Shawnee with Coach Pennington, here's
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: Daniel Woods.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: This is the John Pennington Show on 107.3 The Beat,
• 0:38
  Speaker 2: live from the pitch at Shawnee, the pitch sports bar
• 0:41
  Speaker 2: and grill, our home all season long for the John
• 0:44
  Speaker 2: Pennington Show. I am Daniel Woods, and we are excited
• 0:46
  Speaker 2: today to be here once again for another week talking
• 0:50
  Speaker 2: West Virginia State football. We've got homecoming coming up this
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: weekend and we will be talking about that.
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: In a little bit.
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: We'll be talking about what's going on with the Yellow Jackets.
• 0:59
  Speaker 2: They're a part of this weekend in West Liberty. And
• 1:02
  Speaker 2: of course, we for homecoming week have not just a
• 1:05
  Speaker 2: member of the coaching staff dropping by as our special guest,
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: but an alum of the program and alum of the university,
• 1:10
  Speaker 2: defensive line coach Cole, in which are going to join
• 1:12
  Speaker 2: us in just a couple of minutes, but I'll bring
• 1:15
  Speaker 2: in the head coach of the Yellow Jackets, John Pennington. Coach,
• 1:17
  Speaker 2: a couple of practices down this week, getting ready for
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: West Liberty.
• 1:20
  Speaker 3: How are you feeling? Yeah, I mean, we had two
• 1:22
  Speaker 3: really good practices back-to-back. You know, we definitely got after
• 1:26
  Speaker 3: it yesterday. We had a great ending to the day.
• 1:29
  Speaker 3: It was like a two-minute drill that came down to
• 1:30
  Speaker 3: the last play, and It looked like the offense had
• 1:34
  Speaker 3: a touchdown. I think the defense made maybe a little
• 1:36
  Speaker 3: bit of extra effort to knock the ball away at
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: the end. I think the last three plays kind of
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: looked like they could be a touchdown. So it was exciting.
• 1:43
  Speaker 3: The guys were getting after it, and it's been a
• 1:46
  Speaker 3: good week. I think any time you don't have the
• 1:50
  Speaker 3: results you want on Saturday, it can be tough to
• 1:53
  Speaker 3: bounce back from that. But I feel like our team is,
• 1:56
  Speaker 3: number one, they're resilient. Number two, they believe in themselves
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: and what we're doing. But, you know, homecoming always kind
• 2:02
  Speaker 3: of brings out the, you know, you got alumni coming back.
• 2:07
  Speaker 3: It reminds me of just, you know, how grateful, you know,
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: we are to be able to do what we do.
• 2:11
  Speaker 3: You know, the guys get to play the game they love.
• 2:14
  Speaker 3: at a great university. As a coaching staff, we get
• 2:16
  Speaker 3: to develop young men. And, you know, we haven't got
• 2:19
  Speaker 3: the results we wanted, but we love trying to figure
• 2:21
  Speaker 3: it out. Like, we love the game. And, you know,
• 2:24
  Speaker 3: we're all, you know, trying to battle and figure out
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: what we need to do to play better football. And,
• 2:28
  Speaker 3: you know, when you do get it right in the
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: game of football, it's an exhilarating feeling. And it's very
• 2:34
  Speaker 3: humbling when you don't. But, you know, I think all
• 2:37
  Speaker 3: of us, our staff, like, we love trying to figure
• 2:40
  Speaker 3: it out, and when you do, that's what we're striving for.
• 2:43
  Speaker 3: Once we get these guys playing, getting the details right
• 2:47
  Speaker 3: and the little things right, I think this team is
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: going to take off.
• 2:50
  Speaker 2: So we do need to talk about Saturday a little bit.
• 2:53
  Speaker 2: 41-8 at Fairmont State, not the results you wanted. But
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: looking back, and the more that I've thought about that game,
• 3:02
  Speaker 2: 23-point gap there. But when I think about it, you're
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: a couple of bounces away from that probably being a
• 3:08
  Speaker 2: one-score game.
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: In the fourth quarter.
• 3:10
  Speaker 2: So what do you take away from a game like
• 3:13
  Speaker 2: that now rolling back into the home schedule and conference play?
• 3:17
  Speaker 3: We went over it with our players and our staff.
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: I mean, we had three turnovers. We dropped some passes.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: We had some critical errors on defense special teams was
• 3:26
  Speaker 3: atrocious uh giving up a touchdown bad snap on punt
• 3:30
  Speaker 3: and giving them basically another touchdown um so you know
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: you can't do those things and win you know conference
• 3:36
  Speaker 3: games it's just you know it's going to be tough
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: anyway but when you make those mistakes uh it's going
• 3:41
  Speaker 3: to make it extremely hard but i think you're right
• 3:43
  Speaker 3: i think you know defense or special teams basically gave
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: up two touchdowns and you know that makes it a
• 3:48
  Speaker 3: more of a nine point spread i You know, the
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: thing that really, the positive things that came out of
• 3:53
  Speaker 3: it was, you know, we outgained them yardage-wise. I mean,
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: the plan was good. You know, other than a handful
• 4:01
  Speaker 3: of plays of shooting ourselves in the foot, there was
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: a lot of good stuff. The defense had three red
• 4:07
  Speaker 3: zone stops. One of them was a missed field goal.
• 4:09
  Speaker 3: You know, that was something we had emphasized, you know,
• 4:12
  Speaker 3: getting stops in the red zone. And then offensively, the
• 4:15
  Speaker 3: pass game had been pretty inefficient. And then last week,
• 4:18
  Speaker 3: the pass game was incredibly efficient. It was our best
• 4:20
  Speaker 3: pass game of the season. So those were two really
• 4:26
  Speaker 3: important factors that we can take away from it. And
• 4:28
  Speaker 3: I think we all know we're not going to turn
• 4:30
  Speaker 3: the ball over three times a game. We're not going
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: to snap the ball over people's heads. We had even
• 4:34
  Speaker 3: Ben and Lo, who's been exceptional players. Had a couple
• 4:37
  Speaker 3: bad snaps, you know, at times that you don't want
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: them to happen. I guess there's never a good time
• 4:42
  Speaker 3: to have a bad snap. But it just seems like,
• 4:44
  Speaker 3: you know, when things that are going wrong are going
• 4:47
  Speaker 3: wrong at the wrong times. Even, you know, I was
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: talking to David, our athletic director, about the penalties. And
• 4:54
  Speaker 3: we're the least penalized team in the conference. Which, you know,
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: I guess to an observer of mine, I feel like
• 4:59
  Speaker 3: that because of when the penalties happen.
• 5:01
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: But I think our team has played sound football within
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: the legal limits of the game, but we've got to
• 5:08
  Speaker 3: cut out those critical errors at those critical times.
• 5:11
  Speaker 2: You mentioned the passing game taking a step forward. The
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: obvious difference there was you go to Caleb Jackson at quarterback,
• 5:16
  Speaker 2: and this is not to take anything away from Brian
• 5:19
  Speaker 2: Johnson or Joe Daly.
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: It's just a fact of the numbers.
• 5:21
  Speaker 2: I was doing my prep for this Saturday's game against Liberty,
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: and it had not struck me until today that Caleb
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Jackson is your leading passer on the season today. after
• 5:30
  Speaker 2: basically one full game and one drive in the opener.
• 5:35
  Speaker 2: What did he show you on Saturday getting back out there?
• 5:38
  Speaker 3: What he showed me the Saturday before was his heart
• 5:40
  Speaker 3: and his resilience and his toughness. After just a tough
• 5:45
  Speaker 3: loss against Wesleyan at home, I felt like, you know,
• 5:48
  Speaker 3: talked to Coach Cab, and we just felt like, you know,
• 5:51
  Speaker 3: getting that guy, you know, back at the helm. You know,
• 5:54
  Speaker 3: we tried to play Brian and Joe, and they both
• 5:56
  Speaker 3: do a great job. We just hadn't got the results
• 5:59
  Speaker 3: we wanted. And, you know, a lot of that is,
• 6:01
  Speaker 3: you know, it's hard to play, you know, two guys.
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: You know, the old moniker, if you have two, you
• 6:08
  Speaker 3: don't have any. And just we felt like, you know,
• 6:10
  Speaker 3: they would give us kind of a little jolt. And just,
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: you know, just his– The way that he played and
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: handled that situation was, it was inspiring. It was, you know,
• 6:20
  Speaker 3: it's how a champion should respond. You know, he just
• 6:22
  Speaker 3: found a way to get on the field and help
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: the team. And we wanted that, you know, going on
• 6:27
  Speaker 3: the road. And we got that out of him. And
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: I think, you know, we want him to kind of
• 6:32
  Speaker 3: lead the charge moving forward as long as he continues
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: to play well. But he played exceptionally well and got
• 6:37
  Speaker 3: that pass game rolling. I like to hear that. I
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: like to hear that.
• 6:40
  Speaker 2: Tell you what, we're going to take our first break
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: a little bit early because we've got somebody to bring
• 6:44
  Speaker 2: into the conversation. That is defensive line coach Corlin Witcher,
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: an alum of the program. It's homecoming this week. We're
• 6:49
  Speaker 2: talking all about homecoming. We're talking all about what he
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: does for this West Virginia State program, his career at
• 6:55
  Speaker 2: State because... He was a heck of a player at
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: West Virginia State as well. That's all coming up in
• 6:59
  Speaker 2: just a minute. But we are live here at the
• 7:02
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• 7:05
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• 7:08
  Speaker 2: all the way up until close tonight. That's 9 o'clock.
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  Speaker 2: We're here until 8. And, of course, we've got West
• 7:13
  Speaker 2: Virginia State football this weekend on 107.3. The beat against
• 7:16
  Speaker 2: West Liberty. A little bit of a different start time
• 7:18
  Speaker 2: because of homecoming.
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: Kickoff 1.30. That means.
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: Pre-game coverage with myself and Hollis Lewis starts at 1 o'clock.
• 7:25
  Speaker 2: We'll talk about that game a little bit later on
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: in the program. When we return, it's myself, the head coach,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: and the defensive line coach coming up after this on 107.3
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  Speaker 17: That's ZipRecruiter.com slash free. Let's talk football. The John Pennington
• 11:37
  Speaker 17: Show is on 107.3 The Beat.
• 11:43
  Speaker 2: 107.3 The Beat is your home for the John Pennington
• 11:45
  Speaker 2: Show all season long.
• 11:47
  Speaker 3: I am Daniel Woods.
• 11:48
  Speaker 2: We are live at the Pitch Sports Bar and Grill.
• 11:51
  Speaker 2: at the Shawnee Sports Complex, getting you ready for West
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: Virginia State football this Saturday, taking on West Liberty. It's
• 11:57
  Speaker 2: homecoming weekend for the Yellow Jackets, and that's always an
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: exciting time. And we've got a special guest with us
• 12:02
  Speaker 2: this week. Always love to have members of the program,
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: folks from the West Virginia State community around. And Corlin
• 12:08
  Speaker 2: Witcher is the defensive line coach at West Virginia State,
• 12:11
  Speaker 2: is a West Virginia State alum, and it's only fitting
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: for homecoming week that you join us. So, first of all,
• 12:16
  Speaker 2: thanks for coming on.
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: Appreciate you having me. So....
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: Tell me what it's like working for the guy that
• 12:23
  Speaker 2: was also your head coach.
• 12:26
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I love it every day. It's one of those
• 12:28
  Speaker 4: things where we have a great staff, and all of
• 12:31
  Speaker 4: us really enjoy coming in every day ready to work,
• 12:33
  Speaker 4: ready to get better, constantly, constantly and stuff. So, like,
• 12:37
  Speaker 4: not only Coach Penn, but also all the coaches make
• 12:39
  Speaker 4: it real easy to be a part of it.
• 12:41
  Speaker 2: So, Coach, for you, how does the conversation start of,
• 12:46
  Speaker 2: all right, this guy's wrapping up his playing career. Does
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: he come to you and say, I want to go
• 12:52
  Speaker 2: into coaching, can you help me out? Do you say,
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: I need a defensive line coach, do you want to
• 12:55
  Speaker 2: stick around? What's that conversation like?
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: Usually they come to me and they're like, hey, I'm
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: finishing my degree, I want to help and maybe coach
• 13:03
  Speaker 3: this next semester. We had a rare thing that's only
• 13:07
  Speaker 3: happened once where Corlin and Nate Baker, our wide receiver coach,
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: they had both come to me that they wanted to
• 13:13
  Speaker 3: start coaching and they played their last game on a
• 13:16
  Speaker 3: Saturday and they were at the staff meeting Monday morning
• 13:18
  Speaker 3: So they had one day of civilian life, and then
• 13:22
  Speaker 3: they joined the staff. So it was easy with Corlin.
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: He's always a guy that has done the right thing,
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: great effort, great attitude. Any task you give him, he
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: knocks it out of the park. I probably overload him,
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: and he gets some jobs that he probably doesn't want
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: because he's really good at whatever job we give him.
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: He's got the fun task of matriculation, which is all
• 13:44
  Speaker 3: the things that the freshmen need to have in before
• 13:47
  Speaker 3: they get here, which is a very thankless job. But
• 13:50
  Speaker 3: he gets the job because I know he'll get it done,
• 13:53
  Speaker 3: and I know whatever task we give him, he'll do it,
• 13:55
  Speaker 3: and he'll do it well. He was like that as
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: a player, which is why it's not any surprise. He's
• 14:00
  Speaker 3: like that as a coach.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: So this is not a conversation I've been able to
• 14:04
  Speaker 2: have with somebody on this show before. But we've got
• 14:08
  Speaker 2: the path to playing at West Virginia State. We've got
• 14:10
  Speaker 2: the path to coaching at West Virginia State. So let's
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: talk recruiting first. How do you get contact with West
• 14:19
  Speaker 2: Virginia State? How do you become a player at West
• 14:21
  Speaker 2: Virginia State before you can be a coach at West
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: Virginia State?
• 14:24
  Speaker 4: How to become a player? Honestly, coming to camps. That's
• 14:28
  Speaker 4: one of the biggest things, coming to camps, getting all
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: of our coaches able to see you and evaluate you
• 14:32
  Speaker 4: in person. That's a real big thing. And just constantly
• 14:35
  Speaker 4: contacting them, whether it's social media, on Twitter, finding emails,
• 14:39
  Speaker 4: sending emails to all the coaches and stuff. That's the
• 14:41
  Speaker 4: easiest way. But I would say the number one easiest
• 14:43
  Speaker 4: thing is just coming out to a camp, letting us
• 14:45
  Speaker 4: evaluate you in person, see your skills out in person
• 14:49
  Speaker 4: and whatnot.
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 14:49
  Speaker 2: Let's talk about your path. So you're Virginia native. Yes, sir.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: And so not that far down the road, but across
• 14:57
  Speaker 2: the border. So how does your contact with West Virginia
• 15:00
  Speaker 2: State happen that you end up spending time? the time
• 15:03
  Speaker 2: here that you have um.
• 15:05
  Speaker 4: So it was in the middle of my senior year
• 15:07
  Speaker 4: um the past defense line coach derek dressler was a
• 15:11
  Speaker 4: defense line coach he came talk to me and stuff
• 15:13
  Speaker 4: and he taught really good things and then i ended
• 15:15
  Speaker 4: up going on a visit on february and it was
• 15:17
  Speaker 4: one of the things i love this is day one
• 15:19
  Speaker 4: from the players to the people um just around the
• 15:22
  Speaker 4: campus and stuff the coaches i just love this is
• 15:24
  Speaker 4: day one so it's one of those things it was
• 15:26
  Speaker 4: kind of a no-brainer.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: Honestly And how early for you do you realize, all right,
• 15:32
  Speaker 2: this guy's got a chance to be a dude, and
• 15:34
  Speaker 2: then he ends up being a dude for you?
• 15:36
  Speaker 3: Corlin wasn't that guy. His visit was late, I think.
• 15:42
  Speaker 3: It was after signing day, and we had some room left. And,
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: you know, when he came in, we thought he was
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: really athletic and played physical. So, like, we didn't know
• 15:51
  Speaker 3: if he'd develop into an offensive lineman or he'd stay
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: at a defensive lineman. We just knew it. We knew
• 15:55
  Speaker 3: that he really liked us, and we really liked him,
• 15:57
  Speaker 3: and it would kind of figure itself out. But he
• 16:00
  Speaker 3: really developed. You know, he really developed. I mean, he
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: kind of surprised us when he first got here, and
• 16:05
  Speaker 3: we're like, okay, this guy's going to be a good
• 16:07
  Speaker 3: player for us. And then, you know, I don't know
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: if we ever saw how, you know, of course we
• 16:12
  Speaker 3: believe that all guys are going to develop and reach
• 16:14
  Speaker 3: their potential. I don't think we would have sat down
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: this freshman year and said, this is going to be
• 16:19
  Speaker 3: an all-conference D lineman, which is what he was. A
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: three-year starter? Yeah, a three-year starter. And you get guys
• 16:25
  Speaker 3: like that all the time, and that's what makes coaching great.
• 16:28
  Speaker 3: You can't predict it. There's guys that we think are
• 16:30
  Speaker 3: going to be superstars as freshmen, and they turn out
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: to be. some of the worst players on the team.
• 16:34
  Speaker 3: There's guys you think aren't going to be very good,
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: and they turn out to be the best players on
• 16:38
  Speaker 3: your team, captains, and then on your coaching staff. So
• 16:41
  Speaker 3: that's why we talk about just believe in all of them.
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: All of them are one decision away from... you know,
• 16:47
  Speaker 3: committing and doing the right things to becoming a great player.
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: And we just don't really know. I mean, we try
• 16:52
  Speaker 3: to use our experience to guess. But Corlin was one
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: that really surprised us. We knew he'd be good. We
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: just didn't expect him to be the great player that
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: he was. And it happened pretty quickly. But he was
• 17:03
  Speaker 3: a guy you could always coach hard. Even when he
• 17:05
  Speaker 3: was a good player, like, you know, you could coach
• 17:07
  Speaker 3: him to be great. And that's why he just kept developing, developing,
• 17:10
  Speaker 3: and ended up being, like I said, a captain and
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: an all-conference player. Good stuff.
• 17:14
  Speaker 12: So.
• 17:15
  Speaker 2: want to get into your your path a little bit
• 17:17
  Speaker 2: a little bit later we'll we'll do a little one-on-one
• 17:20
  Speaker 2: talk about your journey your career that kind of thing
• 17:22
  Speaker 2: i want to talk about the guys that you're working
• 17:24
  Speaker 2: with right now because i can tell just from when
• 17:27
  Speaker 2: you sat down and we brought up a couple names
• 17:29
  Speaker 2: you're fired up about this group of guys so uh
• 17:31
  Speaker 2: a big picture before we talk about some individuals let's
• 17:34
  Speaker 2: talk about your your defensive line group what you think
• 17:37
  Speaker 2: of of this bunch of guys because it's an interesting
• 17:39
  Speaker 2: mix you've got some vets you've got some freshmen that
• 17:41
  Speaker 2: have come in and played right away too Yeah.
• 17:44
  Speaker 4: So on the inside is mainly where I have a
• 17:45
  Speaker 4: lot of my veteran guys, like a guy like Dwight Fiala,
• 17:49
  Speaker 4: Dante Harris, McGrew. Those are three guys that have been
• 17:52
  Speaker 4: in the program a couple years and stuff, building themselves
• 17:57
  Speaker 4: as real leaders and stuff, becoming more vocal day in
• 17:59
  Speaker 4: and day in and stuff. So it's really fun to
• 18:01
  Speaker 4: be able to coach those guys. And then also on
• 18:03
  Speaker 4: the edge, my guys like Willie DeSantis, Demari Tony, Jamel Smith.
• 18:07
  Speaker 4: Those are three guys that can do anything. pretty much
• 18:10
  Speaker 4: anything you need. Stop the run, get out the quarterback.
• 18:14
  Speaker 4: fun guys to work with every day so I love
• 18:16
  Speaker 4: Coastal Mills guys.
• 18:16
  Speaker 2: All right so let's talk about let's talk about your
• 18:19
  Speaker 2: veterans a little bit Dante Harris may be the most
• 18:22
  Speaker 2: mentioned player on this show for anything other than football
• 18:26
  Speaker 2: because we had Joe Daly on and he was talking
• 18:28
  Speaker 2: about going out and golfing with some of the guys
• 18:30
  Speaker 2: from the team and he goes yeah Dante Harris the
• 18:33
  Speaker 2: 330 pound nose guard he's the best golfer out of
• 18:36
  Speaker 2: any of us and I just I just kind of
• 18:38
  Speaker 2: sat there and stared at him and was like This
• 18:40
  Speaker 2: is the first time I've talked to you. You're like,
• 18:41
  Speaker 2: are you already messing with me? And he was not.
• 18:44
  Speaker 2: So let's talk about Dante as a football player because
• 18:47
  Speaker 2: I remember saying Saturday in that Fairmont State game that
• 18:51
  Speaker 2: the quarterback from Fairmont State just kind of like ran
• 18:53
  Speaker 2: into his arms basically. And I said to Hollis on
• 18:57
  Speaker 2: the air, like, you're not getting away if you just
• 18:59
  Speaker 2: run into Dante Harris' arms. So tell me a little
• 19:02
  Speaker 2: bit about the big guy in the middle.
• 19:04
  Speaker 4: I love Dante. Dante's a guy who just keeps getting
• 19:07
  Speaker 4: better and better every single day, every single year and stuff.
• 19:10
  Speaker 4: From his freshman year to right now, he's been improving
• 19:12
  Speaker 4: so much. He's getting a lot more athletic. He's one
• 19:15
  Speaker 4: of the pound-for-pound most athletic guys seen from a guy
• 19:18
  Speaker 4: from his stature and stuff. He's so athletic, and he's
• 19:20
  Speaker 4: a beast in weight room, squats 600 and.
• 19:23
  Speaker 3: Stuff like that.
• 19:24
  Speaker 4: So he's so fun to work with day in and
• 19:27
  Speaker 4: day out, I would say. Yeah, I saw.
• 19:29
  Speaker 3: Him videoing himself last night, I think, as I was leaving.
• 19:32
  Speaker 3: He was in there doing extra work. Oh, yeah, I
• 19:34
  Speaker 3: was getting his extra work.
• 19:35
  Speaker 4: I like it.
• 19:35
  Speaker 3: I like it. I like it.
• 19:37
  Speaker 2: Keontavious McGrew is an interesting guy to me because one,
• 19:40
  Speaker 2: ton of energy. Just like one of the energy guys
• 19:42
  Speaker 2: on your team. But like something that I picked up
• 19:45
  Speaker 2: almost immediately from the first road trip that I took
• 19:47
  Speaker 2: with you guys, he is absolutely.
• 19:50
  Speaker 3: the player.
• 19:50
  Speaker 2: On this team that I know every time I see
• 19:53
  Speaker 2: him getting on the bus on the sidewalk walking in
• 19:55
  Speaker 2: this name like that guy's gonna say hello to me
• 19:57
  Speaker 2: and like I I think that's really cool so what
• 20:00
  Speaker 2: he does on the field but also like what he
• 20:02
  Speaker 2: is as a person what's what's that like to be
• 20:04
  Speaker 2: around that guy every.
• 20:04
  Speaker 4: Day Yeah, McGrew is one of those guys who turned
• 20:06
  Speaker 4: into a very vocal leader on the team, especially on
• 20:08
  Speaker 4: our defensive stuff. He's a guy who came in, ever
• 20:11
  Speaker 4: since he came in last year, he's a guy who
• 20:12
  Speaker 4: wanted to be a leader and wanted to be that guy.
• 20:14
  Speaker 4: So I'm telling him, like, you got to become more vocal.
• 20:17
  Speaker 4: You got to be able to lead guys. And he's
• 20:18
  Speaker 4: a guy with such a big voice that guys just
• 20:21
  Speaker 4: gravitate towards him and stuff. And, like, on the field,
• 20:24
  Speaker 4: like you said, just ball energy, energy every single play
• 20:27
  Speaker 4: from the first play all the way to the last.
• 20:28
  Speaker 4: And he's bringing constant energy every single time.
• 20:31
  Speaker 2: And I know the way your leadership structure works. You
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: love a guy that is going to get out there
• 20:34
  Speaker 2: like that and have that kind of energy and go
• 20:37
  Speaker 2: get guys going, right?
• 20:38
  Speaker 3: Yeah, absolutely. It's easy to us, in my opinion, to
• 20:43
  Speaker 3: do lead by example. That's what you're supposed to do.
• 20:46
  Speaker 3: What's difficult is when you have to hold your teammates accountable.
• 20:50
  Speaker 3: And McGrew, we've challenged him to do that, and he's
• 20:52
  Speaker 3: done a great job of that. We try to give
• 20:54
  Speaker 3: those leaders things that they can be in charge of,
• 20:58
  Speaker 3: and that way they can grow as leaders. they got
• 21:02
  Speaker 3: to practice it too. You can't read it in a book.
• 21:04
  Speaker 3: You know, we can give them advice, but they got
• 21:06
  Speaker 3: to practice trying to lead and help hold people accountable.
• 21:08
  Speaker 3: And he's been outstanding. I mean, with the way that
• 21:11
  Speaker 3: he leads his teammates and you know, he's never, never
• 21:14
  Speaker 3: scared to jump up in front of everyone and tell
• 21:16
  Speaker 3: them what they, you know, what we need to do
• 21:18
  Speaker 3: to win and get better as, as, as players. And,
• 21:21
  Speaker 3: you know, we've been on them hard this week. I mean,
• 21:22
  Speaker 3: we didn't play great on Saturday. So we've been on McGrew.
• 21:25
  Speaker 3: We've been on, you know, Malik Baker. We've been on all,
• 21:27
  Speaker 3: we've been coaching everybody extremely hard and, Those guys, you know,
• 21:31
  Speaker 3: they are taking the coaching, and that's just been incredible
• 21:35
  Speaker 3: to watch. Like, they could easily, you know, be frustrated,
• 21:37
  Speaker 3: but they're like, they want to be coached. And when
• 21:39
  Speaker 3: your leaders want to be coached like that, it just
• 21:41
  Speaker 3: trickles down to everybody else.
• 21:42
  Speaker 2: And then the last guy you mentioned with the veterans
• 21:44
  Speaker 2: on the interior with Dwight Fiala, I couldn't put my
• 21:48
  Speaker 2: finger on it. And honestly, I don't know what he's like.
• 21:50
  Speaker 2: off the field but like and honestly I'm interested to
• 21:54
  Speaker 2: see where this answer goes because the smiles you guys
• 21:55
  Speaker 2: are giving me with with Dwight it's like the the
• 21:59
  Speaker 2: term that comes to mind for him on the field
• 22:01
  Speaker 2: is just like quiet strength like he's just always in
• 22:05
  Speaker 2: the play and he's always making something happen you might
• 22:08
  Speaker 2: not notice the impact that he makes but he is
• 22:11
  Speaker 2: there and he is doing something and number nine is
• 22:13
  Speaker 2: right there so like what's what's the the story with
• 22:16
  Speaker 2: with Dwight I.
• 22:17
  Speaker 4: Would say you pretty much hit it on the money.
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: He's that big guy, big guy, quiet guy, but still
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: really goofy, wants to really get to know him and stuff.
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: He's the guy who's really been coming out of his
• 22:24
  Speaker 4: shell lately and stuff, becoming more and more of a
• 22:26
  Speaker 4: vocal leader as well and stuff. So that's been a
• 22:28
  Speaker 4: great thing to see. And like you said, on the field,
• 22:30
  Speaker 4: he's one of the most styled guys you'll see on
• 22:32
  Speaker 4: the defensive line and stuff. He's really good in the run.
• 22:35
  Speaker 4: He's phenomenal. He's getting better and better, rushing the passes.
• 22:38
  Speaker 4: So he's a great guy to coach every single day.
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: And then you've got the young guys on the edges
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: that you talked about. We were talking about Willie DeSantis
• 22:44
  Speaker 2: a little bit earlier. Otis Guyton's out there. He's just
• 22:47
  Speaker 2: always around the ball, it seems like. So what's it
• 22:50
  Speaker 2: like having that many freshmen that it's like these guys
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: can come in and play right away? But, I mean,
• 22:56
  Speaker 2: how much do you have to hold those guys' hands
• 22:58
  Speaker 2: as you're getting them ready?
• 22:59
  Speaker 4: I mean, it's one of those things we tell them
• 23:01
  Speaker 4: we're trusting you early, so you've got to go out
• 23:03
  Speaker 4: there and be accountable. And we trust you for a reason,
• 23:06
  Speaker 4: so go out there and show it and stuff. And
• 23:07
  Speaker 4: it's just been so great to see guys that are
• 23:09
  Speaker 4: so young going out here, showing stuff from day one,
• 23:11
  Speaker 4: showing that they have that ability to be that guy.
• 23:14
  Speaker 4: You know what I mean? Those are guys that are
• 23:18
  Speaker 4: very hardworking and stuff, coming day in and day out,
• 23:21
  Speaker 4: putting the extra work in and stuff. So it's good
• 23:24
  Speaker 4: when you see guys, the younger guys, 18, 19-year-olds, presenting
• 23:27
  Speaker 4: themselves like they're 23 year.
• 23:29
  Speaker 2: Olds we were talking last week about putting a roster
• 23:31
  Speaker 2: together and the way that you guys go about things
• 23:33
  Speaker 2: and coach talks a lot about finding guys that are
• 23:36
  Speaker 2: maybe hybrid players how much does that impact you on
• 23:39
  Speaker 2: the defensive line i know because you've got your edge
• 23:43
  Speaker 2: guys so got that jack linebacker position and you can
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: move your interior guys around how much does that affect
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: your group.
• 23:49
  Speaker 4: Uh it affects our group a lot because What we
• 23:52
  Speaker 4: do on the D-line, we do a lot of movements
• 23:53
  Speaker 4: and stuff, and then we move guys around. So, like
• 23:56
  Speaker 4: I said, we got guys with the ability to play
• 23:58
  Speaker 4: from a zero technique all the way to a wide
• 24:00
  Speaker 4: nine and stuff. So it's definitely a great thing to
• 24:01
  Speaker 4: get so many good athletes on the field.
• 24:03
  Speaker 2: What's it been like watching him work with this group
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: of guys? It is a mix of the guys that
• 24:09
  Speaker 2: are going out there, and you're mixing up personnels and packages, and,
• 24:12
  Speaker 2: I mean, he's the one running the show.
• 24:14
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, we have a great group there, number one,
• 24:16
  Speaker 3: and they're coachable. They're trying to lead, and he's got
• 24:21
  Speaker 3: older guys, younger guys, and those guys, you've got to
• 24:24
  Speaker 3: rotate D. Lyman.
• 24:25
  Speaker 12: Yeah.
• 24:26
  Speaker 3: And so they're playing a lot. And that can be
• 24:28
  Speaker 3: tough on a young coach, especially one that played here.
• 24:30
  Speaker 3: But we don't have any issues out of those guys.
• 24:33
  Speaker 3: I mean, their names don't come across my desk for
• 24:36
  Speaker 3: anything other than, you know, just regular football stuff. So
• 24:40
  Speaker 3: he does a great job not only getting the best
• 24:42
  Speaker 3: out of them, but just keeping them, you know, playing
• 24:44
  Speaker 3: whatever role it is that they have to play. I mean.
• 24:46
  Speaker 2: I know D.
• 24:47
  Speaker 3: Tony has literally played no's three and five.
• 24:50
  Speaker 4: From a zero to a nine. Yeah, he's played a
• 24:52
  Speaker 4: zero to a nine.
• 24:53
  Speaker 3: So, you know, that can be difficult because, you know,
• 24:55
  Speaker 3: the guys, you might need something different out of them
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: week to week. But Corlin's grown. You know, you could
• 25:00
  Speaker 3: see his evolution from last year to this year. I
• 25:03
  Speaker 3: know on the sideline, maybe it was against Robert Morris, like,
• 25:07
  Speaker 3: I heard him bark at the guys a little bit.
• 25:09
  Speaker 3: The energy wasn't right. I was thinking in my head,
• 25:12
  Speaker 3: heck yeah, Corlin.
• 25:13
  Speaker 2: Give me the business.
• 25:16
  Speaker 3: Not only that, but it was received. Corlin's not just
• 25:19
  Speaker 3: going to yell at anybody for any reason. He's passionate
• 25:24
  Speaker 3: about it, and it was awesome to see that and
• 25:25
  Speaker 3: awesome to see him. kind of come out and really
• 25:28
  Speaker 3: show that coaching voice when we needed it. But you're
• 25:31
  Speaker 3: seeing that more day in and day out. You see
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: it in the defensive staff room. This morning when we
• 25:35
  Speaker 3: were talking, there's certain things that me and Jack are
• 25:38
  Speaker 3: looking for, and Corlin is giving his input, and it's
• 25:41
  Speaker 3: valuable input, and then we kind of come to a
• 25:43
  Speaker 3: decision together. That was one of the things we talked
• 25:45
  Speaker 3: about in his ex-interview was, you know, we want to
• 25:48
  Speaker 3: hear your opinion. You played D-line here.
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: Like, I played receiver.
• 25:51
  Speaker 3: I don't know. I have no idea. You know, so
• 25:53
  Speaker 3: it's been fun to watch him, you know, get his
• 25:56
  Speaker 3: opinion out there a little more, and I think it's
• 25:58
  Speaker 3: really helping.
• 25:58
  Speaker 2: One more personnel question before we take a break, and
• 26:02
  Speaker 2: you talking about Damari, Tony reminded me of this. I've
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: been meaning to ask you about this, and I haven't
• 26:06
  Speaker 2: got the chance to before tonight. That third down package
• 26:10
  Speaker 2: where you've got him over the ball, it's Otis and
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: Antonio Simpson, and sometimes it's Willie DeSantis out there, whatever
• 26:17
  Speaker 2: it is. That group, just how fun is that package
• 26:20
  Speaker 2: to put out there on the field?
• 26:21
  Speaker 4: Oh, it's definitely electric. Those are the guys that we
• 26:24
  Speaker 4: feel like whenever it's third down, get the troubles going
• 26:26
  Speaker 4: because they're ready to get after that quarterback right away.
• 26:28
  Speaker 4: So it's definitely fun to get those guys out there.
• 26:30
  Speaker 4: and see what they can do day in and day out.
• 26:31
  Speaker 4: It's just like off to the races with those guys.
• 26:33
  Speaker 4: It's just like, just.
• 26:35
  Speaker 3: Go get somebody.
• 26:36
  Speaker 2: I love to see it.
• 26:37
  Speaker 3: I love to see it.
• 26:38
  Speaker 2: And we would love to see you here for the
• 26:40
  Speaker 2: John Pennington Show. That's what they call a transition, guys.
• 26:43
  Speaker 2: We would love to see you out here at the
• 26:44
  Speaker 2: pitch any of these Wednesday nights for the John Pennington
• 26:47
  Speaker 2: Show all the way.
• 26:47
  Speaker 3: Through the season.
• 26:49
  Speaker 2: Talking about West Virginia State football. West Liberty coming up
• 26:51
  Speaker 2: this Saturday. Kickoff 1.30. Pre-game coverage starts at 1 o'clock
• 26:55
  Speaker 2: on 107.3 The Beat. Would love to see you for homecoming. And, well,
• 26:58
  Speaker 2: if you can't make it, you can listen right here
• 27:00
  Speaker 2: on 107.3 The Beat. You're home for the Yellow Jackets
• 27:03
  Speaker 2: all season long. When we come back, going to continue
• 27:05
  Speaker 2: our conversation with defensive line coach Corlin Witcher, talk a
• 27:09
  Speaker 2: little bit more about his path as a player and
• 27:12
  Speaker 2: as a coach at West Virginia State, and, of course,
• 27:13
  Speaker 2: what homecoming means to him this weekend, as well as
• 27:16
  Speaker 2: somebody who, well, calls it home, but he never really left.
• 27:19
  Speaker 2: So we'll talk about that when we come back. This
• 27:22
  Speaker 2: is the John Pennington Show on 107.3 The Beat. Wesley
• 27:25
  Speaker 2: Financial Group is not a law firm.
• 27:26
  Speaker 18: I'm Chuck McDowell, founder of Wesley Financial Group. Did you
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  Speaker 18: buy a timeshare because they told you it was a
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• 27:54
  Speaker 2: Yellow Jackets, when the whistle sounds or the buzzer hits zero,
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  Speaker 2: keep the times going at the Pitch Sports Bar and
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• 28:24
  Speaker 20: Marshall University football is your ticket to unforgettable Saturdays. This season,
• 28:29
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• 28:31
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• 28:33
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• 28:35
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• 28:50
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• 28:53
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  Speaker 3: Hey, everybody. Tony Caridi here. And Brad Howe.
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• 29:29
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  Speaker 1: Now back to The John Pennington Show, only on 107.3
• 31:25
  Speaker 1: The Beat. Let's talk football.
• 31:32
  Speaker 2: It's the John Pennington Show on 107.3 The Beat. We
• 31:34
  Speaker 2: are here every Wednesday night during the West Virginia State
• 31:37
  Speaker 2: football season. Talking Yellow Jacket football with the head coach,
• 31:41
  Speaker 2: John Peddington. But right now, he's going to take a
• 31:43
  Speaker 2: little step aside. It's Wing Wednesday. He's enjoying some wings.
• 31:46
  Speaker 2: A lot of people out here enjoying some wings, I
• 31:48
  Speaker 2: will point out. Dollar Wings until close tonight at 9 o'clock.
• 31:51
  Speaker 3: And, of course, we've got Dollar Off Draft.
• 31:53
  Speaker 2: Beer as well here at the pitch every Wednesday during
• 31:57
  Speaker 2: the season because... Well, we like to treat the folks
• 32:00
  Speaker 2: well when they come out to hear us talk about
• 32:02
  Speaker 2: West Virginia State football. But, of course, the folks at
• 32:05
  Speaker 2: the pitcher here all the way through close tonight at 9,
• 32:07
  Speaker 2: we'll be back on Saturday for West Virginia State football
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: against West Liberty. But before we get to that, it
• 32:12
  Speaker 2: is homecoming, so we've got one of the alums on
• 32:15
  Speaker 2: the coaching staff, Corlin Witcher, with us, our special guest tonight.
• 32:18
  Speaker 2: And I want to get into your football journey a
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: little bit because you are a guy that not only
• 32:24
  Speaker 2: coaches at West Virginia State, played at West Virginia State.
• 32:26
  Speaker 2: We talked about that a little bit. So, Growing up
• 32:30
  Speaker 2: in Gretna, Virginia, right? First of all, am I pronouncing
• 32:33
  Speaker 2: that right?
• 32:33
  Speaker 3: Yes, sir.
• 32:34
  Speaker 4: Okay.
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: So you're a football guy from day one, like five
• 32:38
  Speaker 2: years old. They're putting you out there on the field.
• 32:40
  Speaker 2: Is that what it was like?
• 32:41
  Speaker 3: Yeah, that's exactly what it was.
• 32:42
  Speaker 4: Ever since I was five years old, I've gotten into football,
• 32:45
  Speaker 4: and I've just been all football ever since.
• 32:47
  Speaker 13: All right.
• 32:48
  Speaker 9: So.
• 32:49
  Speaker 2: Defensive lineman, he said maybe we looked at the offensive
• 32:53
  Speaker 2: line a little bit at one point, but always just
• 32:55
  Speaker 2: like a big, big guy getting out there in the trenches?
• 32:58
  Speaker 2: Or were you out there running around with the ball
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: in your hands?
• 33:01
  Speaker 4: I was definitely not running around with the ball in
• 33:02
  Speaker 4: my hands. But I was definitely a bigger, skinnier guy
• 33:05
  Speaker 4: and stuff. Coming into college, I definitely had to put
• 33:07
  Speaker 4: on a good amount of weight and stuff. But I
• 33:09
  Speaker 4: was never one of those guys getting the ball.
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: So for you, at what point did it click? I
• 33:17
  Speaker 2: might have a future in football. I might go to
• 33:19
  Speaker 2: school to play ball.
• 33:21
  Speaker 4: I would probably say my 10th grade year of high school.
• 33:24
  Speaker 4: That was when it really clicked and stuff. It was
• 33:26
  Speaker 4: about halfway throughout the year. I was doing pretty good.
• 33:28
  Speaker 4: And then my head coach and a couple coaches talking
• 33:30
  Speaker 4: about colleges and stuff. I was like, dang, I can.
• 33:33
  Speaker 3: Really see it and stuff.
• 33:35
  Speaker 2: What was the competition you were playing in high school like?
• 33:38
  Speaker 2: I mean, what was that like on Friday nights getting
• 33:43
  Speaker 2: out there and competing?
• 33:44
  Speaker 4: It was a really good ball while I was there.
• 33:46
  Speaker 4: I would say definitely a smaller area, but definitely a
• 33:48
  Speaker 4: lot of good hitting guys in that area as well
• 33:50
  Speaker 4: and stuff. So it was a really good ball coming
• 33:51
  Speaker 4: out there every Friday coming to compete.
• 33:53
  Speaker 2: All right, so we talked a little bit about the
• 33:55
  Speaker 2: recruiting process for West Virginia State. You mentioned like day
• 33:58
  Speaker 2: one once you got on campus, you fall in love
• 34:00
  Speaker 2: with West Virginia State University. What stood out on that
• 34:04
  Speaker 2: first day when you walk in and you realize this
• 34:07
  Speaker 2: is where I want to be?
• 34:09
  Speaker 4: I would say being in the calf and being around
• 34:11
  Speaker 4: a lot of the players and then seeing how they interact.
• 34:13
  Speaker 4: Guys coming up to me, talking to me, saying what's
• 34:15
  Speaker 4: up and stuff, just seeing how family-orientated it all was.
• 34:18
  Speaker 4: And also just talking to the coaching staff as well
• 34:20
  Speaker 4: and stuff. I know I had a real big talk
• 34:22
  Speaker 4: with our old defensive coordinator, Coach Shell, and stuff that
• 34:25
  Speaker 4: I really enjoyed. So I'm about to say everything was
• 34:28
  Speaker 4: very much family-orientated, I would say.
• 34:31
  Speaker 2: What were your first impressions of this guy as your
• 34:33
  Speaker 2: head coach when.
• 34:34
  Speaker 3: You get out?
• 34:36
  Speaker 2: First of all, who was your recruiting contact? Who was
• 34:39
  Speaker 2: the coach for West Virginia State that got you on
• 34:41
  Speaker 2: campus for the first time?
• 34:43
  Speaker 4: Yeah, that was the former defensive line coach, Derek Dressler.
• 34:46
  Speaker 4: He was the guy who recruited me.
• 34:47
  Speaker 2: And then when do you meet this guy, and what
• 34:50
  Speaker 2: was that like for the first time?
• 34:52
  Speaker 4: I mean, it was a good experience day one and stuff.
• 34:54
  Speaker 4: I was about to say Coach Penn came to me.
• 34:56
  Speaker 4: We had a big talk about everything, talk about financials,
• 34:59
  Speaker 4: talk about football, talk about weight. what he sees in
• 35:01
  Speaker 4: me and i felt like he really believed in me
• 35:03
  Speaker 4: and stuff so that was also a big factor and
• 35:05
  Speaker 4: stuff how much he believed in me i could tell
• 35:07
  Speaker 4: he did and stuff he believed me as a player
• 35:09
  Speaker 4: a student and all that he thought i could see
• 35:12
  Speaker 4: succeed here so that really got me got me going
• 35:14
  Speaker 4: when i was here.
• 35:15
  Speaker 2: I like having two sides of the story so coach
• 35:17
  Speaker 2: i'll bring you back in here real quick what were
• 35:20
  Speaker 2: your first impressions of corlin when you were having him
• 35:23
  Speaker 2: in as a.
• 35:23
  Speaker 3: Player I mean, from a size standpoint, he's big enough.
• 35:28
  Speaker 3: He had a frame where we knew he could put
• 35:30
  Speaker 3: on weight. That's why we weren't sure would he put
• 35:32
  Speaker 3: on a lot of weight and become an offensive lineman.
• 35:34
  Speaker 3: Or would he, you know, stay athletic and maybe put on,
• 35:37
  Speaker 3: you know, maybe a little bit less weight and stay
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: on the D-line? So, you know, we were excited that
• 35:41
  Speaker 3: he could be, you know, an athletic lineman on the team.
• 35:44
  Speaker 3: But then when we had our, like our, I always
• 35:46
  Speaker 3: meet one-on-one with every player that comes on an official visit.
• 35:48
  Speaker 3: And we sat down in that room. That's really where
• 35:51
  Speaker 3: you get to see, you know, kind of into the
• 35:53
  Speaker 3: true character of the player that you're talking to. And
• 35:56
  Speaker 3: he was very respectful. He would look you in the eye. Um,
• 36:00
  Speaker 3: they had good questions and they weren't questions like, am
• 36:03
  Speaker 3: I going to be a starter? You know, it was
• 36:04
  Speaker 3: questions about school and the schedule. And, you know, they just,
• 36:08
  Speaker 3: they had questions that you could tell like, okay, they're
• 36:11
  Speaker 3: just trying to, they want to know how this guy can,
• 36:13
  Speaker 3: can develop. And that's the biggest thing we're about is
• 36:16
  Speaker 3: developing guys into leaders. So it was easy after that meeting.
• 36:19
  Speaker 3: I mean, you've seen me come out of those meetings
• 36:21
  Speaker 3: and be like, no, we're not bringing that guy.
• 36:25
  Speaker 4: But Cortland's was an easy one.
• 36:26
  Speaker 3: It was like, all right, I don't know what position
• 36:28
  Speaker 3: he's going to play when he gets here, but he's
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: going to develop. Actually, I think we bumped his scholarship
• 36:33
  Speaker 3: up because of, you know, we do that every now
• 36:35
  Speaker 3: and then if I have a really good meeting.
• 36:37
  Speaker 2: You mentioned that last week when we were talking about
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: roster building.
• 36:40
  Speaker 3: Yeah, because Coach Schell, his former D coordinator, would give
• 36:44
  Speaker 3: me like a range. You know, he would never be like,
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: I want to give him this much. It was like,
• 36:48
  Speaker 3: all right, well, if we like him and he's tall
• 36:49
  Speaker 3: enough and his fingers are long enough. I'm like, George,
• 36:52
  Speaker 3: just tell me what you want to, you know, what
• 36:54
  Speaker 3: do we want to give him?
• 36:55
  Speaker 2: Are you questioning the greatest holder in the history of
• 36:57
  Speaker 2: West Virginia University football?
• 36:59
  Speaker 3: Is that what's happening here? He had statistics for like
• 37:01
  Speaker 3: your ankle and your, I mean. And I'm like, all right, well,
• 37:04
  Speaker 3: just tell me when he gets here what you think
• 37:06
  Speaker 3: of him. And he's like, all right, he needs to
• 37:07
  Speaker 3: be in this range. And after I met with him,
• 37:09
  Speaker 3: I'm like, all right, he's on the high end because
• 37:10
  Speaker 3: he's going to develop. We don't know what it will be,
• 37:13
  Speaker 3: but he's going to work out one way or another.
• 37:15
  Speaker 2: The character aspect that he mentioned there, looking people in
• 37:19
  Speaker 2: the eye, shaking their hand, having the right questions.
• 37:22
  Speaker 4: Where does that come from for you? Where was that
• 37:24
  Speaker 4: instilled along the way? I would say pretty much my
• 37:27
  Speaker 4: mom and dad. Ever since I was a little kid,
• 37:29
  Speaker 4: they always brought that respect factor into me growing up
• 37:32
  Speaker 4: and stuff. So I was a little kid, always yes sir,
• 37:35
  Speaker 4: no sir, yes ma'am, no ma'am and stuff. So I
• 37:36
  Speaker 4: would say my mom and my dad really brought that
• 37:38
  Speaker 4: into me at a young age.
• 37:40
  Speaker 3: I like it. You didn't know that would help you
• 37:41
  Speaker 3: get signed to play college football, did you?
• 37:43
  Speaker 4: I did not.
• 37:46
  Speaker 2: Okay, so you get on campus, like Coach said, little
• 37:50
  Speaker 2: more developmental got to put on some weight what is
• 37:52
  Speaker 2: that first year like for you getting.
• 37:55
  Speaker 4: In there and and attacking that on on the start
• 37:58
  Speaker 4: i would say that first year was definitely a mental
• 37:59
  Speaker 4: wake-up because the same thing i tell every freshman coming
• 38:02
  Speaker 4: in everybody's in high school when you come to college
• 38:05
  Speaker 4: in high school you're that guy and stuff but then
• 38:07
  Speaker 4: when you come on the college campus you realize everybody
• 38:09
  Speaker 4: on the team was that guy in high school and
• 38:11
  Speaker 4: stuff so realizing everybody else is really good top dogs
• 38:14
  Speaker 4: and stuff and like Just finding my role day in
• 38:17
  Speaker 4: and day out and stuff was definitely an eye-opener and stuff.
• 38:20
  Speaker 4: But I was always up for the challenge for it, honestly.
• 38:23
  Speaker 2: And then three-year starter. So when does it click? Like,
• 38:27
  Speaker 2: not just I'm going to get on the field, but, like,
• 38:28
  Speaker 2: I'm going to be out there and I'm going to
• 38:29
  Speaker 2: be one of the guys getting relied on.
• 38:31
  Speaker 4: I would honestly say going into my second year, I
• 38:34
  Speaker 4: would say it was the second game. I think we
• 38:36
  Speaker 4: played Frostburg and stuff. I think I came in, like,
• 38:39
  Speaker 4: the first drive and stuff. And that whole game, it
• 38:41
  Speaker 4: was just electric. It still feels like a blur. I
• 38:43
  Speaker 4: think I went out there and I had, like, Six,
• 38:46
  Speaker 4: seven tackles, like a couple TFLs. Every time I make
• 38:49
  Speaker 4: a TFL, I'm losing my mind on the field. It
• 38:51
  Speaker 4: felt like such a blur. And I remember all the
• 38:54
  Speaker 4: older guys hyping me up and stuff. I remember Peyton
• 38:56
  Speaker 4: Lunsford that day just hyping me up so much and stuff.
• 38:58
  Speaker 4: So I'm like, dang, this can really click. But I
• 39:02
  Speaker 4: think I can do this. You know what I mean?
• 39:05
  Speaker 2: For you, how far in advance do you see a
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: guy like that coming when it's– We don't know exactly
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: when he's going to get here, but we know he's going.
• 39:14
  Speaker 3: To get here. I'll be honest. It usually sneaks up
• 39:17
  Speaker 3: on you. You know that he's doing well in the
• 39:20
  Speaker 3: weight room, and you know he's a young guy with talent,
• 39:23
  Speaker 3: but then you really almost have to see it in
• 39:26
  Speaker 3: a game, in a big moment, and you're like, all right.
• 39:29
  Speaker 3: You know what I mean? This guy's going to be
• 39:30
  Speaker 3: anchoring this D-line for a long time, but it was
• 39:32
  Speaker 3: that Frostburg game that we were like, all right, he's
• 39:35
  Speaker 3: not just a young developmental guy. He's here for a while,
• 39:38
  Speaker 3: and we've really got to develop and improve. pour into
• 39:41
  Speaker 3: this guy because he can be something special for us.
• 39:43
  Speaker 2: And then transitioning from being a guy that is out
• 39:46
  Speaker 2: there making an impact to being a leader on the defense.
• 39:51
  Speaker 2: What was that like? How quickly did that come along
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: for you as you progressed in the program?
• 39:56
  Speaker 4: I would say it's one of the things that came really,
• 39:57
  Speaker 4: really quick to me. It was one of those things
• 39:59
  Speaker 4: where young in my career, like as I was getting
• 40:01
  Speaker 4: better and better, Coach Penn would come to me and
• 40:03
  Speaker 4: exit interviews and be like, all right, now let's get
• 40:05
  Speaker 4: you to the point where you're becoming a more vocal
• 40:06
  Speaker 4: leader and stuff. So I really, really took that and like,
• 40:10
  Speaker 4: try to run with it, honestly, and stuff. Like, if
• 40:12
  Speaker 4: Coach Penn wants me to do that, I'm going to
• 40:13
  Speaker 4: go out here and try to lead guys, let my
• 40:16
  Speaker 4: voice be heard, one of those kind of things.
• 40:18
  Speaker 2: And then when does coaching start to be part of
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: the conversation? Like, how far, I mean, let me ask
• 40:24
  Speaker 2: this because I don't know when that thought started for you.
• 40:28
  Speaker 2: When did it come into your head, this might be
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: what I want to do with my life after I'm
• 40:33
  Speaker 2: done playing?
• 40:34
  Speaker 4: I would say, honestly, a little bit the semester before
• 40:37
  Speaker 4: my last semester playing. And then definitely throughout that last
• 40:40
  Speaker 4: semester playing and stuff, because I was a guy, like,
• 40:43
  Speaker 4: I wanted to keep playing after college football, try to
• 40:46
  Speaker 4: play professionally in some way. But it was one of
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: those things where my body was going through a lot,
• 40:50
  Speaker 4: very much worn down and stuff. But I was like,
• 40:52
  Speaker 4: I feel like I got a very smart mind for
• 40:55
  Speaker 4: the D-line, so I feel like coaching would be something.
• 40:57
  Speaker 4: And I didn't want to get away from football, honestly.
• 40:59
  Speaker 4: So it was one of those things, like, I feel
• 41:01
  Speaker 4: like this could be my calling and stuff.
• 41:03
  Speaker 2: That's why I'm doing this. I'm a washed up high
• 41:06
  Speaker 2: school basketball player with two busted knees. So I got
• 41:08
  Speaker 2: to stay around it somehow. But so we talked a
• 41:13
  Speaker 2: little bit about that conversation going and talking to coach
• 41:15
  Speaker 2: from his perspective. What was that like for you to one,
• 41:19
  Speaker 2: I guess, kind of work up the courage to say, hey,
• 41:22
  Speaker 2: this is what I want to do.
• 41:23
  Speaker 3: Can you help me out?
• 41:25
  Speaker 4: I would say me and Coach Pitt always had a
• 41:26
  Speaker 4: really good relationship. So I've I don't feel like it
• 41:28
  Speaker 4: was nothing like I was kind of nervous coming up
• 41:30
  Speaker 4: to him and asked. I think it was like after
• 41:32
  Speaker 4: a random practice, I was like, hey, I'm kind of
• 41:34
  Speaker 4: thinking about getting the coaching after and stuff.
• 41:37
  Speaker 3: It was just like that.
• 41:38
  Speaker 4: And then the last game happened, and then we talked
• 41:40
  Speaker 4: about it again. He was like, all right, Monday. It
• 41:43
  Speaker 4: starts right then and there. I was like, okay, quick turnaround,
• 41:46
  Speaker 4: but okay.
• 41:50
  Speaker 2: So what was that like? Was it just, you know,
• 41:54
  Speaker 2: we're going to have an opportunity for you, show up
• 41:56
  Speaker 2: at this time at this place? Is it that simple?
• 42:00
  Speaker 4: In my aspect, it was kind of that simple and stuff.
• 42:02
  Speaker 4: Like I said, me and Coach Penn always had a
• 42:04
  Speaker 4: great relationship. So it kind of didn't surprise me how
• 42:06
  Speaker 4: quick and how simple it was.
• 42:09
  Speaker 2: Then for you, is it, I mean, are you just
• 42:12
  Speaker 2: thinking to yourself, all right, I'm going to have a spot,
• 42:15
  Speaker 2: Corlin's the guy? Is that kind of the way that
• 42:19
  Speaker 2: it goes at that point?
• 42:22
  Speaker 3: Yeah, I think that you were asking questions. I got you,
• 42:25
  Speaker 3: I got you, I got you. Why is he not answering? Well,
• 42:29
  Speaker 3: I mean, when you're looking for coaches, you want to find, one,
• 42:33
  Speaker 3: obviously people that are capable and qualified. But you want
• 42:36
  Speaker 3: to find guys that you can really trust. I mean,
• 42:38
  Speaker 3: you go through a lot as a coach. Just like
• 42:41
  Speaker 3: you do when you're teammates as players, as coaches you
• 42:44
  Speaker 3: go through a lot. There's a lot of things that
• 42:45
  Speaker 3: you've got to rely on those guys for, just like
• 42:48
  Speaker 3: you do as a teammate on a football team. So
• 42:51
  Speaker 3: it was very easy to know that we wanted him
• 42:54
  Speaker 3: to be on the staff. And a lot of times
• 42:56
  Speaker 3: when you get a former player, it's like, We'll just
• 42:58
  Speaker 3: get them on the staff, and we'll just kind of
• 42:59
  Speaker 3: figure out what they can do. He was talking about
• 43:01
  Speaker 3: Coach Dressler. We didn't even have a position open, but
• 43:05
  Speaker 3: I met the guy. I loved him, and I was like,
• 43:07
  Speaker 3: all right, you're going to coach something. I don't even
• 43:08
  Speaker 3: know what it is yet. I think he was assistant
• 43:11
  Speaker 3: O-line or D-line. And the same thing was with Corlin.
• 43:14
  Speaker 3: I would have made him the running back's coach if
• 43:16
  Speaker 3: that was the position that came open. So a lot
• 43:18
  Speaker 3: of times as a head coach, just like you do
• 43:20
  Speaker 3: with the team, you've got to put your roster together.
• 43:22
  Speaker 3: So Corlin was a guy I knew I could plug
• 43:24
  Speaker 3: and play anywhere. And I've always been a fan of
• 43:28
  Speaker 3: putting young coaches in. Typically, I want to put them
• 43:31
  Speaker 3: in a position that they're not familiar with because they
• 43:33
  Speaker 3: can really develop as a coach because he knows D-line.
• 43:36
  Speaker 3: But if I made him the tight ends coach, now
• 43:39
  Speaker 3: he's got to learn the whole other side of the ball.
• 43:40
  Speaker 3: And he really has to teach something he doesn't really
• 43:43
  Speaker 3: know and has to learn how to teach. You know,
• 43:46
  Speaker 3: Corlin's situation just kind of happened to work out where
• 43:48
  Speaker 3: we needed a D-line guy. But I knew that I
• 43:50
  Speaker 3: could plug and play Corlin wherever, and he would do
• 43:53
  Speaker 3: it to the best of his ability. And so, like,
• 43:56
  Speaker 3: once we kind of got our staff in place, it
• 43:58
  Speaker 3: was like, all right, you know, we want you to
• 43:59
  Speaker 3: coach the D-line.
• 44:00
  Speaker 2: You mentioned Derek Dressler a couple times, and I have
• 44:02
  Speaker 2: not had the opportunity to bring him up on the show.
• 44:04
  Speaker 2: I want to talk about a guy getting a crash
• 44:05
  Speaker 2: course in coaching right now.
• 44:07
  Speaker 3: Oh, yeah, with Trickett?
• 44:07
  Speaker 2: Yeah, he's the lieutenant for Rick Trickett right now.
• 44:10
  Speaker 3: I can't wait to talk to him at the coaches'
• 44:11
  Speaker 3: convention and see. I'm sure we'll have some great stories
• 44:15
  Speaker 3: from Derek.
• 44:15
  Speaker 2: All right, so he mentioned earlier Nate Baker is a
• 44:18
  Speaker 2: wide receivers coach. had that same transition as you and
• 44:22
  Speaker 2: first of all let me say shout out to nate
• 44:23
  Speaker 2: baker because that guy is pounding the pavement i had
• 44:26
  Speaker 2: i can't go to a high school football game without
• 44:28
  Speaker 2: running into nate on the sideline first of all uh
• 44:31
  Speaker 2: but what was that like having a teammate that you
• 44:35
  Speaker 2: could kind.
• 44:35
  Speaker 4: Of go through that transition with i would say that
• 44:37
  Speaker 4: definitely helped a whole lot because nate was somebody he
• 44:40
  Speaker 4: came in yeah a year after me and stuff and
• 44:42
  Speaker 4: we always had a really good relationship um whether it's
• 44:44
  Speaker 4: on the field off the field and stuff and we
• 44:46
  Speaker 4: both had those conversations with each other that we want
• 44:49
  Speaker 4: to get into football and coaching football afterwards and stuff.
• 44:51
  Speaker 4: And then having him beside me the whole time was definitely, definitely,
• 44:55
  Speaker 4: it definitely helped a lot. I would say. Yeah.
• 44:57
  Speaker 3: That had to help. Oh yeah. Definitely. You can lean
• 44:59
  Speaker 3: on it. Oh yeah. And Nate's he's he, we, I
• 45:02
  Speaker 3: wanted to become the night, but someone had to watch
• 45:03
  Speaker 3: study hall. So, uh, so Nate, Nate bit the bullet
• 45:08
  Speaker 3: and decided to do study hall.
• 45:10
  Speaker 2: And, uh, we got Corlin over here.
• 45:11
  Speaker 3: All right.
• 45:12
  Speaker 2: And, uh, well, one of the reasons that we brought
• 45:14
  Speaker 2: you along was because, You're an alum, obviously, played for
• 45:16
  Speaker 2: the program.
• 45:17
  Speaker 3: It's homecoming this weekend.
• 45:18
  Speaker 2: So, like, what does this weekend mean to you as
• 45:21
  Speaker 2: somebody that has dedicated, at this point, so much of
• 45:24
  Speaker 2: your life to West Virginia State and West Virginia State football?
• 45:27
  Speaker 4: This is one of those weeks that just means so
• 45:29
  Speaker 4: much to me. It's one of those weeks, once you
• 45:31
  Speaker 4: see the schedule come out, you circle that day right
• 45:33
  Speaker 4: away and stuff. Because the excitement and, like, the buildup
• 45:36
  Speaker 4: for it and stuff, and then having all your former
• 45:38
  Speaker 4: teammates and former classmates and stuff hitting you up like, hey,
• 45:41
  Speaker 4: I'm coming up to homecoming. I'm coming up Friday, coming
• 45:43
  Speaker 4: up Saturday and stuff, coming up to support and stuff.
• 45:45
  Speaker 4: It's always a great thing to see and stuff. But
• 45:47
  Speaker 4: just seeing all of my former brothers and stuff that
• 45:50
  Speaker 4: I used to play with and stuff to come on
• 45:52
  Speaker 4: Saturday and support is always a great thing, I would say.
• 45:55
  Speaker 2: What has it been like to, I guess, that's not
• 46:00
  Speaker 2: a guess because it kind of just seems like this
• 46:02
  Speaker 2: is the way that it is because you've been here
• 46:04
  Speaker 2: as long as you have. You've kind of grown up
• 46:06
  Speaker 2: at West Virginia State. It's been a coming of age
• 46:10
  Speaker 2: almost to speak for you. So How much does this
• 46:13
  Speaker 2: university mean to you as kind of the place that
• 46:16
  Speaker 2: you've called home for so long?
• 46:17
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I always make the joke that I'm pretty much
• 46:18
  Speaker 4: a Western Junior full-blown resident now. All right. But I
• 46:22
  Speaker 4: would say this place helped me grow so much and stuff.
• 46:24
  Speaker 4: From the 18-year-old kid that came from a smaller town
• 46:27
  Speaker 4: and just grow up constantly and constantly and stuff. Being here,
• 46:30
  Speaker 4: it helped me so much. I will never forget about
• 46:32
  Speaker 4: this ever.
• 46:33
  Speaker 2: All right.
• 46:33
  Speaker 3: We got homecoming coming up for the alum here and for.
• 46:36
  Speaker 2: All the alums from across the country, across the world,
• 46:39
  Speaker 2: whatever it may be, we want to see you at
• 46:41
  Speaker 2: homecoming this weekend. West Virginia State against West Liberty.
• 46:44
  Speaker 3: Kickoff, 1.30.
• 46:45
  Speaker 2: Pre-game coverage, 1 o'clock, right here on 107.3 The Beat.
• 46:48
  Speaker 2: When we come back, we'll be previewing that game here
• 46:50
  Speaker 2: on the John Pennington Show. And, of course, it is
• 46:53
  Speaker 2: Wing Wednesday here at the Fish Sports Bar and Grill.
• 46:55
  Speaker 2: Dollar wings, traditional and boneless. Dollar off-draft beer all the
• 46:59
  Speaker 2: way until close at 9 o'clock tonight. And every Wednesday
• 47:02
  Speaker 2: that we are out here, for the John Pennington Show.
• 47:04
  Speaker 2: We're back to talk about the Hilltoppers when we return.
• 47:07
  Speaker 3: This is 107.3 The Beat.
• 47:09
  Speaker 2: Yellow Jackets, when the whistle sounds or the buzzer hits zero,
• 47:12
  Speaker 2: keep the times going at the Pitch Sports Bar and
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  Speaker 2: Grill at the Shawnee Sports Complex. Rally your friends for
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  Speaker 2: craft food, craft beer, and craft service with pizzas, burgers,
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  Speaker 2: and sourced favorites. The Pitch was built to bring people
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  Speaker 2: together through sports, food, and community. So whether you're celebrating
• 47:28
  Speaker 2: a win, regrouping after a tough game, or hungry, make
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  Speaker 2: the Pitch your post-game destination. The Pitch, minutes from the
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  Speaker 2: action with a table waiting for you.
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  Speaker 9: Call attorney Mike Carey. If you or someone you know
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  Speaker 9: has been injured in an 18-wheeler trucking accident or car accident,
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  Speaker 4: 304-804-6369.
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  Speaker 3: Hey, everybody.
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  Speaker 16: Pennington Show is on.
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  Speaker 4: 107.3.
• 50:43
  Speaker 2: It's the John Pennington Show, 107.3, the beat. You're home
• 50:49
  Speaker 2: for Yellow Jacket football all season long. We are getting
• 50:53
  Speaker 2: ready for West Liberty on Saturday, and we're going to
• 50:55
  Speaker 2: talk about those Hilltoppers with the head coach here in
• 50:58
  Speaker 2: just a second. Another reminder, we are here at the
• 51:00
  Speaker 2: Pitch Sports Bar and Grill every Wednesday night for the
• 51:03
  Speaker 2: John Pennington Show all the way through the end of
• 51:05
  Speaker 2: the season, whenever that may be. because, well, you know
• 51:10
  Speaker 2: what I'm getting at. We will be here every Wednesday
• 51:12
  Speaker 2: night from 7 until 8, and it is Wing Wednesday
• 51:14
  Speaker 2: every Wednesday, dollar wings, dollar off draft beer all the
• 51:17
  Speaker 2: way until close at 9 o'clock. Come see us out
• 51:20
  Speaker 2: here at the pitch. Even if you don't see us tonight,
• 51:22
  Speaker 2: come see us next week or the week after or
• 51:24
  Speaker 2: whatever it may be. We're here all season long. But
• 51:27
  Speaker 2: that's enough rambling from me. Let's talk about West Virginia
• 51:30
  Speaker 2: State and West Liberty this Saturday. West Liberty out to
• 51:33
  Speaker 2: maybe the surprise start in the conference, 4-1 for the
• 51:37
  Speaker 2: Hilltoppers with a new head coach, Chad Salisbury. And it's
• 51:40
  Speaker 2: an interesting team when you look at them on paper.
• 51:43
  Speaker 2: A lot of returners, namely the offensive player of the
• 51:46
  Speaker 2: year at the Mountain East Conference, Hunter Patterson, who left
• 51:49
  Speaker 2: in the offseason, went to Old Dominion, but then he
• 51:52
  Speaker 2: comes back they're effectively able to retain him and he's
• 51:54
  Speaker 2: been an absolute monster again but around him there's been
• 51:58
  Speaker 2: some returners there's been some guys particularly on defense that
• 52:02
  Speaker 2: are transfers uh from the PSAC where their head coach
• 52:06
  Speaker 2: Chad Salisbury came from as the offensive coordinator at Cal
• 52:10
  Speaker 2: PA there are some freshmen that are making an impact
• 52:13
  Speaker 2: just on paper you know what what do you make
• 52:15
  Speaker 2: sense of uh with West Liberty in the way that.
• 52:18
  Speaker 3: They've started Well, Coach Salisbury has done an outstanding job,
• 52:21
  Speaker 3: you know, and, you know, West Lib has always, you know,
• 52:23
  Speaker 3: the past couple of years, they've always had talented teams.
• 52:26
  Speaker 3: You know, they beat us last year, you know, on
• 52:29
  Speaker 3: a Hail Mary and they've always had good players and
• 52:31
  Speaker 3: it's a great school. So, like, you know, they've got
• 52:34
  Speaker 3: good football.
• 52:35
  Speaker 2: I mean.
• 52:36
  Speaker 3: But then you look at what they've got on paper.
• 52:38
  Speaker 3: You've got Patterson. Obviously, everything runs through him. I mean,
• 52:42
  Speaker 3: there's no secret sauce there. We were talking about it
• 52:45
  Speaker 3: a little earlier. I think I did the math. 140
• 52:47
  Speaker 3: touches in five games. Yeah. You say 142, right? 142,
• 52:50
  Speaker 3: I think, yeah. Yeah, so, I mean, almost 30 touches
• 52:53
  Speaker 3: a game. They're doing a great job of, you know,
• 52:55
  Speaker 3: they're not just handing them the ball. They're getting them
• 52:57
  Speaker 3: the screens. You know, getting him out and running routes,
• 52:59
  Speaker 3: and he caught a corner route for a touchdown last week.
• 53:02
  Speaker 3: So they're doing a great job of designing things around him,
• 53:05
  Speaker 3: and they've got an identity. It's like you've got to
• 53:07
  Speaker 3: stop 20, and then, you know, when you overdo it,
• 53:09
  Speaker 3: then they want to attack you in different areas. So
• 53:12
  Speaker 3: their O-line is good. They're athletic. They do a great
• 53:16
  Speaker 3: job in their zone scheme. You know, the quarterback is,
• 53:19
  Speaker 3: like you said, he's taking care of the football. Last
• 53:21
  Speaker 3: year he had a little trouble with that. So, I mean,
• 53:23
  Speaker 3: they're doing a really good job, you know, on offense.
• 53:26
  Speaker 3: We've watched them a lot, watched them a lot today.
• 53:28
  Speaker 3: just trying to figure out what do we need to do.
• 53:31
  Speaker 3: You're not going to stop a guy like that and
• 53:33
  Speaker 3: hold him to nothing. So we just want to make
• 53:35
  Speaker 3: sure that we're putting our guys in a position that
• 53:37
  Speaker 3: we can keep him corralled within our range.
• 53:42
  Speaker 2: I will ask you to put on the defensive coordinator
• 53:43
  Speaker 2: hat here real quick. I know you'll come at it
• 53:46
  Speaker 2: from a defensive line angle, but how do you scout
• 53:48
  Speaker 2: this West Liberty offense and what they like to do?
• 53:51
  Speaker 4: West Liberty offense is one of those guys where a
• 53:53
  Speaker 4: guy like Hunter Patterson, who's a once-in-a-generation kind of guy
• 53:57
  Speaker 4: in the conference and stuff, You got to be able
• 53:58
  Speaker 4: to contain him, number one, and stuff. He's one of
• 54:01
  Speaker 4: those guys that's going to come out. They're going to
• 54:02
  Speaker 4: come out and try to get on the ball, try
• 54:04
  Speaker 4: to establish him early, establish him late and stuff. You
• 54:06
  Speaker 4: got to make sure we contain him play after play
• 54:08
  Speaker 4: after play and stuff. That's rule number one, honestly, and stuff.
• 54:12
  Speaker 4: It's just making sure the guy's good. Just running to
• 54:15
  Speaker 4: the ball is one of those things where we get
• 54:16
  Speaker 4: a whole bunch of hats to the ball constantly, constantly, constantly.
• 54:19
  Speaker 4: Good things always going to happen and stuff. So that's
• 54:21
  Speaker 4: the big emphasis, I would say.
• 54:22
  Speaker 2: When it comes to having new coaches come into the conference,
• 54:26
  Speaker 2: I had Mike Keller a couple of weeks ago. But
• 54:29
  Speaker 2: that's a guy that has been in the league and
• 54:31
  Speaker 2: has been in the league for a long time that
• 54:32
  Speaker 2: you know well. Chad Salisbury is a complete new guy.
• 54:37
  Speaker 2: face in the Mountaineers Conference. So how do you prepare? Obviously,
• 54:41
  Speaker 2: there's the film study and you've got five games worth
• 54:43
  Speaker 2: of tape on these guys. But how do you prepare
• 54:45
  Speaker 2: for somebody on that opposite sideline that you have not
• 54:48
  Speaker 2: locked horns with?
• 54:50
  Speaker 3: I think it's kind of fun. I mean, it's a
• 54:52
  Speaker 3: whole new, you know, there's a lot new on their defense.
• 54:55
  Speaker 3: You know, something we haven't really seen before. They do
• 54:58
  Speaker 3: a lot of movement up front. It's fun. It's exciting.
• 55:01
  Speaker 3: You've got to figure out what schemes work and how
• 55:03
  Speaker 3: you can set guys up. How do we get enough
• 55:07
  Speaker 3: guys in the box to stop Hunter Patterson but not
• 55:09
  Speaker 3: thin it out too much on the perimeter so they
• 55:11
  Speaker 3: can just throw the ball around? I think it's exciting.
• 55:14
  Speaker 3: I love it. I love coaching ball. I love being
• 55:16
  Speaker 3: in the lab trying to figure it out. With Keller,
• 55:20
  Speaker 3: it's like you know what he's going to do, and
• 55:22
  Speaker 3: then you just have to figure out ways to stop it.
• 55:24
  Speaker 3: With Salisbury, it's like, all right, we've got to figure out, one,
• 55:27
  Speaker 3: what are they trying to do, And what are they
• 55:29
  Speaker 3: going to try to do against us? So it makes
• 55:31
  Speaker 3: it even– I don't want to say it's more challenging
• 55:33
  Speaker 3: because they both present challenges. But it's just fun. It's exciting.
• 55:37
  Speaker 3: It's a great challenge. We're inspired by it. And, you know,
• 55:40
  Speaker 3: when you do figure it out and you put a
• 55:41
  Speaker 3: great plan together, there's not a better feeling, I think.
• 55:44
  Speaker 3: As a coach, when a plan works, you know, you've
• 55:46
  Speaker 3: got to love it when a plan comes.
• 55:47
  Speaker 4: Together, right?
• 55:47
  Speaker 3: Exactly. Exactly.
• 55:49
  Speaker 2: To pivot maybe from what's going on with West Liberty,
• 55:54
  Speaker 2: let's talk about what's going on on campus this weekend
• 55:56
  Speaker 2: because it is homecoming. We talked about this last year,
• 55:58
  Speaker 2: talked about it a little bit earlier. How special is
• 56:02
  Speaker 2: this weekend for getting your guys going and having that
• 56:05
  Speaker 2: energy on campus?
• 56:06
  Speaker 3: It's incredibly special. I mean, you know, one of the
• 56:09
  Speaker 3: things that it kind of reminds you, just how lucky
• 56:11
  Speaker 3: we are to be here and do what we do
• 56:13
  Speaker 3: and be part of something special that with the community
• 56:16
  Speaker 3: that we have, the family environment, not just with the
• 56:18
  Speaker 3: football program, but, you know, all of Yellow Jacket Nation,
• 56:22
  Speaker 3: all the people involved from, you know, from the compliance,
• 56:25
  Speaker 3: you know, McAndrews at compliance to the athletic director, just to,
• 56:29
  Speaker 3: you know, random alumni that are around here that are
• 56:31
  Speaker 3: always supporting us, have always really had our back. You
• 56:34
  Speaker 3: just want to go out and you want to make
• 56:35
  Speaker 3: them proud. You know, we work really hard to, you know,
• 56:39
  Speaker 3: to put a good product out there for the university.
• 56:41
  Speaker 3: And You got all these eyeballs on you. You just
• 56:43
  Speaker 3: want to make sure that, you know, that you put
• 56:45
  Speaker 3: a great product. They play hard. They do it the
• 56:48
  Speaker 3: right way. They, you know, they just play a good,
• 56:50
  Speaker 3: sound football game. And, you know, so that's really what
• 56:53
  Speaker 3: it's all about. For me, it's about gratitude. It's about
• 56:56
  Speaker 3: being grateful to be at West Virginia State. And, you know,
• 56:59
  Speaker 3: we have a saying, it starts at State. His playing
• 57:02
  Speaker 3: career and coaching career started here. My head coaching career,
• 57:04
  Speaker 3: my offensive coordinator career, it started here. So you just
• 57:07
  Speaker 3: want to make sure that you pay it forward and
• 57:10
  Speaker 3: give all those fans and alumni something fun to watch
• 57:13
  Speaker 3: so you can make them proud because we're all, our
• 57:15
  Speaker 3: coaching staff and our players are just grateful to have
• 57:17
  Speaker 3: the opportunity to play and coach a game that we
• 57:19
  Speaker 3: love every single day.
• 57:21
  Speaker 2: Corlin, as one of the alums on staff, is there
• 57:24
  Speaker 2: a conversation you have with the guys in your room
• 57:27
  Speaker 2: about what this weekend means and that extra energy that
• 57:30
  Speaker 2: they're going to have behind them?
• 57:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah, it's one of those conversations I have with the guys. Like,
• 57:33
  Speaker 4: the energy is really contagious and stuff, but you still
• 57:36
  Speaker 4: got to be able to be able to control it
• 57:37
  Speaker 4: and stuff. You can't get too high with the highs.
• 57:40
  Speaker 3: You can't get too low.
• 57:40
  Speaker 4: With the lows and stuff. But you will feel that
• 57:42
  Speaker 4: extra energy there. You will feel you turn around after
• 57:45
  Speaker 4: a big play. You can see the whole stadium is packed.
• 57:47
  Speaker 4: Guys standing because they can't find a seat and stuff.
• 57:50
  Speaker 4: You're going to feel that stuff. But you've got to
• 57:52
  Speaker 4: be able to bow to that. Can't get too high.
• 57:53
  Speaker 4: Can't get too low also.
• 57:55
  Speaker 2: And then with things obviously being a little bit different,
• 57:58
  Speaker 2: more things going on on campus, kickoff a little bit later,
• 58:01
  Speaker 2: what's the itinerary kind of look like for these guys?
• 58:03
  Speaker 3: Well, the start's a little bit later. I think it's
• 58:05
  Speaker 3: a 1.30 kickoff. One of the things I'm excited about,
• 58:08
  Speaker 3: we've got a student section.
• 58:09
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 58:10
  Speaker 3: It is the first time.
• 58:10
  Speaker 2: Yes, should have been promoting that, the Hive, this weekend.
• 58:12
  Speaker 3: Yeah, the Hive.
• 58:13
  Speaker 12: Absolutely.
• 58:13
  Speaker 2: Students listening, come out, join the Hive.
• 58:15
  Speaker 3: Yeah, get there early, support the guys. I mean, they
• 58:18
  Speaker 3: work really hard, and they just want to make everybody proud,
• 58:20
  Speaker 3: you know, and So that's exciting to have a student
• 58:23
  Speaker 3: section and have a great game day environment in the
• 58:26
  Speaker 3: stands with our students. But it's not really any different.
• 58:30
  Speaker 3: It's walkthroughs. It's pregame meal, prayer, and get ready to
• 58:34
  Speaker 3: play a football game. At the end of the day,
• 58:36
  Speaker 3: it is just football. You know, if you keep the
• 58:38
  Speaker 3: thermostat normally at 72, this game we're going to try
• 58:42
  Speaker 3: to keep it about 75 to 78. Like Corlin said,
• 58:44
  Speaker 3: we don't want to get up at 85, you know,
• 58:47
  Speaker 3: but we want to keep it between 75 and 78.
• 58:49
  Speaker 3: We're going to be revved up a little more than
• 58:51
  Speaker 3: normal just because of, you know, having everybody here and,
• 58:55
  Speaker 3: like I said, just playing with pride and just showing everyone.
• 58:58
  Speaker 3: you know, how passionate we are about what we do.
• 59:00
  Speaker 3: I like it. I like it.
• 59:02
  Speaker 2: And we will be back on the air this Saturday
• 59:04
  Speaker 2: for West Virginia State football against West Liberty. Again, like
• 59:07
  Speaker 2: Coach said, a 1.30 kickoff this weekend. which means pregame
• 59:10
  Speaker 2: coverage at 1 o'clock. And I will be joined by
• 59:13
  Speaker 2: a state alum who's going to be there for homecoming.
• 59:15
  Speaker 2: Of course, my broadcast partner, Hollis Lewis, who I know
• 59:18
  Speaker 2: is very excited for this weekend let me tell you
• 59:21
  Speaker 2: what Hollis is fired up and he will be fired
• 59:24
  Speaker 2: up on the broadcast so make sure to tune in
• 59:25
  Speaker 2: for that we'll be back here at the Pitch Sports
• 59:28
  Speaker 2: Bar and Grill for the John Pennington Show next Wednesday
• 59:30
  Speaker 2: 7 o'clock to do it over again and recap the
• 59:33
  Speaker 2: Yellow Jackets and the West Liberty Hilltoppers and one more
• 59:37
  Speaker 2: thing Yeah.
• 59:37
  Speaker 3: Just to the fans and alumni, we'd love to have
• 59:40
  Speaker 3: you there by kickoff early. I know we're going to
• 59:42
  Speaker 3: be tailgating and having fun, but come into the game,
• 59:45
  Speaker 3: support these guys. They really work hard and would love
• 59:48
  Speaker 3: your support, and they're going to play hard for you,
• 59:50
  Speaker 3: and we're going to have a good game on Saturday.
• 59:52
  Speaker 3: So come out, support the fellas. Like I said, they're
• 59:55
  Speaker 3: a fun group.