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Nehlen speaks to DC athletes

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By LYNN GROLL

groll@crescent-news.com

The 36th-Annual Student-Athlete Honors hosted by the Purple & Gold Club honored Defiance College student-athletes and brought a college football legend to town with Don Nehlen speaking at the event.

Nehlen began his college head coaching stint just down the road at Bowling Green State University as the youngest coach in America when he started in 1968.

Included during his nine campaigns with the Falcons was a 1972 upset of No. 18 Purdue, 17-14, in West Lafayette, Ind.. BG also added upsets of Syracuse and BYU during his tenure with the Falcons.

"That Purdue team was loaded that year and somehow we went in there and beat them," said Nehlen.

Before coaching the Falcons, Nehlen played quarterback at BG and led the Falcons to a MAC championship.

Nehlen also spent time coaching high school football at Canton South and Canton McKinley High Schools and then was an assistant at the University of Cincinnati before taking over at Bowling Green in 1968.

Nehlen then left BG after the 1976 season and became an assistant at the University of Michigan under the tutelage of Wolverines' icon Bo Schembechler.

"Going with Bo was the best thing that ever happened to me," said Nehlen. "Because I got the Bowling Green job when I was so young, I never knew if I was doing the right thing or not. When I went there (Michigan) I found out I was doing the right thing and it gave me a lot of confidence. Bo was such a great guy to work for. My wife loved him, she did not want to go to West Virginia. She loved Bo because Bo treated me so well. Going with Bo was just a dream."

Nehlen said Schembechler had a major influence him.

"He kind of turned out to be my mentor," said Nehlen. "When I went to West Virginia, we did everything that Michigan did. Even our school colors where the same, all I did was turn the M upside down, really. At West Virginia I really got lucky. At the time I went there, they had a poll of the 10 worst teams in America and West Virginia was one of those 10 worst teams. The enthusiasm there for football is unbelievable. The best thing that ever happened to me was going to Michigan and then I got lucky and got the West Virginia job."

Nehlen took over the reigns of the West Virginia program in 1980 and went on to accumulate a 149-93-4 record.

He turned around the WVU program and led the Mountaineers to a 26-6 triumph over Florida in the Peach Bowl in his second season and then started the 1982 season with a surprising 42-27 victory over No. 9 Oklahoma on the road to open the season with his future son-in-law, Jeff Hostetler, playing quarterback.

Hostetler married Nehlen's daughter, Vicky, and went on to become a successful NFL quarterback. He led the New York Giants to 20-19 win over the Buffalo Bills in Super Bowl XXV.

Nehlen guided the Mountaineers to 13 bowl bids and played for the 1988 national championship against Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. Although freshman signal caller Major Harris didn't miss any of the game for WVU, Harris separated his shoulder on his non-throwing arm on the third play of the game on a hit by ND's Michael Stonebreaker and Jeff Alm. The Irish claimed a 34-21 triumph under Lou Holtz.

The former West Virginia mentor also gave his insights on the man that replaced him in Morgantown in 2000 and is now the head coach at the University of Michigan, Rich Rodriguez. Nehlen recruited Rodriguez to play football at West Virginia in the early 1980s and Rodriguez later went on to become a student assistant for Nehlen at WVU.

"Rich is a good coach, he's a very good coach," lauded Nehlen. "He's very demanding and I was surprised, I thought they'd do a little better last year, but I don't know enough about what he had to work with. But in talking to some of my Michigan people, they tell me the cupboard was really bare. They'd lost almost their entire offensive football team and the kids they had coming back went pro, they had no quarterback that had ever played ... couldn't run Rich's offense.

"They had some pretty good defensive players, but if the offense doesn't do things for them, before long they're going to break," added Nehlen. "If they get the feeling that the offense isn't going to put points on the board, it's tough.

Nehlen went on to say: "I think Rich will improve this year some, not as much as people want him to, but I think he'll improve. But he'll be playing a freshman quarterback (Tate Forcier) again and that's not good ... I guess the kid's a good athlete. Then I think after this year, they'll start to be very competitive. Ohio State's got a big head start on them and I think the guys (Mike Dantonio) done a good job at Michigan State. That's why Michigan's a tough job because there's two Big Ten schools in the state. Ohio State's got a lot more players in the state of Ohio than Michigan and one Big Ten school. That's a big handful for Rich and the Big Ten schedule is a lot tougher than the Big East. Rich's challenge is a lot different (at Michigan). One thing's for sure, the spotlight is on him."

Nehlen was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2005 and also published a book call Don Nehlen's Tales from the West Virginia Sideline since retiring from the game.

"That is really special," said Nehlen of being inducted into the Hall of Fame. "When you're at the Waldorf and they call out your name and they flash all that stuff on those video boards. Everybody's in a tuxedo, $500 per seat and there's 2,500 people ... that is a spectacle. That is the biggest moment that I've ever had when they present you with that ring. Pat Dye, from Auburn, and I went in. That's as good as it gets. That's the most special night I've ever had."

Nehlen is now a spokesman for "Friends of Coal" and spends part of his time in Florida and Morgantown.