Husker LB coach Mike Ekeler is a hoot. He's from Blair, NE--just north of Omaha. Went to K-State and played for Bill Snyder (I'll forgive him for that). While he was there, he made a rep for his special teams play--apparently he never saw a wedge to bust through that he didn't like. Coach E came with Bo Pelini from LSU, where he was a grad assistant--so this is his first for-real coaching gig. (He sold a reportedly successful business to get into coaching.)
Last spring, he was a hit with stud recruit Will Compton's family in the St. Louis area when he showed up for the last pre-signing visit with some kind of tattoo saluting Will C (I believe a temporary piece of art work, but it helped get the job done and keep young Mr. C from heading to Mizzou). And, during spring practice, he was quoted a bunch of times with real rah-rah we're-gonna-get-'em type comments.
Well, this past Saturday, Coach Ekeler made a definite impression during the Western Michigan game. Early in the game, Cody Glenn broke up a pass to create a 3-and-out for the WMich offense. Fans were going crazy. The play happened fairly close to the Husker bench, and as Glenn runs off the field, this guy leaps about 3 ft in the air onto Cody's shoulders!
It was Coach Ekeler, of course. I had the glasses on Cody for some reason and saw the whole thing. You know, this old Husker fan has gone to games off and on for over 40 years, and I've never seen anything quite like that.
I have seen that same kind of fire before, though. And you know from who by the title of this blog. Yep--none other than Monte Kiffin during his days coaching the defense in the early 1970s. Kiffin had the same all-out burn from start to finish that Ekeler is showing. (No disrespect to Charlie McBride--but Kiffin is the best example at this age that I think of.) That's a tall example and of course big and accomplished shoes to follow in, but honestly, that's exactly who I thought of when I saw this mid-air bear hug going on.
A few posts ago, I said that the Huskers were "...looking for a hammer." Just something truly dependable day in, day out that they could fall back on. I think this is it--coaches who truly care about their guys and are dialed in when it comes to teaching and motivation. And that, my fellow Big Redders, is a great place to start in getting back into the "top programs in the U.S." conversation in the here and now.
Go Big Red!
Old Husker Fan
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