Big Daddy is back.
The recent Georgia Tech assistant coaching hire otherwise known as Ron West has spent the past week renewing acquaintances, throwing out the net for prospects in Cobb and Cherokee counties and points north in the state of Georgia. It may not be too long before the Yellow Jackets’ new co-offensive line coach is back beating the bushes in South Carolina, turf he knows well.
“He called me when he got there,” said Kevin Crosby, coach at Bamberg-Ehrhardt High in South Carolina. “He said, ‘I’m back in.’“
In filling the vacancy left by the departure of special-teams coordinator Ray Rychleski, West is being called upon to fortify the Jackets with recruiting acumen developed over 35 years on the job and to strengthen an offensive line that often failed at even the simplest of assignments in the disastrous 2015 season. Those who know West, a graduate of Russell High (now Tri-Cities High) and Clemson, endorse Tech coach Paul Johnson’s hire.
“He is really good,” said Tommy Bowden, who worked with West 12 years at Tulane and then Clemson. “I think Paul’s got him a guy who’s not only going to be a good coach but be an excellent recruiter.”
“I think an awful lot of Ron West,” said former Clemson guard Will Merritt, a two-time All-ACC selection. “He was a very personable guy to play for, an awful lot of fun. He’s a brilliant football mind.”
West will work with line coach Mike Sewak, Johnson’s colleague for 23 seasons and a like mind in the Jackets’ spread-option offense. In West’s most recent offensive-line stints, he helped coach Rich Rodriguez’ up-tempo spread. While the schemes have overlap, West brings different concepts and techniques, which was of particular interest to Johnson. After a season in which the Jackets’ pass protection was frequently untrustworthy, Johnson has made pass protection his No. 1 priority in spring practice.
West understands how the run-based scheme opens up big-play potential in the pass game – he was co-defensive coordinator at North Carolina in 2013-14 and saw his unit give up completions of 55, 47, 46, 33 and 25 yards in the latter meeting, a wild 48-43 defeat for the Jackets. West said Johnson was particularly interested in pass-protection schemes that he taught at Tulane and Clemson, where the Green Wave went 12-0 in 1998 and Tigers quarterback Woodrow Dantzler dazzled in his record-setting career.
“It will work,” West said of Tech’s scheme. “It’s just that we’ve got to get better in some areas that we can improve in and the techniques and things that we do and then probably sometimes scheme-wise you can do some different things that might help the protection, and coach is very aware of that.”
West will be returning to offense after 11 seasons on defense as a co-coordinator and line and linebackers coach.
“I think it’s going to actually be better at this time than I was the first time, because after coaching defense, I understand more about defensive schemes and what people do (on defense),” he said.
Merritt described the “holistic perspective” that West brought to the line, having coached both sides, and his emphasis on the basics.
“We weren’t the biggest, we weren’t the strongest offensive line in the country, but fundamentally, he had us prepared,” Merritt said. “We knew what we were doing and we were fundamentally sound.”
As a recruiter, part of West’s approach has been to try to give back when possible. Crosby has appreciated that West evaluated not just players he was interested in, but other lower-tier prospects, suggesting ways they can improve. When Crosby brought players to Clemson for camps, West showed him drills that he took back and used them to develop players to the point that Crosby said that the school has developed a reputation for producing defensive ends.
“It’s nothing but what we got from those guys,” Crosby said.
West took an interest in one of those defensive ends, Ricky Sapp, whom Crosby said drew broad interest but whose grades caused many to back off. However, West helped Crosby put together a structure for Sapp to improve his grades and take the necessary classes, a format that Crosby said he still uses.
“That’s what won Ricky over,” Crosby said. “They never gave up on him.”
Sapp chose Clemson, where he started 36 games, became an All-ACC defensive end and earned his degree.
Said West, “I feel like I was called to do this, and any way I can help a young man go to college, I’m 100 percent behind it. If he can play college football, Division II, Division III, whatever, if he can play college football, he’s just going to be a better man, and it’s going to be better for him. If I can help a high school coach get a kid placed or make a call or give my opinion, I’m going to definitely do it.”
Last season was the first he had ever spent out of football since taking his first job in 1980. He took a job in sales for a football equipment manufacturer. One of his stops was to Crosby, who will be waiting another visit.
“That kind of makes things a little special, when you can still come back and say, ‘I was around even though I wasn’t coaching,’” Crosby said. “’I still spent time with you guys. Now I’m looking for a doggone defensive end.’”
