Football | December 11, 2018
TUESDAY, 5:15 P.M.
Here he comes.
The Austin Peay State University football fanbase, buoyed by its recent successes on the gridiron, had grown anxious. Hiring a new football coach is a time for great anticipation, but also great apprehension—what's he going to be like? What does he like to run? How's he going to recruit?
A new wrinkle was added to this search, one that perhaps we hadn't had in a while: can he build on the recent success we've enjoyed? Because we've tasted winning, and it tasted good.
As Mark Hudspeth touched down with his family at Outlaw Field, it's impossible to tell how much he knew, how much he suspected and how much he had to learn about Clarksville, Austin Peay and our athletics family. But what was evident as soon as he stepped on the tarmac was how excited he is to be here.
Can he do the job? No question. From a credibility and pedigree standpoint, Coach Hudspeth will join the Austin Peay family as the most decorated incoming head coach in program history. We've never brought in a coach with FBS head coaching chops. It's hard to imagine many scenarios in our past that someone with a resume' as accomplished as Hudspeth's would've given our program a second look.
Not anymore.
As the Hudspeth family touches down and makes their way to Clarksville, let this serve as the first entry in a running blog we'll keep here at LetsGoPeay.com to chronicle the new head man's first day on the job. Wednesday is gonna be a big day at Austin Peay: the dawn of a new era.
TUESDAY, 6 P.M.
After touching down on the tarmac with his family, Coach Hud and Gerald Harrison made it official!
Then, Coach headed over to Fortera Stadium and had his first meeting with the team where he laid out his expectations, and believe us Govs fans, he has high expectations! Coach Hud introduced his family – wife Tyla, and sons Major, Captain and Rocky – and then he met each of the players in the room.
Tomorrow is going to be a very big day for us in Stacheville. Press conference is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Dunn Center on Wednesday; be there to welcome our new head coach!
WEDNESDAY, 10 A.M.
The production value for our coach hires has increased over the years. Three years ago--the last time we hired a football coach--it was me, an intern and two student-workers trying to get as much video, photo and text content out as we possibly could, three days before Christmas, for a coach inheriting an 0-12 program. I wouldn't call it disinterest, but there was a certain feeling that we were howling into a void at the time.
So the scene in the Govs Club room of the Dunn Center is a little surreal. Lights, backdrops, cameras, a half-dozen people milling about at every turn. There's a plan, and even nicer (for me) is that there are plenty of people to help execute said plan. This is now a spectator sport--the behind the scenes as captivating as anything that will play out in public.
The Hudspeth clan arrives; his cute kiddos elicit "Awww"s from some of the assembled. The youngest Hudspeth, Rocky, cheeses hard for the camera.
Video guru Taylor Wiseman has him cut some on-camera promos. Confident and self-assured, Hudspeth is a natural on-camera, a dynamic figure who exudes the same down-home charm you'd just as easily associate with someone like Clemson's Dabo Swinney. He personalizes everything, from well-wishes for troops at Fort Campbell as they get to deploy to his own spin on our holiday video.
He has a message for the students, too.
"I want to get to know each and every one of you," he says into the camera. "I want you to help us defend the Fort every Saturday."
WEDNESDAY, 11 A.M.
Facility tour at Fortera Stadium. Speaking of things that are a lot nicer than they were just a few short years ago.
An assortment of staffers and Very Important Peayple guide the Hudspeth's around the Fort. From the weight room to the field to the locker room and everywhere in between, the family got to know their surroundings and the stadium that will be their Saturday home for the foreseeable future.
MIddle son Captain celebrated the occasion by running a lap around the field, while oldest son Major played catch with his dad.
On the third level--the Echo Power Club Level--impresses Coach Hudspeth.
"This is first-class," he said as he exited the elevator.
WEDNESDAY, 2 P.M.
Time for the main event.
As press conferences go, this one was probably a little different. To one side of the stage, we have members of the Governors Own Marching Band; to the other, Austin Peay's dance and cheer teams.
And in the middle sit four people: University President Dr. Alisa White, Director of Athletics Gerald Harrison, head coach Mark Hudspeth and Director of Athletic Communications Cody Bush.
A scan of the crowd sees players interspersed among the onlookers, including quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall. The Gov mascot is here, to the amusement of the Hudspeth kids in attendance; the Govs picks up Rocky as the press conference begins.
Bush, Dr. White and finally The Boss get up to speak. But everyone is here for Coach Hudspeth.
"It's a great day to be a Gov," Harrison says. "Coach Hudspeth embodies our mantras here. He's everything we want in a coach and a leader of young men."
Then he extols Stacheville to get on its feet for its new head coach, which the faithful do. Enthusiastically.
"We haven't won enough games for that yet," Hudspeth says of the standing O.
Coach Hudspeth begins to speak and slowly, you can see him win over the crowd.
"We're going to carry ourselves like a power school," he said. "We're going to be in this community; my family believes in being a part of the community. Our number-one goal is to protect this house (Fortera)."
He peppers his talk with words like 'best' and 'biggest'. Biggest crowds. Best spring practice. Biggest spring game event. His words carry weight, and the weight moves the crowd, turning even the most jaded into a believer.
"He said it right," Wiseman sums up succinctly as we pass one another in the crowd.
Hudspeth goes more in-depth in a side spot with the media. When asked about the current roster, he says, "We want to win with what we have. The future is now."
The personality starts emerging, as does the beginnings of his plans for the program. He's complimentary of the previous regime. He wants to play fast and hard. And he's got jokes too, such as this one that he lays on ESPN Clarksville's Van Stokes near the end of their interview.
"'Let's Go Peay' already rolls off my tongue pretty naturally," he says, then cracks a smile. "My kids say it all the time."
WEDNESDAY, 3 P.M.
A reception at the Echo Power Club Level of Fortera Stadium awaits. Coach Hudspeth meets with key supporters, milling about, working the room like an expert politician. People like him, and he seems to like people.
The crowd slowly filters out. The Hudspeth's are among the last stragglers as Coach makes sure to shake every hand, learn every name and show his commitment to a place all of these people care so much about. If, as he says, it's beyond his expectations, he's going beyond theirs as well.
WEDNESDAY, 5:15 P.M.
One final commitment for his day: a pair of media spots with local scribe Jimmy Trodglen and a call-in radio appointment with Johnny Franks of 560 WNSR in Nashville.
Hudspeth pulls up and heads for the lobby door at Fortera Stadium, smiling and shaking his head.
"Boy, that Wilma Rudolph? Don't get on that after 5 p.m."
Already he's learning our local customs.
Trodglen and Hudspeth slip into a rapport on the day and his expectations moving forward.
"It's been a whirlwind," Hudspeth says. "I've got to catch my breath because we've got a lot of work to do between putting together a staff and evaluating players."
He reiterates how happy he is to be here. There are lots of moving parts and every institution is different; it's definitely a learning experience, one he's prepared for. But, he tells Trodglen as their time draws to a close, "It's clear to see the commitment they've made to the student-athletes here, not just in football but across the board, and that's an exciting thing to be a part of."
The day closes with a call to Nashville to Johnny Franks, a longtime radio personality in the midstate who actually got his radio start in Huntsville when Hudspeth was head coach at North Alabama. When Franks asks about recruiting Hudspeth is right to the point: "Every school has a stadium. Every school has a weight room, a cafeteria, a math building. People separate the place, and this community and it's commitment to this program have been evident every step of the way for me."
As he signs off with Franks, he has one more message for the fans.
"Let's Go Peay."
