T.L. Asbury honored with Neal Baisi Award

Frazier’s Bottom native T.L. Asbury is the 2008-09 winner of the Neal Baisi Award presented by Beckley Newspapers.  The award recognizes the outstanding Mountain State native on a West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football roster.

T.L. Asbury pursues the quarterback

The former Winfield High School all-state athlete wrapped up his senior season at the University of Charleston last fall as the Golden Eagle’s all-time sacks leader. He was also named a first team All-WVIAC defensive end and selected as an Honorable Mention All-American by D2Football.com. In addition, he was a second team choice by Don Hansen’s Football Gazette to its All Super Region 1 squad.

Asbury was presented his Neal Baisi Award at the Victory Awards Dinner, sponsored by the West Virginia Sports Writers Association, last weekend at the Embassy Suites in Charleston.

T.L. Asbury, a 2009 Neal Baisi Award recipient

“I’m shocked by this award because there are a ton of great athletes from West Virginia that play football in the WVIAC,” Asbury said. “I’m extremely blessed and thankful for everything, including the coaches that I have had. It feels good being a hometown guy. I think it shows that we have some pretty decent athletes in this area.”

Asbury had a unique opportunity to be a part of the successful rebuilding of the UC football program from the ground up. When he came in UC was struggling and he left Charleston as one the contenders for the league title year in and year out.

“It is real special,” Asbury admitted. “All of the guys that I came in with were part of Coach DeMeo’s first recruiting class. So we take pride in knowing that we helped get this program going again and getting it on the right path.”

“T.L. is first guy that we recruited,” said UC head coach Tony DeMeo, who was hired in December of 2004. “He was a quarterback in high school, but I always envisioned him as a defensive lineman. He played a big part in the building of our program.”

Asbury looks to the sideline for the signals

In DeMeo’s first season at Charleston in 2005 and Asbury’s freshman season, the Golden Eagles went from 3-8 in 2004 to 8-3 – a five win improvement and the biggest single-season win-loss turnaround in WVIAC history.

Asbury got plenty of playing time from the opening game on and was entrenched as a starting defensive end by the time conference play rolled around that year. He was a solid force on the UC defensive line for the next three seasons as well.

“T.L. did a really good job for us and had a good career,” DeMeo added. “He’s an outstanding athlete and a real credit for Winfield High School.”

Coming out of high school, Asbury embraced what the UC coaches were selling and benefited from it immensely.

“I was about 6-foot-4 and at the most 225 and now I’m 6-5, 265,” Asbury said with a chuckle. “They put some muscle on me – that’s for sure. [Strength] Coach [Ken] Ferrar at first and now Coach [Mike] Weeks head up a great weight program at UC. They take care of the athletes and they know what they’re talking about. As Coach Weeks says, if you drink the ‘Kool-Aid’, you’ll be all right.”

Asbury witnessed a tremendous transformation in the WVIAC during his four years at UC.

“There are a lot of quality athletes playing in the West Virginia Conference now,” said Asbury. “It is the largest Division II conference in the nation, so that should tell you something right there. We play against good competition. People need to start paying attention to it a bit more.

“When I first came in the only team any one talked about was Shepherd,” he added. “Now you have Charleston, Glenville, West Liberty and West Virginia State that are all strong. They’re all right there now too. You have to add them to that list.”

Asbury will finish his equally fine academic career at UC with one more semester. He is a double major in Athletic and Business Administration with a minor in History. Asbury has hopes of working in athletic marketing at a university initially and eventually becoming an athletic director at a high school or college.

In the meantime, Asbury finally has time to reflect on his own athletic accomplishments.

“For me, a Division II school was fantastic,” he said. “I’m so glad I did this. The people you meet are life-long friends. You don’t have to go to an Ohio State, WVU or somewhere huge. It does not have to be like that.  It’s more of a family atmosphere at a smaller school. And D-II still has great football competition. That’s what I love. I just wanted to continue to play football. I had that chance and I am lucky.

“My friend [and former UC teammate] Kasey Teegardin and I were sitting around just the other day and talking about the good old days,” Asbury added. “He was talking about me when I came in as a little freshman. It honestly seems like just yesterday. I couldn’t ask for a better college football career that I had.  It was so much fun. I met lifelong friends and coaches that I will stay in contact with. I don’t have any regrets.”

DeMeo Clinic draws 160 coaches to Charleston

Tony DeMeo wrapped up springs drills with his University of Charleston football team with a bang on Saturday.

Tony DeMeo

 

Besides sending the Golden Eagles out for the usual Maroon and Gold scrimmage, DeMeo and his coaching staff finished a two-day clinic for 160 high school coaches representing 22 different states and one province in Canada.

 

You can mark Dale Schuring, the head coach at Arthur High School in Arthur, Illinois, as a DeMeo disciple and a believer in his Triple Gun Option offense.

 

“We were here last spring,” said Schuring. “I first heard about Tony DeMeo and his clinic when I attended NIKE clinics and I heard him speak three different times about this. It intrigued me. We didn’t have superior athletes, but his offense was something that I felt we could compete with and have a chance with when the other team had better people.

DeMeo draws up play at the Coaches Clinic

 

“We tried it one year without coming here and we messed it up terribly as coaches. We didn’t have much success with it. One of assistant coaches and I came last year and found out a lot of things we did wrong and we went back and it worked perfectly for us. Now we’re here this year trying to pick up some new things, new options and new variations. We’ve found out that there are a few things that we are still doing a little wrong.

 

The triple gun option found a home at Arthur High. But it took a more personable approach to finally get over the learning curve of installing the offense.

 

“The first year, the triple [option] was probably our worst play and last year it was our best play,” Schuring said. “That’s the basis of the offense. Our coaches just didn’t understand because we had not taken the opportunity to sit down with Tony and his staff for two days at first. It was just an hour at a clinic over three different years. Of course, I had his books and stuff, but you can’t really get all of the ins and outs through just the books and videos.

Drawing up the Triple Gun Option

 

“Coming here was a huge difference from our lack of success to our improved success.”

 

DeMeo’s style of being approachable and accessible to high school coaches has been a key to the success of the clinic.

 

“The thing that is very impressive about Tony and his staff is that if you email them or call them, they actually answer their own phones and they reply to emails,” Schuring said. “Most coaches – and I am talking from Division I all the way down to Division III and everyone in between – you’re going to get a secretary instead and four days later you may get a call back. Tony answers his own phone and he’ll talk to you. He’s probably the most open and giving coach I’ve ever been around.”

 

Visitors from Canada at the DeMeo Coaches Clinic

Arthur’s opponents have certainly taken notice of the triple gun.

 

“One of our new assistant coaches this year was a former coach for an opponent’s staff last year,” Schuring pointed out. “He said that they watched film on us and after being here and listening to all of this, they had no idea of what we were doing. It’s not something that is out there widespread or the ‘in’ thing necessarily. So we’re at a definite advantage over our opponents because it is unique.

 

“A lot of people run options and a lot of people run triple option. But the mechanics are so much different from the old time stuff. Most people know that it is hard to defend because you’re defenders are being assigned to the wrong person. They have no chance of succeeding. It’s a fantastic offense.    

UC's Maroon & Gold game

 

“The best part is that it is so simple [to teach],” Schuring added. “It really is. There are very few plays, but you can get good at what you’re doing. It’s his philosophy and I agree with it totally.”

 

DeMeo launched a personal website at www.tonydemeo.com about a year ago that lends support to coaches year round.

 

“I’ve been to the website many times,” said Schuring. “I go there everyday, sometimes several times a day. I like to check out the forum to see what people are saying. It’s a great idea.”

         

“The website has been really good for us,” said DeMeo. “We started the website with the idea of creating a little fraternity of coaches for this kind of an offense. We don’t charge anything to go on the website It is a pure attempt to develop a community of triple gun option coaches.”

 

a few of the coaches pose for a photo following the Tony DeMeo Coaches Clinic

The website features play diagrams, videos and a forum for coaches to ask questions with DeMeo answering them in detail.

 

“They can keep in touch with me or with each other over the course of the year,” DeMeo explained. “Now it has gotten to the point where they know as much about it as I do. They’re even answering each other’s questions. The feedback has been excellent.”

 

The clinic has grown steadily through unconventional means.

 

“We don’t do any advertising,” DeMeo said. “It’s all word of mouth. It’s just guys that have come to know this offense and want to come out and see it and learn more. We’re really flattered with the response. Here we are, we’re a Division II school.” 

 

UC ended springs drills with a spirited scrimmage on the turf at University of Charleston Stadium on Saturday.

 

“This is our last scrimmage, so our goal is to get through it without any injuries,” DeMeo said. “We’ve seen some good things this spring. We’re developing some good kids. We’re just wrapping it up and having a little fun before we get out.”