October 14, 2022 FUMA Athletics Newsletter

The Blue Devil Report from Fork Union Military Academy's Athletic Department is your source for weekly updates on the Fork Union Blue Devils. Here's the latest from @FUMAathletics.

Want to view past issues of the Blue Devil Report? Find them all on our website.

Contents:

• Meet Postgraduate Basketball Coach Bob Williams
• FUMA Athletics Recap
• Feature Stories: Cross Country, PG Basketball and Reds Football
• Up Next in FUMA Athletics
• Alumni Spotlight: Christian Darrisaw
• Have You Joined the Athletic Director's Club?

Meet Head Postgraduate Basketball Coach Bob Williams

Bob Williams

Fork Union Military Academy named Robert "Bob" Williams as the head coach of the postgraduate basketball program, Director of Athletics John Shuman announced on August 6, 2021.

Williams comes to the Academy with 22 years of head coaching experience at the collegiate level, most recently leading the West Virginia University Tech Golden Bears from 2002-2019.

During his 17 seasons at West Virginia University Tech, Williams led Tech to the NAIA National Tournament in 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. The Golden Bears were 30-5 in his final season at Tech in what amounted to Williams' most wins in a single season. During the 2018-19 season, Tech was ranked as high as No. 3 in the nation (NAIA DIII). The squad was also crowned the River States Conference regular season champions as well as claiming the River States Conference Championship.

In addition to the 2018-19 historic season, Williams was voted "Coach of the Year" three times, recorded his 403rd career win with five 22-win seasons, produced 14 All-Americans and won three conference championships at West Virginia Tech.

Prior to WVU Tech, Williams served as head coach at Glenville State College from 1997-2002. He helped lead a basketball resurgence at the NCAA Division II School, taking a 13th place team to consecutive top 5 finishes, including winning 25 of 36 regular season games from 2000-2002. Only two teams had better conference records during that stretch.

From 1995-1997, Williams served as head coach at his alma mater Jefferson Community College (NY) and led the NJCAA Division III school to back-to-back Final Fours. The 19996-97 team won the program's first ever Region III Championship and advanced to the NJCAA National Championship game. Williams' two-year record at the school was 53-14 with two Mid-State Athletic Conference tournament championships and one regular season title. He was twice named NJCAA District 7 "Coach of the Year" and was named the 1996-97 Mid-State Athletic Conference "Coach of the Year" and New York State junior college "Coach of the Year." Williams was inducted into the Jefferson Community College Hall of Fame in August 2015.

Williams served as the associate head coach at Jefferson Community College during the 1994-95 season and was an assistant coach at NCAA Division III Potsdam State (NY) from 1990-94. The 1990-91 Potsdam team went 24-7 and upset No. 1 ranked Hamilton College for the ECAC Championship. Williams also was the head coach at Indian River High School (NY) from 1988-1990 and was a student-assistant coach at Ithaca College (NY) from 1986-88.

Williams played two years at Jefferson Community College and one at Ithaca College. As the starting point guard at Jefferson Community College during the 1984-85 season, Williams averaged 11.1 assists per game and still holds several assist records at the school. He once notched 21 assists in one game. He hails from a basketball family. His father, Bob Williams, Sr., was a First Team All-American at Broome Community College (NY) and later played at Lamar University (TX). He then went on to a 31-year coaching career, including 27 seasons at Jefferson Community College. Williams played for his father at Jefferson Community College and later followed him as head coach in 1995.

Many of Williams' players have gone on to play professionally overseas, including Switzerland, Portugal, Argentina, Canada, Tunisia, Iceland, France, Germany, Columbia, Scotland, Kosovo, Czech Republic, Hungary, Saudi Arabia and England. In the summer of 1999, Williams coached a WVIAC All-Star team that toured Venezuela. Williams has spoken at numerous basketball clinics, including the NY State Coaches Clinic, the WV State Coaches Clinic, the John Beilein WVU Coaches Clinic and the Bob Huggins WVU Coaches Clinic. During his final three years at WVU Tech, his Tech squad served as the court team for the Nike Coaches Clinic in Pittsburgh, PA, with over 300 coaches in attendance, working with top coaches like Bobby Knight and Jay Wright.

Williams graduated from Ithaca College in 1988 with a degree in Physical Education and Health. He earned a Master's degree in Sport Management from the United States Sports Academy, Daphne, AL, in 1993. Williams taught classes in WVU's Sport Management program at Tech.

Williams believes in academics and community. He wants his players to be students first and his WVU Tech teams provided community service projects in the area each year. Williams directed the "Little Stars Basketball Camp" at WVU Tech for boys and girls each summer and directed a "Skills for Kids Basketball Clinic" each fall. Williams plans to take over the historic Fork Union Basketball School this upcoming summer.

Get to know Coach Williams:

College Attended & Degree: Ithaca College (NY) -- BS, Physical Education

Years of Coaching Experience: 32

Did you play a sport in college, if so what sport? Yes, basketball.

Describe your current role at the Academy: Director of Financial Aid / Head Postgraduate Basketball Coach.

What brought you to Fork Union Military Academy? The legend of Fletcher Arritt.

What made you want to become a coach? My father was a college basketball coach.

Do you have a coaching mentor? Bob Williams, Sr., retired in Florida, teacher/coach for many years.

What makes Fork Union special to you? The history, tradition, legacy and the alumni.

What other responsibilities do you have at FUMA besides your current role? Financial Aid.

What is one thing the cadets would be surprised to learn about you? I love golf, tennis, and am a big college football fan. I also love the NY Yankees (I grew up in NY State).

Scores from the past two weeks:

Friday, September 30

• Cross Country at Woodberry Forest Invitational • No Team Score

Thursday, October 6

• Junior Prep Football at St. Christopher's School • L, 8-24
• Prep Soccer at Grace Christian School • L, 2-3

Saturday, October 8

• Cross Country at Albemarle Invitational • 32nd
• Prep Football vs. St. Christopher's School • L, 7-28

Sunday, October 9

• PG Football at Palmetto Prep Academy • L, 29-40

Tuesday, October 11

• Cross Country vs. Virginia Middle School Invitational • 6th
• Reds Football at Woodberry Forest School • W, 12-6

Vikings Tackle Christian Darrisaw and the Misperceptions that Continue to Motivate Him

Alec Lewis | Oct. 12, 2022

The man does not want to lie. When he showed up one afternoon in 2017 at a football field at Fork Union Military Academy in Virginia, he was skeptical about the player he had come to see.

This was long before that player became one of the most promising young tackles in the National Football League.

On that afternoon, Virginia Tech offensive line coach Vance Vice wasn’t ready to admit Christian Darrisaw into his coveted room. Vice wasn’t sure he was physical enough.

Virginia Tech had recruited Darrisaw, the Upper Marlboro, Md., product for more than a year at that point. Vice could see Darrisaw’s athleticism on film. How Darrisaw’s hips constantly sat low. How his feet did not weigh him down. Yet Vice remained unsure. Would the tackle use his helmet? Did his competitiveness spur him to finish blocks?

Wanting answers to those questions, he showed up at Fork Union alongside then-Virginia Tech head coach Justin Fuente. The scene was a mini-combine of sorts. Players scattered the field as coaches observed and graded them.

“It’s really, like, 1950s Bear Bryant stuff,” Vice said.

The final drill is the one he will remember forever. One of the Fork Union coaches called for a circle.

“Bull in the ring,” Vice called it.

Fork Union coaches called upon two players. They tussled in the middle. Coaches then tabbed two more until the entire group had gone. Darrisaw participated once and passed the test.

For Vice, that was not enough.

He asked the coaches to send Darrisaw out again. They did. And again. And again.

“I did this about five or six times in a row,” Vice said. “And at the end, I turned to Coach Fuente and said, ‘He’s going to be a guy.’”

In light of Darrisaw’s career arc since that moment — starter for Virginia Tech as a freshman, first-team All-ACC talent, first-round pick and emerging left tackle for the Minnesota Vikings — Vice is proud. That he and Fuente took the time to drive to Fork Union. And that he was willing to give Darrisaw a chance.

In a different sense, though, he’s also reflective, especially as it relates to his initial concerns about Darrisaw’s physicality. Why did he have them in the first place? What do they say about what coaches look for, about what they overlook?

Interestingly, when it comes to those who have closely watched Darrisaw’s ascension, Vice was not the only one with doubts. Nor is he the only one who has wondered why they existed in the first place.

“He listens more than he speaks and he pays attention to what you say.”

That was Caesar Nettles’ first impression of Darrisaw inside the coach’s office at Riverdale Baptist, about 18 miles east of Washington D.C. Another coach had alerted Nettles to the tall and then-skinny kid who lived near the private school, so Nettles invited Darrisaw and his mother, Kim Cherry, into his office for a meeting about playing football.

Darrisaw spoke briefly in their meeting, responding mostly with, “Yes, sir.” One of them was a commitment: He would play for Nettles.

The next impression of Darrisaw took place on their field. Nettles noticed Darrisaw’s swift feet, skipping across the grass. His love of basketball and his experience as a baseball first baseman refined particular movements. Movements that, in Nettles’ view, resembled those of an elite offensive tackle.

After one of their first practices, Nettles relayed his thoughts.

“You can be a very big, average-speed tight end,” Nettles said to Darrisaw, “or you can be a fast, athletic offensive lineman.”

Tight ends catch touchdowns and are very visible on the field. Offensive linemen get empty stat sheets and little camera time. Darrisaw’s preference was to play tight end, but he listened to the way Nettles described the scholarship opportunities for offensive linemen — particularly how excellence at left tackle is rewarded.

“It was a hard transition, for sure,” Darrisaw said, “but I knew if I put my all into it, the coaches would lead me in the right direction.”

He spent ninth grade on the junior varsity, and then in the spring before his sophomore year, while sprinting through drills on one side of the field, varsity offensive line coach Keith McIver called him over to the varsity side. Darrisaw was smaller than many of the kids, but McIver didn’t care. He trusted Darrisaw’s athleticism would be enough, and he, once “the smallest guard in Prince George’s County,” as he put it, believed he could teach the youngster how to finish blocks and impose his physicality regardless of his size. He did — both — and Darrisaw quickly became a starter.

It was during that season that Cherry first recognized her son’s determination. A college coach had shown up at the school to recruit another player and, as Cherry remembers it, told Darrisaw he was too small to play on the offensive line for an FBS school.

After that, Cherry marveled at her son’s willingness to lift weights, even when he was away from his teammates. She also was impressed by his attentiveness to what he ate. Darrisaw transformed from a tall, skinny kid into a big-bodied man the size of a refrigerator.

In Darrisaw’s case, however, he was a refrigerator that could change directions. That could sink down into his hips. That could do everything you’d want from the man whose primary job is to protect the quarterback. This wasn’t a coincidence; Darrisaw, Cherry said, researched the Washington metropolitan area on his own to find a coach to help with his footwork.

One year, at a football banquet in front of the team’s players and parents, Nettles said he believed that Darrisaw would play on Sundays.

“That’s how much he believed in Christian,” Cherry said.

It’s also a reflection of how confounded Nettles was by Darrisaw’s college recruitment.

Do college coaches not trust what I’m saying because of where I coach?

Nettles could not figure out why Darrisaw did not have any major FBS offers, so he began to ask questions. Riverdale Baptist had not had the same level of success as nearby programs such as DeMatha Catholic. That said, Riverdale Baptist had scrimmaged DeMatha, and Darrisaw held his own against their high-profile edge rusher, a player by the name of Chase Young.

Do college coaches question his size?

Nettles knew that some evaluators wondered whether Darrisaw would grow beyond 6-foot-2. But he also believed they could see what he could — that Darrisaw had huge hands and massive feet, cluing them into future growth.

Do college coaches think he isn’t tough enough?

Nettles was well aware of Darrisaw’s reserved nature off the field. That Darrisaw rarely yelled. That he rarely talked trash.

McIver, Darrisaw’s offensive line coach, tells the story of a game during Darrisaw’s senior year against St. Vincent Pallotti. Riverdale Baptist was losing at halftime. Darrisaw, who had become a presence in the offensive line room, corralled his teammates and unleashed fury about the way they were competing — because he knew his team needed it.

“They listened to him,” McIver said. “If somebody doesn’t say anything, and then they become vocal, people tend to wake up.”

One afternoon, a young Virginia Tech coach named Holmon Wiggins stopped by the school. He was focused on recruiting a couple of other Riverdale Baptist players, at least until Nettles showed him Darrisaw’s film.

Wiggins could not understand the level of offensive line play that he was seeing from a player who had so little interest from major college programs. There were nits to pick, sure, but not enough to dissuade him from showing Vice the film when he arrived back on campus.

Vice was not immediately sold.

“Originally, I had concerns of whether or not he was physical,” Vice said. “Because he was always in the perfect posture: hands up, hips down, feet and ground. It was perfect.”

Essentially, too perfect.

“His temperament is a skill to me,” Nettles said. “I honestly believe his ability to maintain the highs and lows, know when he messes up, acknowledges it, is something everybody doesn’t have.”

Wanting to see Darrisaw up close, Virginia Tech invited him to a camp. He had been to other schools on similar visits. Some had told him they were going to offer him afterward, only to rescind that message. According to Cherry, Darrisaw did not express his frustration outwardly. He admitted recently, however, that he did internalize the slights and that they did affect him.

At the Virginia Tech camp, Darrisaw did not wow the coaches in attendance, according to Vice. Their questions persisted, even if later that year, the Hokies did finally offer the two-star recruit, whose appreciation for Wiggins’ interest and love of Blacksburg, Va., spurred him to commit.

“VT let their eyes trust them,” Nettles said. “And I told them the minute they offered him, ‘You got a gold mine.’ But what do I know? I was just a high school football coach.”

Still, Vice admits even now that his questions about Darrisaw’s physicality persisted after the commitment.

Darrisaw, needing to fulfill a credit requirement for a summer class he had taken that the NCAA vetoed, attended Fork Union Military Academy. Every day for four months, he woke up at 6 a.m., made his bed, swept the floors, marched in the mornings, attended class, marched in the afternoon, practiced, ate dinner, completed study hall and did so without a cellphone or video games.

The school’s offensive line coach at the time, Frank Arritt, compared Darrisaw’s approach to that of a worker in the mines who punches the time clock daily, shows up, fulfills his duty and then goes home, before doing it all again. Cherry believed the experience taught Darrisaw some discipline in a way that benefits him now. She had taught him to be process-oriented, to plan out how he was going to save money each time he wanted a pair of new Jordan sneakers. Being on time was vital, whether it was a party or a team meeting.

“I think because he took it so seriously before he became a professional athlete, it remains serious,” Cherry said. “He had to earn it.”

He had to earn it the day Fork Union held its combine — the day Vice called for him to head back into the middle of the ring.

Darrisaw then had to earn it at Virginia Tech, where he started from day one.

The play is vivid in his mind.

Darrisaw is standing in the Vikings’ locker room, recalling one block during his first collegiate start against Florida State. The edge-rushing challenge that day? Brian Burns, currently one of the brightest spots on the Carolina Panthers defense.

Darrisaw twirls to his right.

“He hit me with a crazy spin move. I was like, ‘Oh my God.’ It was a welcome-to-college football type deal.”

In scanning the internet for film of Darrisaw, you won’t come across too many plays on which he has been beaten. Vice knows that’s not a coincidence. These days, when he’s teaching offensive line strategies, his first example is Darrisaw.

Asked what Darrisaw does differently, Vice said to think about Darrisaw’s belt.

“Any time your belt comes up, if you bend over, you nail your feet to the ground and can’t move anymore,” Vice said. “His never does that. He can punch with his hands, and his belt stays down. It’s like he’s on a conveyor belt. He stays even all the time, and he’s still able to be physical with his upper body and hat. It’s just not natural, I don’t think. It’s not.”

Complementing Darrisaw’s ability to move well was a relentlessness that Vice underestimated.

Darrisaw was draft-eligible after his sophomore year, and the two met in Vice’s office after the season to discuss Darrisaw’s decision.

“Where are you ranked right now?” Vice asked.

“Probably the fifth or sixth offensive lineman,” Darrisaw said.

“That’s awesome,” Vice said. “What do you want to be ranked?”

“No. 1,” Darrisaw responded.

He ended up returning for his junior season. In a game against North Carolina, Darrisaw climbed to the second level and shoved a defender about 20 yards downfield.

“You want him to come over and just start talking s—,” Vice said. “He gives you that little smile, and maybe wink at you a little bit. I’m sitting there wanting to go nuts. But that’s just him.”

In the final game of the season, Darrisaw was playing through an ankle injury. Vice pulled him so that a senior could finish off the game.

“He wanted to fight me,” Vice said. “He wanted to play every snap, and he took pride in that.”

Throughout the evaluation process ahead of the 2021 NFL Draft, former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman heard many of these anecdotes. On film, Spielman thought Darrisaw’s exemplary movement would be a perfect fit for the team’s outside zone running scheme.

“His movement skills reminded me a lot of the things that were mentioned with a (nine-time Pro Bowl left tackle) Trent Williams type,” Spielman said. “Whether he turns into Trent or not. That’s who he reminded me the most of. How fluid and easily he moved.”

That is not to say Spielman and the Vikings did not have concerns.

“When you evaluated him on tape,” Spielman said, “sometimes he made it look so easy because he’s so fluid. Sometimes you misinterpret that as not enough grit.”

Sound familiar?

Before the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Vikings staff interviewed Darrisaw not in person but on Zoom.

In the Vikings’ eyes, there were a couple of themes evident in the responses of the now 6-foot-5, 314-pound tackle: He’s intelligent and he’s soft-spoken.

“That may be another misperception of him,” Spielman said. “Because some asked, ‘Is he a grinder and finisher?’ When you talk to him, he’s a soft-spoken guy. But when he plays, there’s a different switch that comes on in him.”

The Vikings trusted this sentiment leading into draft night. Minnesota initially had the 14th pick but traded down to No. 23 because Darrisaw started sliding. Spielman did, however, attempt to trade back up so the Vikings could be sure to get Darrisaw.

“We couldn’t get a trade done,” Spielman said. “As hard as we were trying.”

They sat waiting anxiously, and when the Indianapolis Colts selected Michigan edge rusher Kwity Paye at No. 21, they breathed.

“The year before, Justin (Jefferson) fell,” Spielman said. “We felt just as fortunate when Darrisaw fell.”

Unfortunately for Darrisaw, the path to starting at left tackle for the Vikings was full of roadblocks. He underwent two surgeries on his groin, which mandated he miss time both in the spring and during training camp. Spielman would stand on the practice field during this time, watching from afar as sweat poured off Darrisaw, who rehabbed with aggression.

“That was a pretty good indicator of how passionate he is about football,” Spielman said. “You knew the game meant something to him.”

Doctors cleared Darrisaw in October, and Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins paid close attention to Darrisaw’s preparation in the leadup to his first NFL start against the Panthers … and edge rusher Brian Burns. When Darrisaw first found out he was starting, he told his mother over the phone, “This is Brian Burns again.”

Cherry said, “This must be a sign you’re destined for greatness.”

The Vikings offensive line would not allow a single sack that day. Cousins didn’t notice Darrisaw all day until after he converted the game-winning touchdown pass in overtime to K.J. Osborn.

“He was the first person I saw,” Cousins said. “We hugged and congratulated, and he’s like, ‘Kirk, way to go!’ I realized he had just been there for the last 70 snaps, and I didn’t even notice him. Because he’s just so quiet. So steady. You barely even know he’s there because he just goes about his business and doesn’t seek attention.”

In some ways, that changed ahead of the 2022 season.

Healthy as he entered his second year in the NFL, the now 23-year-old earned rave reviews from fellow linemen including Trent Williams, who met Darrisaw in person during the preseason joint practices between the Vikings and 49ers.

“He’s a great kid,” Williams told reporters. “He’s open and willing to learn. We know he’s physically gifted.”

Through five weeks of the regular season, Darrisaw has backed up the hype with his play. He has not allowed a sack. His 82.5 PFF grade ranks fourth among all tackles in the NFL.

Darrisaw’s motivation through it all?

“Being underrecruited,” he said. “Proving everyone who thought wrong, wrong.”

The streams of thought between an offensive lineman’s ears can be endless as he steps up to the line.

What are my first two steps coming off the line of scrimmage? What is the front structure? What is that front structure’s tendency on this specific down and distance? What is the correct angle on this block I’m about to attempt?

Simplifying the answers to all of these questions is the goal, but that often takes time, especially at left tackle in the NFL.

“It’s a process with that position because they’re going against the most elite athletes in the world,” Vikings offensive line coach Chris Kuper said.

That process is continuous and ever-evolving, but growth is possible. And it helps when the player listens more than he speaks and pays attention to what you say.

When Vice and Spielman and others reflect on Christian Darrisaw’s road, they all seem to arrive at that place. At Darrisaw’s discipline and process. At the fact that Darrisaw had so many others who believed in him. That he knew he didn’t have to prove his toughness or be the loudest person in the room.

He wasn’t going to show aggression just to show it, but that didn’t mean he was any less physical. Or that he couldn’t show it when he needed to.

“I nicknamed him ‘The Gentle Giant,’” Cherry said. “He’s always been mild-mannered, steady, a man of few words.”

That is, until his teammates needed to hear his voice.

For the first time last Sunday afternoon against the Chicago Bears, Cousins noticed Darrisaw stepping up.

“He got fired up after a play, and I remember thinking, ‘I like this. I like feeling his edge a little bit,’” Cousins said. “And you realize, he’s starting to get like that, I think, because he’s starting to realize what it takes, what it looks like, what to expect as a player in this league.”

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