HUNTINGTON — Once a football player, particularly at the elite level. ...

Andre O’Neal’s playing career wrapped in 2001, but the game remains in proverbial DNA. Enthusiasm and knowledge was evidenced when Marshall University’s former standout linebacker reunited with 1999 Thundering Herd teammates.

Reunion weekend featured several social gatherings, but when O’Neal and dozens of past players took in a pair of spring practices, it was all football. Members of the ’99 squad naturally were drawn to their positions during drills, intently analyzing the 2009 Thundering Herd.

O’Neal, who played two seasons in the National Football League, and former Canadian Football League Defensive Player of the Year John Grace locked in on linebackers, with amusing results.

“We saw one particular linebacker. ... John Grace was on one end of the field and I’m on the other sideline, watching the players,” O’Neal said. “I see something the linebacker is doing that’s dictating that he’s going to blitz — every time. He had the same little nuance.

“John happened to see the the same thing. I didn’t know he saw it. We run back to the sideline with him. John beat me to him and he’s like, ‘Listen, you can’t put your foot back like that.’ And I said, ‘What did you just tell him?’

“He said, ‘I just told him he’s putting his foot back every time he’s about to blitz from five yards back’.”

O’Neal the Marshall player was taught similar subtle techniques more than a decade ago. Such lessons were delivered both from coaches and teammates, including Chad Pennington, who continues to dissect defenses as the Miami Dolphins quarterback.

“We were taught those nuances and we needed that going against offenses with Chad and (former Marshall tailback) Doug (Chapman) and (former Herd center) John (Wade). They taught us that.

“(Pennington) made us better. We would ask him, ‘How did you know we were blitzing?’ He said he saw it. You were salivating.

“When you go out there and you know you’ve done everything you can to prepare, you’ve covered all the bases, you’ve got confidence. They’re seeing it and they’re very receptive.”

Now a married father of three, O’Neal works in the medical industry in Columbus, Ohio, selling pacemakers and defibrillators. He and numerous former players have frequented the Tri-State recently, both for the ’99 reunion and the Bartrum-Brown Football Camp.

Connecting with current players proved an emphasis throughout both visits, seeking to end a run of four straight losing seasons.

“This time-frame symbolizes that refresh, that renewal, generating things that were going on before here, getting that going again, reviving that,” O’Neal said. “And the guys have been very receptive.

“We have great talent here. And I think seeing this, seeing the community, how the fellowship is, how the love is, helps them to know that everyone is on their side.

“Win or lose, everyone is behind them and I think that gives you more enthusiasm to want to do better.”

Some Marshall greats, including Pennington and Wade, remain in the game. O’Neal very much is entrenched in the real world, but didn’t hesitate to revert to football mode when asked of his impressions of the current team.

“One thing I noticed is that these are big kids,” he said. “They’re bigger. And I think sometimes we expect things from people who look the part a little bit earlier than they should.

“These guys are still maturing, learning the game. You come into it really fast. I know my own experience was that way. I was learning football while I was here.

“I think the guys meeting the players from that team, really giving them an opportunity to sit down and talk about the fellowship, the game, what to look for. The keys, the little things build that swagger.

“Competence builds confidence.”

 

AP Video

Chris Jackson/The Herald-Dispatch

Former Marshall linebacker Andre O'Neal, left, chats with members of the Big Green community at the Bartrum Brown Dinner and Auction on May 15 at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

Purchase this photo