Beyond The Barracks Presented By Cutwater Spirits - The Citadel Football HC Maurice Drayton

[Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Applause] a [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] n [Applause] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] a [Applause] [Music] [Music] [Music] a [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Music] it is beyond the bar of the coaches show program here for 2024 and actually the inaugural Edition with The Branding of beyond the barracks and we come your way live tonight from Over the Horizon Brewing right here in Charleston you know they had their grand opening here yesterday man you talk about timing yeah absolutely that is the voice of one marce Drayton the head football coach at the Citadel and of course on everybody's mind this week opening week Saturday night we'll of course get more specific into that game a little bit later but man there's always such a renewed and charged up energy around the beginning of the season is or not it is and I I tell you I never want to fast forward my life but when the last seconds ticked off the clock of our last game I couldn't wait for this moment so we're very excited uh and very energetic and ready to get going well this is year two for you and obviously you guys have really just wrapped up camp and now you're in game week practices when you look back over this Camp what are your thoughts generally on it we'll get into some specifics as we go along well the the general thought is uh the guys have done a really good job it was all about mindset and Camp uh our strength coach who we'll visit with uh here real soon he and his staff has done an excellent job so because their bodies were prepared we got a chance to focus on their minds uh football IQ and the how and why we do things so um we're just we're just excited to show this off isn't it amazing as as Technical and as detailed and as analytically driven and all that stuff as football is still comes down to blocking and tackling and executing fundamental stuff doesn't it every day of the week it does uh you know those old saying uh it's not about the X's and O's but it's about those billies and jokes right and it's it's always the it's never who you play it's how you play absolutely uh we this this this camp we really spent a lot of time on what I call FBI football intelligence um we did a lot of situational work we put ourselves in situations that Force the coaches to have to make decisions on the fly as well as the players uh and as well as myself uh you know proper usage of timeouts uh when to uh take delays when to do uh you know various things that could be advantageous to us uh in a win by the way we are at at Over the Horizon Brewer we're at 2200 Harriet Street here in Charleston and they of course just had their grand opening yesterday been open for a little bit but great place to hang out and we'll be here every Monday for the most part couple other stops along the way during football season but we'll largely be here just about week in and week out doing beyond the barracks let's talk a little bit about your roster in this day and age rosters turnover so much now and while yours hasn't turned over as dramatically as some maybe at the bigger higher levels do obviously it turned over some and some of the Acquisitions the biggest name in all of them the guy that's gotten most of the press in all this is Jonathan Bennett this is a guy that not only brings a great skill set to your program but as important or more important perhaps a leadership comp oppent absolutely uh I can't talk enough about Jonathan uh he has uh experienced the locker room at a high level he has participated and won at a high level uh what he brings to our locker room uh you can't you you can't put a barometer on that uh he's like a coach on the field uh but it's more than just on the football field it's in the locker room talking to guys about nutrition talking to guys about hey when when you do get General leave and you leave the Battalion as much as you want to go left you got to go right and do the right thing um that's where he his strengths lie and as much as you return a lot of guys and they're a year older and a year further developed along the way still you're a relatively young roster and we talked a lot about this last year and you need a handful of guys that are really going to help lead those guys as coaches on the field absolutely we are a young roster and even where we're not Young by age or by degree work uh We're Young and experienc uh I I told this stat earlier today and people looked at me in awe we played 29 players last season 29 who did not start at their high school program or didn't even play high school football uh so that says a lot and and to speak to the youth um we had 16 freshmen 16 true freshman red shirt Freshmen from week seven on to uh either start or have significant playing time so um we are young but we we now have gained some experience with those guys and with those returners obviously comes hunger I mean this is a situation where you did have a tough year last year it got better as the season went on but still a lot of times you guys were your own undoing it really starts with that part of it absolutely uh sometimes you don't know what you don't know uh we we I told this to the team last night as well too uh we done we've did such a great job in the off season with our strength program these guys have Chang their bodies they like looking in the mirror now cuz they see this this mass that we were able to put on them um they like the attab boys they like being patted on the backside saying hey you guys look good we're going to be better uh but the truth of the matter is this uh I I practiced yesterday I had to get after their fannies a little bit um it wasn't to the standard that we need on game week so I gave him a quick Story by Walter H Maque and uh basically he talks about members versus men uh we will take eight men thoroughly immersed in the true Bulldog experience over 80 men any day with lukewarm enthusiasm and so to to your point about enthusiasm and excitement uh that's what we have to bring to the table every day one of the things as we sit here and of course this is going to be the inaugural Low Country Boil ball coming up this Saturday up at Charleston Southern we sit here and look at the trophy can you speak a little to how conceptually all that kind of came together and it's a great idea you're two FCS programs you're right here in the same city why not absolutely um so I called uh coach gardinia Gabe uh and said hey you know we're we're right up the road these schools have played a good bit let's play for something one of the things I want to do with our with our season and and truth of the matter is I got this from another coach I want to make each game mean something beyond the game uh we want to play for something we want to win something we do a lot in our program uh as far as talking about winning and losing and uh so when we called Gabe Gabe loved the idea uh we took it to our ads our ads then put us in contact with uh our SIDS and they came up with the concept and I I tell you what I like it I love it no doubt you know one of the other things that's cool about it is the The Joint community service comp component of that where your players their players kind of work together to to do some things around the community yeah definitely uh community service so we are all about that uh it it was so good we got the opportunity to go over to MUSC uh to their Pavilion where we got a chance to hang out with a bunch of kids who don't have it as good as we do and what we did we painted shoes uh shoes that we're going to wear uh October 5th I believe at our Ferman game and then uh post game we we're going to auction those shoes off and the money that we get we're going to donate it right back into that Pavilion you know we got to get those guys some up-to-date like Xbox and whatever the kids are into today versus just the board games and this will be an annual thing where you'll play each other every year and this will be for this Trophy and that's how this will go well I don't know that the game will be annual every year but both coaches both staffs we want to play each other uh annually um but we've scheduled out in advance so uh we may have to we may have to skip a year here and there until we can get the schedule going schedules are made obviously a few years in advance coming up Joe Varga the strength and conditioning coach will join us and before we get there and that'll be on the other side of a break I could talk a little bit about strength and conditioning because obviously that's a full really a yearr round thing now there a little bit of heal up time at the end of the season but then they get after it and get going and that's where they get bigger and stronger and all those things but gone are the days where Camp is like fre a days and taking salt tablets maybe you don't go back that far but I do I definitely go back uh I I go back to those days uh we can't do that now nor do we want to uh I'm I'm big into the science of football uh so we we study this we study nutrition uh you know uh I I I have a degree degree work in health and physical education so I've always been passionate about it so uh I just can't wait for Joe to get on let me tell you something he is a he's a rock star uh what we've been able to do I wish I had some images to show some before and after pictures we literally ate weights every chance we got we we we were moving iron and the hope of course is that beginning next Saturday that'll start to pay dividends on the field in these head-to-head games you know before we jump out to a break strength and conditioning itself as you just alluded to has really become just part and parcel of the whole Sports Science thing between you know a drills nutrition as you alluded to even even the way you manage your life sleepwise all those kinds of it really all goes into it it's a comprehensive approach that didn't happen before absolutely it's all-encompassing and and without it um we would not be able to keep up uh with with our opponents so it uh it's very very very important um I can't wait for him to introduce and or excuse me uh talk about his staff and our process I don't want to steal his Thunder but I I get EXC excited when I talk about what we did and what we were able to do it wasn't for the faint of heart and and the way we trained it was in a lot of different uh Dynamics not just the weights but some of the other things that that we did and we're going to let him talk about it um but uh my favorite sport is not football and uh we trained in that that sport as well too I'll let him talk about that yeah it's a funny thing over the years before we go to a break here strength and conditioning coaches it doesn't get talked about a lot but they're also critical motivators because these guys are motivators the whole year round I can tell you that some of the loudest most vocal best speeches on the pregame speeches I ever heard were from strength and conditioning coaches absolutely uh I remember the first million dooll strength coach uh a guy U he goes by the nickname of Mad Dog he was at the University of North Carolina m brown took him to Texas and uh he was the first strength coach to get a million dollar deal a year and if I'm not mistaken he's a athletic director there now uh one of their athletic directors and that's when the game of strength and conditioning started changing and I I I'm just so excited that that it is because they deserve it they spend more time with our athletes than the coaches do and it's by NCAA rule which are accountable hours this is beyond the barracks we are live at over over the horizon Brewing here in downtown we're really right off i26 at 2200 Harriet Street come on by 6 to 7 we'll do this on Mondays talking about strength and conditioning coaches one one of the best ones I ever was around was a guy who worked here and I worked with him later at kennes I think he's at Navy now Jim kitzy yeah yeah chrisy yeah yeah I know him very well um in my second stint when I was the defensive coordinator he was a he was transitioning either in or out when I was leaving but man he's a rock star yeah no doubt energy and he is definitely a guy who brings it right here we will step aside and take a Timeout on the other side we won't steal Joe Vargas Thunder because he'll up and join us the strength and conditioning coach here at the Citadel we're with Maurice Drayton and we are with all of you on radio hey we encourage you to come down here for this every Monday 6:00 to 7:00 beyond the barracks live at Over the Horizon brewing and we're back with more of it right after this on the Citadel Bulldogs radio network [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] a [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] [Music] [Music] n [Music] [Music] [Applause] [Music] we Brian gfin the radio voice of the Citadel and we're joined Now by Joe varer the strength and conditioning coach of the Bulldogs and this is kind of the obviously you know coach dren and I talked a few minutes ago this is a yearround proposition for you you're coaching from the word go and you just coach coach coach what are your thoughts on things as we sit here on the eve of the first game I mean to to back up onto what you just said the the offseason is definitely a Relentless uh time of year for for any strength coach um but myself my staff we like you said we get started right there in the beginning of January AR um and it doesn't stop all until until camp and then once preseason starts we're we're still going so it's a year round thing for us coach and I talked about it but we can't really shed the light on it that you can I'd love to get your thoughts on kind of the melding and how all of this has really become more about sports science than it is you know it it's really all different facets can you speak to that yeah so you're you're touching on a pretty pretty multi-active you know point so it's not just coming down from the percentages the Reps the sets you know we're talking about nutrition we're talking about sleep um we're talking about Stress Management um that's really the probably the biggest part I believe a strin coach needs to really dive into is how we manage their stress because there's things going on in their personal life school life especially as a Cadet at the Citadel um and then we still have to apply our stress to get those gains get the size get the speed the conditioning all aspects that we cover um it really comes down to us managing our stress pushing when we can push backing off when we need to back off and kind of staying Within in that Ro over the years that you've done this can you speak a little to the progression of that I technology and you know all all the different things that go into this it's really been an evolving process over the years and you've been doing this a while absolutely I I you know I'm a little bit old school in in my style um I I believe that the the people that that started this profession they they were they had they had to figure it out from the beginning um now there's been a ton of Technology from you know different you you know ways to measure speed velocity um to measure heart rate to just get all types of feedback on the technology standpoint those things are absolutely vital and we incorporate those as well but I believe that you know it's it's it's a healthy balance between what it what it started off as and then where we're where we're going to now in the future one of the things that has stood out watching the scrimmages and kind of being around Camp the last 3 four weeks or so is there does appear to be a really good hunger among these guys and I wonder if if that translated as early as January when they got in there after the after a tough season needless to say the holidays Go by all that stuff then it was all full go yeah we did not let them sit around and lick their wounds um we got back first day of classes we had a team meeting we set the tone right there um we told them what we were going to expect we laid out the the plan and then we got right to it the very next day um it was from the word go we are pushing the mentality the mindset nutrition all the things that go along with the with offseason training coach talking a little bit about strength coaches and stuff we've been around over the years is there for you as a guy who does this is there kind of a Mount Rushmore three or four guys that stand out that that really are pioneers in this that you look up to yeah there's i' I've PR about five so I got I got my number one Mentor who's Jeff Oliver of the uh College of Holy Cross in Wister Mass you got Joe Ken who's referred to as a big house uh you got Donal Bush who brought me into the Citadel as a as a youngster he's one that gave me my start as a g a ga here at the at the Citadel and then he brought me back 2020 and then when he went off he um gave me an opportunity to take the next step so those three are definitely the big ones and then you got to look at guys um you know that you know at the high Next Level that coach that coach has put me on to a lot of guys in NFL theyve given me ton of ton of advice and insight to the way coach wants to run the program and some things that could help us out any season is a grind and one of the things I discovered last year in my first year here is this socon I think is in particular a grind and that's where late in these games particularly late in the season that's where all that work you guys are doing is going to tell the tell the story and make the difference hopefully absolutely I I believe in in in the work so for us it's it's we're training them to prepare their bodies their mind but we're also teaching them to work at a certain level a certain Tempo um and we really refer to that as our our Bulldog DNA so we want to be able to outwork people outpace people um we want to get into their face every play as the game goes on and as you said when we get to the fourth quarter we want to we want to still be pested and still be getting into you know the assignments that we need to be get getting into got a substantial number of grad student level players on the roster I think it's 28 of them how much do those guys when all this gets underway way back spring and before how much do those guys help lead in what it is you're doing it's it's been great I mean there every every guy that we've brought into our program has has stepped right in and it's been seamless and you got Jonathan Bennett who's been a greatest Edition um you got Garrison Harris Garrison who came in as a running back and then um each guy I can go on the list each guys come in and really made an impact on what we've done not just from an offseason standpoint but here early on in camping as we go into the first week by the way before I get too far off it I want to mention this I got a note from The Citadel Football Association the jam the Jeep back to school drive with their veteran Student Success Center and elington Elementary School for the first home football game people can bring donations to the ticket office at mallister field house or at the game to be displayed in the Jeep and that that's a cool thing obviously that's something that we encourage people to participate in so here it is game week now Saturday night it's kind of full go time does it change I mean you've really done a lot of your work now it's day today maintenance to get guys ready to go for Saturday night huh yeah so we we actually have um so we just came off a Sunday so our our game week started on Sunday with with uh with our lifts and then we right into practice we'll have a second lift tomorrow and then we get a third lift on Thursday so we're we start off heavy on that Sunday we kind of get we go uh explosive on Tuesday and then we get our upper body strength is amazing I mean you've been at this a while too isn't it amazing how the game has just changed over the last several years in terms of how rosters turn over and how many guys come and go yeah I think um I think that's been the one nice thing about our program is we haven't we really haven't lost too many guys and the guys that we have added in have been have been great additions and they fell right into our our our system our standard they've been great workers since and it really adds a lot of longer term value to what it is you're doing because you're building these guys not just to succeed this year but in an ideal world you're building them wherever they go but ideally here to succeed Beyond too exactly so I mean that's you know that that's one of the biggest things I try to preach to our guys is is the principles that we're teaching you in the weight room when you're fatigued in here how you respond or if you hit adversity throughout a training session how you respond during those moments isn't just preparing you for the game game of football but it's preparing for the game of life and I'd love to get you your thoughts on how technology helps with what it is that you do I mean because nowadays you can measure just about anything and there are programs for this part how much does technology serve you I like to stay in the middle I I think I think some people will go too far to one end of the spectrum where some guys won't use it at all some guys will just rely on it solely I like to fall right in that middle that middle space where it's definitely it's definitely a tool we're definitely going to use it we have used it um but we don't rely on it so you know we'll get a chance to check on some other programs see what they're doing we'll get to you know highlight and you know present our guys and how they're training to the to the world and get feedback in that sense but um I like to take it as a we're going to use it but we don't rely on it it's become a big part of every sport and what I'm getting at are analytics and as much as analytics will measure a lot of things like speed and strength and size obviously things like that what it doesn't measure is character and smarts and heart and being a guy who comes up in the clutch yeah I mean that's that's where I think you know with Coach training the staff that he has that he's brought in um the staff that I have with my just within my strength staff the job that we do as far as just we're the same people every day we motivate them the same way every day we we're going to kind of help them come up in that way so to not just solely rely on that the first Low Country Boil Bowl it is the Bulldogs at Charleston Southern it's Saturday night it's a 6:00 kickoff up there and we will be on the air with the Ashley Furniture Home Store pregame show at 5:00 from Buccaneer field as the Bulldogs look to to open the 2024 season hopefully with a W we're visiting with Joe Varga the strength and conditioning coach here at the Citadel and really appreciate you coming up for one thing and obviously you know we we will endeavor to bring you back from time to time to update us on how things are going during the season that'd be great I'd also love to know before we jump into a timeout here last thing for you is how do you guys manage all this now in the course of the Season where the bumps and the bruises and all the things get accumulated it's something you have to pay a lot of attention to well we go into every season with a plan um but knowing that we have to adjust on the flag so that's where our support staff comes into play our athletic trainers will keep us up the DAT on who who might have suffered something the night before maybe they can still go but at a modified you know modified work rate um maybe they can't go at all um so it's really just communicating with our support staff um and then kind of reading the room you know like like you said we spend a lot of time with these guys throughout the course of offseason I get to know get to know their bodies I get to know when they're when they're up when they're down when it's legit when maybe they're kind of looking for a way out so when it comes to that Sunday lift after a game um like you know this upcoming Saturday night we get to Sunday I'll be able to know who who may might need to back off a little bit and who I can push coach it's great to have you here and hopefully the stuff that you're doing will play a big part let let's keep that trophy down here at this end of town what do you think absolutely it's ours cool trophy the Low Country Boil Bowl trophy sits here to our right and we are live at Beyond we are live with beyond the barracks we're live at Over the Horizon Brewing here in char charlon just off Harriet Street 2200 Harriet Street right by i26 pretty easy to get to and we are back with more coach drayton's going to come back we're going to set the scene for this game on the other side of this timeout you're listening to the Citadel Bulldogs radio network [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] w a [Music] w [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] ah oh [Music] [Music] the barracks as we wind our way into segment three of the weekly coaches show we're live at Over the Horizon Brewing here 2200 Harriet Street near downtown Charleston great to have all you all of you with us and Coach Drayton back up here now and Coach it's game week you know we talked about that trophy sitting over there and obviously now the the mindset is to work hard every day and get ready to go and go out there and get a w on Saturday yeah absolutely uh the guys are working hard uh we have a big big week in front of us but it's only big because it's the next one uh I was talking to someone earlier today and the question was asked um is this a big game because it's a cross town rival is it a big game because you're going against one of your friends and Coach Gabe uh no it's a big game because it's the next one and you will hear me say that every week I sit here the next game is a big game well let's talk a little bit about your roster you know one of the things that that you've said a couple of times during the after these scrimmages during Camp here is the fact that you've got depth at a couple different places for one you're three deep technically at quarterback and really a little bit deeper than that you're deep along your fronts a little bit more than you were in the past twoo and that's stuff that'll undoubtedly pay dividends absolutely it it definitely play uh pay dividends uh on the defensive line that's where I'm really really excited uh we are too deep across the board the drop off at FCS is usually what determines you know a team from being able to run the table or the team being able to you know uh have a a successful season but on our defensive line we we go too deep across the board very excited at the linebacker position we feel really good we have a what we call a pair and a spare uh in football in the secondary we are a little young uh but that's okay uh these guys can run they're athletic and they have that want to and that hunger now when I go to the offensive side of the ball in the offensive line uh we feel really good about that coach Patrick Covington does a great job job we basically have five centers he makes sure everyone knows how to snap a ball he does a great job there we feel really good about having a pair and a spare on the offensive line the tight end position now listen this guy is my brother Danny Lewis right we share a brain uh we complete each other's thoughts sometimes I wonder if his wife uh uh wonders if something's going on because we think that much alike I'm serious uh he uh we've been friends for a long time I can't say enough about uh Coach Danny uh he's a true rock star um I love he and his family to death we talk about depth and you're kind of sitting here kind of scribbling around a little bit on your notes as we get ready for this game but were there guys that surprised you in the course of camp that that maybe fought their way and earned their way into more prominent roles that's always one of the fun things to watch yeah definitely um we had several guys that surprised me during Camp uh let's talk about the running back position position uh number 42 Cory Ibraham uh he has done a phenomenal job he's quiet he doesn't say much he does a great job in the classroom he did a a great job in the spring uh and it it transferred into the summer I'm very pleased with him also a position change um we were talking about Danny Lewis earlier he uh decided to take Saul Diaz Saul played linebacker for us and now he's our starting tight end uh really really like the way uh he's progressed um I can go on and on um I'm just excited about what we're doing do you feel like I mean one of the things last year I think where you guys are really beginning this transition now with this offense where you're going to open it up more and still run it off of option Concepts now you've got a year under your belt doing it now you've got another Camp under your belt and you you've restocked on on Talent as well and I'd love to get your thoughts on how much better prepared you feel like you might be to open the season with a little bit more you know of a regular time to plan and and schedule and all that stuff well we're definitely uh we're we're better prepared uh from the standpoint of running you know uh our offense that is not under Center we had to teach our offensive linemen how to pass H how to pass protect if you would have been at our first practice the first forward pass we threw if you would have watched the human being that tried to catch a pass oh my goodness it was actually embarrassing it was like hey we we we didn't have the forward pass in our Arsenal so I think some people didn't realize you know uh what this transition would look like um you know talking about going from under Center triple option the rules change it's no more cut blocking things of that nature uh it made it very difficult for schools like us to transition into what we call Modern football right and what happens too is you have a are largely comprised of guys that are that are really built to play that way and have been schooled to play that way through their college career before you got here so now you have another year of of working your way away from it you talked about the defensive backs a couple names that I got here will Pian for one is a guy that you've really liked in Camp can you talk a little about him yeah definitely uh will uh is a graduate uh in our graduate program he's going to get his NBA uh a sharp sharp sharp smart young man but he's a local product he's out of wandoo high school and let me tell you something he played uh ni ball division 3 ball decided he wanted to get a uh his Masters at the Citadel and uh lo and behold this guy's pretty darn good at football and he wants to play football and we were able to get him out and I'm very very excited about what he's going to do he's actually going to be one of our starters uh and I think it works out very well uh in addition I noticed on your on your cheat sheet right there uh Evan bird Evan is a special product to me and let me tell you why he is a true walk- on that is in our graduate school our graduate program he's not on scholarship he pays his own money to go to school cuz he wants to better himself create a career for himself but he happens to have a skill set of playing football and he's worked his way up from the bottom to now be a starter for us so uh really really really encouraged with Evan he actually believe it or not he had these braids all the way down to his shoulders and we were able to cut a deal with him when we talked about Hey listen in order to play for us you got to embrace the military side so we took time together and we talked about the military aspect and we set a policy in place back in the spring right where we wanted to to make sure he understood who we are what we are and how we work which would lead me into the next guy I see on your pad right Jalil lefit so uh when I coached at the Green Bay Packers I had the opportunity to work with a guy named Jason Simmons he is now the pass game coordinator for the Washington commanders he sends me a film on uh Jalil and he says hey you really need to take a look at this guy uh Jason played his college ball out in Arizona a a state and he was he he he's met a lot of people and someone sent him some film and he said I'm only sending sending it to one place so he sent it to to us and uh Jalil I'm so proud of him he already has a master's degree already has a master's degree so now he's working on a second Masters and uh we're very excited about who he is he's another one um that had dreadlocks all the way down to his butt but we were able to cut a deal early on in the process with him because we established our own policy about embracing the military understanding who we are realizing your Charleston South Carolina and he did a fabulous job he said you know what coach I believe in you I believe in the program I'll do it cut it off and I tell you what uh he uh has earned his way to be a starter none of these guys who have transferred in was given anything they had to earn it right and you know as much as things change and things evolve and we're in this modern time and all that two things that just don't go together typically are the are braids in the Citadel so that's just one of those things but great stuff coach obviously last thing for you here and I get together later in the week and visit prior to the game now but what are your thoughts on Southern generally you obviously know coach Gabe quite well what are your thoughts on their roster and what challenges will they represent yes uh coach Gabe is an outstanding coach he's going into his second season as the head coach at Charleston Southern but he's in his third stin much like myself I'm in my third stin at the Citadel now as a head coach when gab was at Albany State he went 37 and S uh his last two seasons since he was 17 and5 uh he won a conference Championship in 21 his defense led the country in 21 as well when he was the OC at Charleston Southern he won 36 games in four years uh made the playoffs in 15 made the playoffs in 16 they won the conference in 16 um let me tell you something this guy is a he's a he's a great coach but not only that he had the opportunity to sit at the the footsteps of Nick Savin he was a he was a graduate assistant at Alabama so let me tell you something we have our hands full when it comes to the jockeying of the ex's and O's and things of that nature well it's going to be interesting that's a 6:00 kickoff The Citadel at Charleston Southern that'll be at Buccaneer field so the the first Low Country Boil Bowl will be one on the road and obviously the last thing I got for you I just got a every game matters every game is the most important game but this one would be a huge lift just from the standpoint of get off to a great start and setting a nice tempo for a good year it would be um but we're not going to put all our eggs in this one game anytime you do that as a coach I believe that can let you down it can actually ruin your season early on I'm just thankful for the opportunity we're going to take the field to play with Charleston Southern very very thankful for Over the Horizon and what they're doing as you look we have a Mo's ginger ale yeah I was going to say we had to get that absolutely for for every Mo ginger ale you purchase here $1 goes directly back into our program and I can't say thank you enough to uh our guys who put that in play um I don't want to start naming names you might get in trouble but uh we're just very very thankful to those guys they are outstanding needless to say you're popular around here they've already named a beer after you well I tell you what I I they love their Alma Ma I love our Alma Ma and we just want to see us you know rise to the top where we know we can be coach appreciate it obviously have a good rest of the week we'll look forward to seeing you later in the week and let's put all put it all together and go get one Saturday absolutely I appreciate it we got a real treat coming up next yes sir yes sir all right we're talk volleyball next as Dave zeleno is going to come over the head volleyball coach at the Citadel he'll come over and hang out they had a great season last year too absolutely got a chance to watch him a lot prepping for basketball games too that's one of the beautiful things about you know being in the Fieldhouse when they're down there practice I get to see got to see a couple of games too we will come back with Coach zeleno on the other side of this break that is Mari straiton I'm Brian gfin and this is beyond the barracks we are live at Over the Horizon Brewing here near downtown Charleston 2200 Harriet Street back with more after this you're listening to the Citadel Bulldogs radio network [Music] oh [Music] a [Applause] [Music] a [Music] [Music] ah [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] a [Music] n [Music] [Music] a [Music] [Applause] [Music] we are live at Over the Horizon Brewing here near downtown Charleston at 2200 haran Street or Harriet Street I should say also want to point out again we talked about this a little bit earlier uh the Citadel Football Association sent me a note today they're doing a jam the Jeep back to school drive with their veteran Student Success Center and EB Ellington Elementary School for the first home football game people can bring donations to the ticket office at mallister Fieldhouse or at the game and it it will all be displayed in the Jeep which is pretty cool and a good cause our guest now is the volleyball coach at the Citadel Z Dave zil knock and so you're in your seventh year and now you're going to be around a wild to sign a new extension too congrats thank you appreciate that and obviously you guys come off of what was a a fantastic year last fall what are your thoughts when you look back at the season that you had uh you know it's never really our our goal to win a regular season I've always kind of sold it as we're trying to win the tournament because that's what gets us in the tournament so we never put a lot of emphasis on that day-to-day consistency of having to win every game that pressure and they kind of took that on their own like the team decided they wanted to do this so you know once it got to 10 11 12 and0 and I was like I should probably pay attention and address this but um you know it was definitely a thing you know we were we got a lot of opportunities out of that we got a lot of recruits out of that and it was it was a really good thing for our program and the school I think how do you build on such a good season and obviously rosters change you know every year every sport but how do you build build on such a really really good season here last year uh I think you know you up the level that you're playing in your pre-conference um you know we're playing a pretty tough pre-conference season and then uh you just try and be consistent and prove it's not a fluke you know that we're not just a flash in the pan program it's it's interesting the Synergy I think between programs that the C Maurice was just telling me a couple minutes ago that you know he he's got to he's got to be on his p's and q's because if it starts to rain and he needs that gym he's got to come talk to you and Ed yeah yeah you know we it's a shared facility so it's it's the only place the whole Corp can go to so there's a lot of times in our uh pre-conference that or I'm sorry preseason that we're over in D Hall because you know General wants to talk so that's fine what are some of your thoughts as you look back at such a good season and obviously again rosters turn over I think you told me during the break that that you moved on something like five players so in effect like every sport you're you're kind of retooling and and working with what you got now yeah I mean the good thing is is we we keep a lot so you know we were back allly who's player of the year on the outside Bell was Setter of the Year Jaylen was labero of the year so those players are all back um for another year with us so we we keep both outsides there our seter labero um you know where we needed to plug the holes were the middle and the right side and um we think we got some some pretty good kids in there I think it's an under talked about word sometimes but one of the key things I think in any sport and in terms of long-term or sustained success is culture you try to build a culture in your program even though the names and numbers change and the people change year in and year out the culture doesn't how would you define the culture that you've tried to build over the seven years and now of course for four more um so we talk about being player Le quite a bit you know it's I went to Central Michigan University that's my school I love my school and 30 years that's right uh you know my degree is always going to be from there but this is their school and they need to be proud of it so they need to make sure that they have a standard for the program that they're going to uphold cuz it means a lot more when it comes from the team than comes from a coach you know a ball Falls and I yell at everyone then I'm kind of the jerk but I didn't do anything I'm just holding you accountable so we make the players do it to to themselves and each other and you know it's a process getting there but luckily we're at the Citadel where they're kind of used to a 19y old leading an 18-year-old so it's it's gone okay there's always going to be some bumps that we got to adjust but they do a nice job with it and your schedule is coming not too in the not too distant future too what are your thoughts as you look at the schedule some of the things that stand out to you um you know there's no guaranteed wins on this schedule you know we're going to Alabama week one Nebraska week two uh Troy and Kennesaw Jackson but like there's just no one on there that I'm like all right that's one we can count on it's going to be no gim it's going to be rough where in years past we definitely scheduled you know some of those just to get our confidence up but I like to schedule as tough as morale can handle and this is a pretty veteran group that understands sometimes a loss is okay if it's against the right team you know until I got here last year obviously I was very familiar with the socon having been with well when I was at kenesa State we played a number of different socon but I didn't understand how tough the conference was in terms of a grind and I would assume it's exactly the same and Vol it was in basketball it was in baseball and it certainly is in football so I would assume volleyball's no different yeah we're um you know a lot of backto backs which is different than obviously basketball and football so we have a few this year where it's you know we'll play Thursday and Saturday most of the time we're playing at 7:00 at night and the next day at 400 p.m. yeah and that's really tough to turn around um you know after their bodies went through a five set match that takes two and a half hours and then you got to do it again under 24 hours so it's pretty rough recruiting an athlete to the Citadel is always a little bit different than it is most places because you add in the cadet and the military component in other words and Coach drton I think put it really well it takes a certain kind of kid to want to come and further the their athletic career at the Citadel MH yeah we I mean obviously we we all want the kids who touch 10 feet and can hit the ball 7 M an hour but we really focus on the kid and if they're going to be successful at the Citadel in all of that you know are they going to be okay with 5 hours of sleep and you know when the freshman year being a really rough experience sometimes so we focus on making sure that we get the right kids so I don't have to re-recruit in a year um we don't really lose a lot of kids um and that they're going to grow as they are here it's not a a kid who we don't get a lot of freshmen who just pop off their first year and Our Stars I mean we've had that but most of the time our kids have to grow up in the program a little bit do you have a couple of players or a couple of names have come to mind that you really expect to take pretty good size jumps forward this year um you know with that hole in the middle uh s Barns and Perry really have to fill in for that um we've got to kind of figure out who's going to lead the charge there because we're replacing You Know M cardinas who's playing professional right now and you know it's it's a big shoes to fill so we're we're hoping one of our kids but we also brought in a transfer so between them someone will take care of it well consider the volleyball is coming up before you know it also as we we sit here you know talking about football for this Saturday but fall Sports about to crank up fully and uh the school year is about to get going yeah I mean they're already in school I'm already here and this professor wants me to do this and that we've got to we've got to shift some things around to make sure kids are being successful but yeah it's going to be uh an interesting time for our SIDS and our Administration and everyone because it's a lot right now yeah no doubt and the rubber has kind of officially met the road now for the 2024 2025 School Year Dave I really appreciate you coming over as Dave Zelo the volleyball coach here at the S anything else you want us to know before we jump out here uh I think you know people should probably come out and see your games like they don't charge which is great um and most of the time when people come out and they watch the style that we play it's pretty fast and aggressive and entertaining and win or lose we do tend to put on a pretty good show and people want to come back and I can speak to that from numerous times setting up equipment to broadcast a basketball game at night watching in the afternoon be it practice or games and uh very very athletic great sport but we really appreciate you coming over and hang out with us and obviously have a great season we'll look forward to having you back too this is a coach's show so we get to bring you back right yeah maybe maybe we'll win another championship and we'll get a beer the volleyball beer up there yeah yeah we don't we don't have a we don't have one named for you yet but we'll work we'll work on that all right that is Dave Zelo the volleyball coach here at the Citadel as we wind up and wrap up beyond the barracks the very first one we are live at Over the Horizon brewing and I want to say thanks to all you guys who have come out here you guys have been fantastic it's great to have have you here and we look forward to doing this every week also one more reminder to lock in the game this Saturday the Bulldogs take on Charleston Southern up at Buccaneer field is the first in the Low Country Boil Bowl rivalry and that big old trophy right there we got to do everything in our power to try to keep that in this end of town but that'll about do it for us I want to say thanks to Anderson drer who ran us on the studio end want to say thanks to all the Citadel folks who came out and assisted us to get all this going thanks to coach Drayton of course thanks to coach Varga and also to you Dave Zelo for hanging out with us that'll do it and we will talk to you Saturday everybody when the Bulldogs take on Charleston Southern so long [Music] [Music]