By DOUG IRELAND, Journal Sports
In an energetic 37 minutes Wednesday, Blaine McCorkle took firm control of a wobbly Northwestern State football program and outlined the core philosophies he’ll employ hoping to duplicate the turnaround he achieved at Division III Belhaven.
With 24 wins in his last three seasons after taking over a struggling program in Jackson, Miss., the 26-year coaching veteran knows what he likes. And with a degree from LSU, after four years (1995-99) as a deep snapper for the Tigers, he loves the idea of etouffee, gumbo and recruiting in the Bayou State.
“The heart and soul of our program will be right here in Louisiana, no doubt about it,” said the 47-year-old McCorkle, introduced to media and supporters Wednesday afternoon in the Steve and Lori Stroud Room that’s a short field goal from Turpin Stadium. He has signed a four-year contract at $252,000 per year, sources said, with that salary approximately $100,000 more than previous coach Brad Laird.
“We’re going to be all over this state. We’re going to be from Shreveport to Ruston to Monroe to Many, to West Ouachita I passed coming in (from Jackson), south Louisiana from Lake Charles, to Crowley, to Opelousas, Lafayette, South Lafourche, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, you name it, we’re going to be there,” he said. “For 30-40 years, the state of Louisiana has more NFL players per capita than any state in the country. Lotta good football right here, and we’re gonna cover it, get out and get to know people.”
While NCAA rules kept him from being specific, he noted that at Belhaven this fall, the Blazers have recruited a player from Natchitoches Central.
Although NSU has won just seven games in three seasons since the COVID pandemic, McCorkle doesn’t plan to load up on transfers while bolstering a roster that may be just half-full. Roughly five dozen players, he said, attended a Tuesday “meet the coach” session, and while some others may have been in class, there are plenty of gaps to fill to round out a 115-man roster.
“I do want to utilize the portal, but here, right now, we need to be very, very careful and very, very smart not to just bring anybody. My first thought is initially I want to go (with) older kids. I don’t want younger kids out of the portal,” he said. “I want guys who are graduate guys that can help us on the field, yes, but help us establish culture to a certain degree as well.”
McCorkle said he has “3-4” new staff who will be on campus Monday, and he may keep “1-2” of the current coaches when he completes his staff in the next 10 days. The Dec. 20 early signing date creates urgency to get those coaches on the road recruiting.
McCorkle, whose cousin Sammy is the head coach at Dartmouth in the Ivy League, won’t fit his offensive schemes to the personnel. The Demons will run what his Blazers have used – a three-down defensive front with lots of man coverage on the back end, and an NFL-style offense.
“I’ve been an offensive line coach, so defensively I want to do what I can’t block. People think you can’t stop the run with a three-down front, you’re crazy. Our defense this year at Belhaven this year had four games with under 20 yards rushing allowed. If you do it right, if you teach it right, it is fast and it is physical, and I think there is a lot of value in it,” he said. “It gives people headaches.”
Offensively, McCorkle will not call plays as he did in his successful final three seasons at Belhaven and he will emphasize fundamentals.
“I’m a pure football coach. I think one of the biggest mistakes in all of football is so many everybody’s way out here, (trying to) be the next guru. Day one teaching, I’m going to have a tight end and a fullback. We’re going to play football, and we’re going to hit you in the face,” he said. “If you start there in 21 personnel, it’s real easy to grow your offense, expand, and do anything you want to do. We’re going to put our hand in the ground, learn how to block, how to take a handoff, how to fit people up, we’re going to block on the perimeter, and that will take us any direction we want to go.”
The Demons will be about 50-50 huddle and tempo, he said, and probably 50-50 with the quarterback in the shotgun and under center.
“As a whole, what you see on Sunday (in the NFL) is what we are, but we do like to have our quarterback run around a little more than those guys do. The purest football is on Sunday afternoon. Those are the best coaches, the best athletes in the world, but for some reason at the college and high school levels, we try to outcoach those guys. What are we thinking?”
The son of a longtime offensive line coach (father Sam worked at Ole Miss, Kentucky, Vanderbilt, and several FCS and Division II programs, and in high school, and was head coach at West Alabama), McCorkle said he’s not the best coach in his household. His wife Gina, an All-American field hockey player at Ball State, won seven Atlantic Conference championships in 11 years at Richmond, where they met.
The oldest of his four children, daughter Gracie, was in the front row Wednesday. She just graduated from Louisiana Tech, where she’s worked with the Bulldogs’ fundraising team. His only son is 14-year-old Sammy, a rugged footballer who was playing in his first basketball game Wednesday night.
“I hope he fouls out,” cracked his dad.
Contact Doug at sbjdoug@gmail.com
