Nutter impacted players' lives

Former Hopewell-Loudon football coach Jeremy Nutter was let go from his position. It announced after a a board meeting Wednesday. Was it the right call? Only time will tell. I have had the experience of playing for Nutter at Van Buren from 2005-09. Then I covered him at H-L while working in Fostoria for four years and then again this past year with the Advertiser-Tribune. Two different experiences, but the same man always shined through. Nutter has always had the passion for football and it is clear from his pregame speeches to his never-ending coaching on and off the field. But the one thing Van Buren and H-L had while Nutter was the coach was stability. You knew what you were going to get with Nutter. From joking around with the players in the locker room to throwing footballs at us during pregame stretches, his interesting, but motivating pregame speeches, it is certain he is the definition of a player’s coach. His door was always open even after a tough loss. Nutter’s practices were always planned out and each drill was executed down to the minute. It was structured, so were his teams and so were his interviews. Nutter had a calm about him at all times during crucial moments in games, even when his insides had to be twisted in knots. He never wanted to show his players what he really was thinking, to keep them calm and focused. His interviews were always to the point, but always gave us something extra and something from the heart that made reporters know what his team was feeling after a win or loss. He hasn’t always had success, but what coach has always had a winning season? Very few. At Van Buren he had two 5-5 seasons, which at VB was a positive direction because until the 2014 season, the Black Knights had never been in the playoffs. My senior year would have been different had the quarterback not had a knee injury and been out for part of the season. We went 5-5, but could have easily went 7-3 or 8-2 at the most, especially with a guy named Aaron Craft quarterbacking Liberty-Benton at the time. A similar situation happened this past season with the Chieftains, as they were on the right track to get a playoff berth, but Austin Tooker, who was having a phenomenal season, got injured against McComb. The team simply was not the same without him. H-L has moved into the Blanchard Valley Conference with tough competition, including perennial powers McComb, Liberty-Benton and Arlington, just to name a few. This past season, H-L went 6-4 with a win over L-B. The four losses were to Arlington by a point, McComb, Leipsic and Van Buren. All four were playoff teams. Nutter went 34-27 in six seasons with H-L, including a playoff appearance in 2011 when the team went 10-1. Last season, Nutter also lost his defensive coordinator , who had been with him since his time at Van Buren, so the continuity of the coaching staff wasn’t quite there. But more importantly than wins and losses is the man Nutter is. Being 5-foot-7 and 175-pounds doesn’t usually translate to that player being considered a lineman. That was me in high school. I had the technique and skill to play guard and defensive tackle in high school, but my measureables didn’t add up. Nutter played me at defensive tackle my junior year, but only for a few games because I was getting pushed off the ball and creating gaping holes for opposing running backs. I was 16 years old at the time, so I was upset I wasn’t getting playing time. I didn’t understand why coach Nutter was doing this to me. My dad, like any parent would, set up a meeting with Nutter to discuss what the issue was. He got a straight answer from him. He was upset, and I was too about it, but looking back on the decision, it made me work harder in the offseason and want it more. I came into my senior season still the same height and weight, but stronger and more determined to own the line of scrimmage. Yes, I did still get blown back a few times by some mammoths from L-B and McComb, but I kept at it and without Nutter’s constant coaching and encouragement, I would have never turned out to be honorable mention All-BVC that season. It’s easy to say I wouldn’t be where I am today without my parents, but really another important person was coach Nutter. He is responsible for me always working hard and doing things to the best of my ability. When I wasn’t playing for him, I interviewed him to the best of my ability. I never wanted to let him down. For me, football helped me grow up. Helped me mature and Nutter was a big part of that. I’m sure his players at H-L agree. Every time I saw Nutter, he asked me how I was doing. How college was going, how things were going with my job. It’s just who Nutter is. He cares about his players, past or present, and that’s not going to change. He creates this sense of comfort with his coaching style and program he runs. Coach Nutter has impacted my life, and talking with teammates of mine, he has impacted theirs too. Whatever Nutter decides to do moving forward, I’m sure there are some kids or a football team in need of direction and some stability that he can surely offer. Matt Nye is the assistant sports editor for The Advertiser-Tribune. Contact him at: mnye@advertiser-tribune.com or on Twitter @NyeMatt