ODUSports.com is working on a variety of ways to continue to give Monarch Nation informative and creative content throughout this pandemic. The latest is a series of Q&A's with the football coaching staff. Today's Q&A is with wide receivers coach, Mark Dupuis.
Q: How's it going with your players, as you coach them through zoom and phone calls?
MD: The guys have been great. The most impressive thing to me is the way the players have taken and adapted to it. It's been impressive to see their growth and knowledge of things even though it's been all virtual so far.
Q: You've had some former players that you have coached, and former ODU wide receivers in your zoom team meetings. What's it like to have that involvement?
MD: It's been awesome. We had DaeSean Hamilton (Broncos) who I worked with at Penn State and also had Zach Pascal, who is an ODU alum. I think both of those guys spending time with our receivers is an incredibly valuable experience. I remember Zach telling a story of a catch he had against Charlotte that was a break-through moment for him for his confidence, and I think that resonated with our guys.
Q: What are some of the things you've tried to impress upon the receivers?
MD: We've dived into the playbook a little bit. But we're really focusing on technique. I want guys to feel confident knowing which moves to use and practice that move to execute at the highest stakes. I want our guys to be technical and fundamentally sound, and to have a plan in their mind.
Q: Why did you get into coaching?
MD: I grew up loving football but I never got recruited to play major college football. I think most coaches get into coaching when they realize their playing career is coming to an end, for me that happened early. I got a job working as a student as an equipment manager at UConn. I fell in love there, getting a chance to see that team go to bowl games. For me it was my freshman year of college when I knew I wanted to do this.
Q: What was your time at UConn like?
MD: We had gone to one bowl game before I got there in 2007, and we went to a bowl game all four years I was there capped off with the Fiesta Bowl. It was eye opening for me to see the team's culture. The most important part for me was the amount of coaches I met. I met Joe Moorhead and he ended up hiring me at the first three jobs I had.
Q: You were at Fordham for four years. Talk about your time there.
MD: My time at Fordham was one of my biggest times to learn and for growth. I got there in August after training camp had started. Joe Moorhead, the head coach, ran the meetings and, when I tell you that was the biggest learning experience of my career I'm probably underselling it. That year we had three receivers go for 1,000 yards and three All-Americans. I got a chance to sit back and as Coach Moorhead began to trust me more, he gave me the room and that's where I developed my philosophy during that time.
Q: What went through your mind when you took the role at Penn State as a graduate assistant, leaving your full-time role at Fordham?
MD: For me it was a no-brainer. The opportunity to be involved in football at that level. Teeing it up under the lights on a Saturday night against Michigan with 100,000 fans. There's nothing that can rival that. I think all the guys on our staff was instrumental in our growth as coaches. I went from the guy in the room who lacked a little bit of experience, to the No. 2 guy at Penn State and I was blessed to learn from three great wide receiver coaches.
Q: What are some of the biggest things you learned in your time at Penn State?
MD: To see how a big organization like that operates and to see the recruiting, game planning, all of it was a tremendous learning experience. I was learning from great wide receiver coaches, tools for how guys can get open that are probably not being taught at every level of college football. To take things that I had from Fordham, and then to pick the brains of three elite wide receiver coaches, there's nothing that can match that experience.
Q: You were Coach Rahne's first official hire on the staff. What made you decide to join his staff and make that decision so quickly?
MD: He gave me my big break. This is my first chance to be an FBS position coach. My belief in in coach Rahne. I've worked with him side-by-side the last three years; I know how intelligent and how hard working he is. As soon as he told me he got the job, I knew that we're going to be successful here. It was a no-brainer for me.
Q: What is your recruiting Philosophy?
MD: The most important thing about recruiting to me is the relationship we get a chance to build with these kids. At ODU we can sell the total package. It's not just academics or athletics, it's both. We want guys who are not going to settle, we want guys to take advantage of the resources we have and our going to thrive.
From the Sidelines: Mark Dupuis Q&A
