By Harry Minium
Old Dominion's football team is "crushing it," and "scooping up all of the talent in the state."
Although I'd love to take credit for saying so, those aren't my words. Those were among the opinions expressed to Andy Bitter by high school coaches in a story he wrote about in-state recruiting by Virginia schools for The Athletic. Bitter covers Virginia Tech for the web site, which,by the way, is an absolute must-read if you're a college football fan.
Bitter interviewed seven high school coaches from around the state and their take on head coach Ricky Rahne and his staff was pretty unanimous – ODU has made great strides.
I'll let some of them speak for themselves:
* "I'll tell you what, (Rahne is) hitting it hard. Comes from the Power 5, he gets it. I mean, I have so much respect for him. He gives a weekly, sometimes bi-weekly, no less than a month phone call to the head coaches. I'll get a phone call from him just for updates. And he's offered maybe three of my guys since he's been there. And two of these kids are Power 5 kids, and they can play Power 5 ball. And because of this coach and the type of touch that he's putting on the program, and the genuine approach that he's displaying, my guys are genuinely interested.
* "ODU, I love the head coach (Ricky Rahne). Once a month calls high school coaches. The head coach, it seems like he almost leads the recruiting. He's very involved in his program. And he's very impressive so far."
* "Coach Rahne has done a great job here. He's scooping up all the talent around here. I think he's going to surprise a lot of people. I hear from them the most."
* "I think ODU is crushing it in the state of Virginia. I think they have made the state of Virginia a priority. And I think they've done a heck of a job since the new staff got there. They have made the state of Virginia a priority. I think they see where it's not a priority for the other two big schools, so they're like, 'Hey, let's jump in.'"
Rahne expressed admiration for both Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall and Virginia Tech coach Justin Fuente, who drew some criticism from some of the high school coaches.
"I've been at big schools. I've been at Kansas State, I've been at Penn State, those big state schools," Rahne said. "The big state school never recruits the state well enough. In the history of football. I don't care where you are, no one has ever been satisfied with how many players the big state school takes from their state.
"I have a lot of respect for both coaches and how they go about their business.
"We're going to continue to recruit this state and we're going to continue to get great players from this state and they're going to be a core part of our team. A big part of that is making sure that we get accurate information from high school coaches and that's relationships.
"I want to be in the community as much as possible. I don't mean just the Hampton Roads and the 757, I want to be up in Richmond. We need to continue to do a better job in Northern Virginia. There are some great football players up there and that has been proven out in Western Virginia. They're a little bit more scattered but they're out there. We have some on our team and we need to make sure that we continue to find those guys."
As for ODU's recruiting success, Rahne said: "Obviously, I appreciate everything that was said about our program. I think it's more of a reflection on our assistant coaches and the job their doing than what I'm doing."
It Was a Very Long Road Trip to UTEP
I love El Paso, Texas. It's a proud, blue-collar city with an amazing mix of Hispanic and Texas culture and some of the friendliest people I've ever met.And the Mexican food there is to die for.
But El Paso is a long way from Norfolk, more than 2,000 miles away. That's more than two-thirds of the way across the United States. It's the longest trip in the contiguous 48 states for a member of any Division I conference.
So, whenever an ODU teams heads to play UTEP, it's a long, tiring adventure. And last weekend, when ODU's football team lost at UTEP, 28-21, it was especially so.
UTEP set the game for 7 p.m. Mountain Time, or 9 p.m. Eastern time. After the game, the team bused to the airport, and after going through security, was on the plane around 1:30 a.m. or so Eastern time.
Ali Jennings III with a TD catch at UTEP
But then came a nearly three-hour wait while ground crews fixed mechanical issues. The team arrived back on ODU's campus around 9 a.m.
Rahne drew laughs at his weekly press conference when he said, "I personally want them to solve all mechanical issues before we take off."
It was the first time flying for a handful of players and support staff but everyone seemed to take the delay calmly, even after it was announced it was being delayed because of mechanical issues. Most players went to sleep, including a few who were stretched out on the floor.
"I didn't hear anybody panicking. I'm not all the way back there with the guys, but there was nobody clutching their rosery or anything while they were on the plane," Rahne said.
Wide receiver Ali Jennings III said he passed the time by watching Squib Game, a Korean series on Netflix. "But the season ended before the plane took off," Jennings said. "I ended up stretched out on the floor."
Rahne said a worse situation he's experienced on a plane flight occurred when he coached at Penn State and the Nittany Lions were flying home. Shortly after takeoff, alarm bells went off and the plane had to turn around and make an emergency landing.
"You want to have some 18-to-20 year old kids freaked out? That will do it."
It's doubtful the Monarchs will return to UTEP any time soon. ODU plays two West Division schools a year and this was the third visit to UTEP since 2014. ODU has never been to Louisiana Tech and visited North Texas, UTSA, UAB and Southern Miss once apiece.
My guess is that the Monarchs head to LA Tech for the first time next season and the Cajun food in Northern Louisiana is pretty good.
Marshall, ODU Both Need a Victory
ODU visits Marshall Saturday at 2 p.m. in a game matching teams whose collective records may not reflect how well they have played.
Marshall (2-3) was outscored 21-0 in the fourth quarter in a 42-38 loss to East Carolina, appeared to have outplayed Appalachian State but lost, 31-30, because the Mountaineers made big plays when they had to, and then had six turnovers in a 34-28 loss at Middle Tennessee.
ODU (1-4) outscored Buffalo 27-0 in the second half of a 35-34 defeat and could not hold on to a 21-20 lead in the fourth quarter at UTEP.
Marshall's offense will be a big challenge for the ODU defense. The Thundering Herd averages 540.6 yards per game, which is fourth nationally, with 370 yards coming from their passing game.
ODU's defense is also pretty stout. the Monarchs rank 39th nationally, allowing 319.6 yards per game.
Rahne agreed with a reporter who suggested that Marshall is better than its record.
"They've a good football team," he said. "They've had a tough time in some close games, but they also played very well against a Navy team that everybody in the country has a lot of respect for.
"This is going to be a great test for us. I'd like to think our record doesn't indicate who we are. It's probably one of those things where we both wish our records were a little bit different. A play here and a play there and it probably is.
"But the fact of the matter is that is what our record is. That's why football is such a great game because it does take all 60 minutes and I think both these teams . . . are looking to put together a 60-minute game."
ODU, Marshall Head Coaches are Close Friends
Rahne and Marshall head coach Charles Huff, a Hampton University graduate, both coached at Vanderbilt and Penn State together and are close friends.
Huff is in his first year at Marshall while Rahne is coaching his first season for ODU – the Monarchs did not play last season.
"He's probably one of my best friends because we don't need to talk a whole lot for us to be friends," Rahne said. "He's a person who we might not talk for a couple of weeks or even and then and then we talk and it's like we haven't missed a beat.
"He's a terrific recruiter and I learned a lot from him on that standpoint. In terms of our friendship, I always knew that he was somebody I could talk to. He would be able to tell me when I was being an idiot, which is a good quality for a friend to have."
Minium was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in his 39 years at The Virginian-Pilot and won 27 state and national writing awards. He covers ODU athletics for odusports.com Follow him on Twitter @Harry_MiniumODU, Instagram @hbminium1 or email hminium@odu.edu
Minium: Virginia High School Football Coaches Rave About Ricky Rahne, ODU Staff to The Athletic
