I consider Chad a personal friend, and am thrilled he took the time to answer these silly questions. Currently, Chad is sleep-deprived, as Question #4 will explain. And, his answer to question #11 is classic.
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How did you end up at WVU?
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My step-brother, Travis Jackson, had already signed in the early signing period to Va Tech in November ’91. My stepdad was my coach, when one of Tech’s bball assistants came over to see Travis, he gave him a film to give to Tech’s staff. They started recruiting me and actually offered me first. I also had a first year assistant coach in high school, former WVU DB Steve Newberry (who still holds the interception record). He started calling Steve Dunlap to come down and see me...then the rest is history.
I also felt obligated to coach Nehlen. He came to watch me play bball in December of my senior year. The whole town came out to watch. We were good and there is nothing to do in a small town on Friday nights. I was in the dressing room and I was waiting for the JV game to end. It went into TRIPLE OT!! If he waited that long, then he must have really wanted me to go here.
One other thing, my mom was Newberry’s senior high school English teacher. She signed his yearbook telling him that she wished that I would grow up to be like him! I was 6 at the time.
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| 2. |
We all have our stories from WVU that we still tell 100 times a year... the ones our wives get sick of hearing.
Give us one of yours.
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In 1994, we were down to Pitt by 3 with about 20 seconds left in the game when I saw Zach Abraham down the sideline…
Editor's note: Yeah... this one is a lot better than ours.
See question #9 for more details.
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| 3. |
The funniest thing to happen on a road trip was ...
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The year before I came to WVU, they traveled to Syracuse. Nehlen had a dress code. Todd Sauerbrun forgot his tie and jacket. Nehlen told Todd he couldn’t eat with the team. Todd stuck out his hand and said, “OK, give me some money and I’ll go across the road to Burger King.” Nehlen pulls out his pockets and says in his famous voice, “Todd, I ain’t got no dang-gone money.” After the game, Todd decides not to come back with the team and is AWOL for 1-2 weeks.
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| 4. |
What are you up to nowadays? |
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Me and my family (wife Stephane, Isaac 8 yrs, Grant 5 yrs and Sophia 13 months) just moved back to Mo’town. I am a resident at Ruby. I will start my dermatology fellowship in July. So hopefully, I will finally be done with my education by June of 2009!
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| 5. |
Tell us a joke.
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| 3 guys are fishing in southern WV. While on their boat, they see a man walking on water coming toward them. Sure enough, it is Jesus Christ. Jesus instructs the men to tell him their problems and he will heal them. One man says, “I have heart problems and I may need a transplant soon.” Jesus touches him and tells him he is healed. The next man says, “I have diabetes and my kidneys are failing, I may need dialysis soon.” Jesus touches him and he is healed. The last man says, “Stay away from me, I’m on disability and I don’t want to lose my check!”
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| 6. |
Tom Brady does a credit card commercial with his offensive lineman representing his "5 layers of protection".
Reflecting on your reign here, Who would your 5 be?
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#1 Tom Robsock, #2 Joe DeLong, #3 Randy Dunnigan/Buddy Hager, #4 Eric DeGroh and #5 Brian Pukenas
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| 7. |
How did you meet your wife, Stephane? |
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I have known her most of my life. She is from my hometown (Peterstown, WV). We started dating the summer before my 3rd year in Mo’town.
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| 8. |
You were once in the Carolina Panthers camp. Did you have any run-ins with any violent, promiscuous Panther cheerleaders?
For those unfamiliar with Panther cheerleaders:
Here you go.
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Not fortunate enough to see that, but I was there when Kerry Collins had his problems. When he had his jaw broken by Bill Romanowski, it was the beginning of the end for me there. I became number 2 behind Buerlein. They let me go and brought in Shane Matthews.
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| 9. |
The story is... after you threw a 60+ yard bomb for a TD to Zach Abraham in the final seconds to beat Pitt 47-41 in the 1994 Backyard Brawl... the team bus forgot you, Zach, and Rahsaan Vanterpool. Is this true? What the heck? How?!
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Nehlen hated staying late after games for interviews. And after that game, there were a ton of them. He was kind of in a foul mood after blowing that huge lead anyway. The 3 of us come out of stadium and the damn buses are gone! I rode back with my mom and stepdad, they had to drive thru mo’town on their way back to southern WV.
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| 10. |
Ask yourself a question, and then answer it. |
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Do you have any regrets about your time at WVU and/or athletic career?
I wish I would have gone out for baseball at WVU. It was by far, my favorite sport. I thought it was my best. I don’t know if I could have played here, but I wish I would have given it a shot.
The biggest regret I ever had in sports was losing to Herndon in the state basketball tourney my senior year. We had 3 D-1A athletes on that team and beat the AA champs and played with AAA champion and 10th nationally ranked Woodrow Wilson 2 weeks after playing in the football championship. Herndon upset us in the semifinal game. They showed up and played hard, we just didn’t get it done. It literally makes me sick to my stomach. I can’t hardly walk into the Charleston Civic Center now.
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| 11. |
Marc Bulger was your successor. Do you have any hot sisters too? |
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I have an older sister, Christie, who lives in Peterstown. She is an attractive woman, and a hell of a lot smarter than me. But for me to call her “hot” would make people wonder about me. I am from southern WV you know!
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| 12. |
What people don't know about me is that I'm really good at... |
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Changing diapers! I do have 3 kids!! I’m a full-service, hands-on dad.
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| 13. |
Dandy Don Nehlen had an endearing way of wording things. What's the funniest (perhaps even corniest) thing you ever heard him say? |
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“Football is the greatest game in the world. It’s the greatest game because it’s the only game that the braud’s don’t play!”
He also tells the story on Steve Newberry about the Oklahoma game. They kept telling all the defensive backs that with the speed of the OU running backs, they had to change their pursuit angles to catch them. Sure enough, early in the 1st quarter, Billy Dupree (I think), broke out on a long TD run. Nehlen fusses at Newberry about his pursuit angle.
The OU field had a big crown on it. Nehlen told me that Steve came back with, “Coach, by the time I got to the top of that big hill, he was already in the endzone!”
Got ya Newbs!!
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| 14. |
Do you remember that blizzard of January 1994? There are three things I vividly remember from that week.
The girls down the street from us had a keg on their porch. Suddenly, it was empty, and they didn't know why.
My roommates and I bobsledded down our street in those blue recycling bins for a whole week.
$5.99 cases of Schlitz Ice. Mmmm.
What do you remember about that week?
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The only thing I can remember is that at 4pm everyday, there was a university phone # we could call to find out if classes were cancelled. We then would walk to 7-11 by towers to by beer, I don’t remember much after that!
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| 15. |
Do you still keep in touch with any ex-teammates? |
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Randy Dunnigan and I lived about 30 minutes from each other back home. We would go out to dinner sometimes (in Blacksburg!!). Joe DeLong and Buddy Hager and I have vowed to do better the last couple of years, but we all seem to be too busy. I hope being back in Touchdown City will make me do a better job of that
Thanks and what a great time to a Mountaineer fan!!! Congrats to Rrod and his players and Coach B and those guys. Even the baseball team is on a run now.
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