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Doug Smock: Pair of Marshall football assistants recall memories from playing days

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By Doug Smock

HUNTINGTON - A couple of old Virginia Tech defensive linemen are side-by-side again, even in their original positions.

The only thing missing, a Hokie fan might say, is their maroon and orange jerseys - Cornell Brown No. 58, J.C. Price No. 59. And Price's hairstyle in those lovable '90s.

They're wearing the kelly green of Marshall these days, Price in his sixth year of coaching the defensive tackles and Brown in his first go-around tutoring the defensive ends. Again, the positions they played in Blacksburg.

Oh, do they have stories on their relationship, and on their success. Brown, the chatty one, remembers the first time he went to a position meeting as a freshman and laid eyes on Price.

He still can't stop laughing about it.

"When I first got to school with J.C., you know, rolling into the D-line room, I see this guy and I'm looking at him, like, there's not many guys who can pull off a mullet haircut and have a mullet with a ponytail," Brown said, failing miserably at restraining his laughter.

Mind you, he wasn't about to mess with Price, then a third-year sophomore. Price still looks line a D-tackle today, and nobody short of Frank Beamer was going to openly critique that 'do back then.

"That's a bad guy right there. That's a bad guy," Brown said. "With a mullet, are you kidding me? It was in a ponytail, like, are you kidding me? And in the '90s. He was a true trend-setter."

Price, who delivers his humor in a drier, deadpan style, said most of his stories on Brown aren't fit for print. But here's a PG-rated tale:

"We're playing Rutgers in 1995, and it's a torrential, torrential downpour," Price said. "I'm talking about ankle-high water, standing water all over the field. And back then, we used to do a thing called 'huddle,' right?"

Yes, they used to huddle in college football. Kind of like the rotary dial telephone, eh?

"And me and 'Nell were in the huddle, and he looks at me and say, 'J.C., I've got to pee.' I said, 'Cornell, look around. No one's going to know.' He said, 'Ah, that's right. That's good.' So he peed on himself."

They played three seasons together, and they helped establish that feisty defense under defensive coordinator Bud Foster.

It seems far-fetched now, but the Hokies were 24-40-2 in the first six seasons under Beamer. But in the three seasons Brown and Price played together (1993-95), the Hokies were 27-9, capped by a 28-10 win over Texas in the Sugar Bowl.

Brown was the headline player of the two and had a seven-year career in the NFL, but Price had four sacks in a 13-7 win over Miami. That was the VT's first win over the Hurricanes.

They now work for a former West Virginia player and coach in Doc Holliday, so there is ribbing from both sides. The Brown-Price duo was 2-1 against the Mountaineers, with the loss in 1993. Both fondly remember the 1995 game, a 27-0 skunking in Morgantown.

As Brown remembers it, their defensive line coach claimed WVU's offensive linemen and coaches were saying the Hokies' line was soft, the softest the Mountaineers would face. (Remember, Rutgers, 1-10 Temple and 2-9 Pittsburgh were common opponents.)

"We were lining up and they come out of the huddle and everybody says, 'Remember this: We are a soft defensive line. You guys remember," Brown said. "By the time we get to the second quarter it was, like, 21-0 and we were like, 'This is a video game. Get them off the sticks and we're going to wear them out all day!'

"We had one of the best defensive lines we had at the time. J.C., his senior year, my junior year, we were a formidable group. Weren't big [but] tough as hell."

That's what Brown and Price are shooting for with the Herd line. That unit fared no better than any other in last year's 3-9 season - the Herd defense gave up 35.2 points, 202.3 rushing yards and 456.0 total per game.

Returning tackles include Nyquan Harris and Jason Smith, but that group must get deeper. Ryan Bee was the stat leader among the ends (54 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 4.5 sacks), Blake Keller, Ty Tyler and Damien Dozier also are back, and Davon Durant has moved from linebacker.

If those ends become as active as Brown, that will be a good sign. If the line builds the same rapport as Brown and Price, that will be a better sign.

"There's so much chemistry there, so much excitement for us," Price said. "He's like the Energizer bunny, he's always that way, always was when we played. Just excited to have such a chemistry and a trust. To have him beside me is a blessing."

Contact Doug Smock at 304-348-5130 or dougsmock@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @dougsmock and read his blog at http://blogs.wvgazettemail.com/dougsmock/.


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