Last week's death of Sonny Randle brought back many stories and memories of the former Marshall head football coach. To say he was a colorful character is an understatement. The former NFL wide receiver, Herd coach and media personality captured the attention of every room he entered.
A Virginia native and a former University of Virginia star, Sonny quickly felt at home in our state. One of his biggest impacts at Marshall is that he believed in West Virginia kids, recruited them and played them, much the same way that Danny D'Antoni is doing now with the Thundering Herd basketball team.
Here are some overlooked in-state players that ended up being recruited by Randle and were good players at Marshall:
n Danny Abercrombie: Randle liked nicknames and nicknamed Abercrombie "Apple Butter." He was plucked out of Big Creek High School in McDowell County and was a valuable receiver and return man.
n Tony Bolland: Former DuPont coach Corky Griffith says he begged Don Nehlen to take the lineman at WVU, but he did not have to beg Randle. Bolland left Rand, ended up at Marshall and helped anchor the defensive line for four years.
n Mike Copenhaver: A great running back/defensive back at Brooke High School, he was one of several players from the northern panhandle that Randle recruited to Marshall.
n Terry Echols: Mullens was a basketball town, but Echols was a football and basketball star for the Rebels. He became a valuable linebacker with great speed for Randle.
n Carl Fodor: A star from Weirton, Fodor started a run of great quarterbacks at Marshall. Historically, this was an important recruit for Marshall. He developed under Stan Parrish and gained national recognition by putting up outstanding passing numbers, but he was recruited by Randle.
n Alan Huff: A massive lineman from Oak Glen, Huff was considered a steal for Marshall. In the past, players from the northern panhandle did not consider Marshall, but Randle changed all of that.
n Billy Hynus: Hynus was a dominant wide receiver and defensive back at Huntington East. Many thought he would leave the city, but he stayed in town and was a valuable player for the Herd.
n Tony Lellie: Another product out of Brooke, Lellie wound up as a hard-hitting linebacker for Marshall.
n Carl Lee: A great success story, the South Charleston star was offered walk-on opportunities at WVU and Virginia Tech, but only Randle offered a scholarship. Lee took it, became a great player at Marshall and also in the NFL. He has been voted one of the 50 Greatest Players in Minnesota Vikings history.
n Brian Swisher: Randle always had a soft spot for the underdogs and for small players who could run. Swisher, a 5-foot-6 speedster from Sistersville, was one of his favorites. Many recruiters stayed away because of his size, but Randle loved him.
n James Wynes: Randle went into the southern part of the state to get Wynes out of the Hinton area. Blessed with many physical tools, he became a favorite of then-assistant coach Jim Grobe.
nnn
I was the radio play-by-play broadcaster at Marshall during Randle's time as head coach. I remember he also tried to recruit Pineville star Curt Warner to Huntington.
Even though he was told that Warner was of too high a caliber of recruit for Marshall, Randle took his best shot. When Warner committed to Joe Paterno and Penn State, Randle said, "Ah, he probably won't play there and we might get him on the rebound."
Well, in Warner's first game as a freshman in 1979, he burst onto the national scene and led the Nittany Lions to a 45-10 win over Rutgers. The following Monday, Randle popped his head into my office and said, "Well, so much for getting Warner on the rebound."
nnn
Randle had another impact on college football in our state. He helped accelerate the coaching careers of three of his assistants, Beckley native Bob Pruett, Huntington native Grobe and New Martinsville native Bill Stewart. You know their stories - Pruett became head coach at Marshall, Grobe became head coach at Ohio and Wake Forest and Stewart became head coach at WVU.
nnn
Finally, a humorous Randle note.
After a home football game, Randle was with former MU media relations director Mac Yates when Yates reminded him that he had one more media interview to do. The interview was with a rather eccentric reporter, and Sonny immediately blurted out, "I'll tell you what, when Nabisco comes around looking for ingredients for their fruitcakes, somebody better have that boy locked up and hidden somewhere."
A classic Sonny comment. One of a kind.
Reach Frank Giardina at flg16@hotmail.com.