Smithley takes over as interim head football coach

On Saturday, Nov. 12, Rick Shepas walked off the field for the last time as the head coach for Waynesburg University football and the search for a new football coach began for the Yellow Jackets.

By early summer, a decision had been made and the search ended right where it began, at Waynesburg University with former offensive coordinator Chris Smithley being named interim head coach.

However, according to Smithley, he never applied for the positon, but was requested to accept. Realizing the seniority of the other coaches in the program, Smithley said he felt he shouldn’t apply.

“I didn’t feel like it was my place to apply,” said Smithley. “Coach Venick is on staff, coach Falvo was on staff – those guys have the seniority. I felt like it was my place to just sit back and whichever direction it went, I was going to support them.”

Although Smithley was one of the younger coaches on staff last year for the team, his history with Waynesburg University goes back to when he attended as a student, playing football as a quarterback and a receiver before graduating in 2008.

“I played here and then I was a graduate assistant here [at Waynesburg University],” Smithley said. “In my time as a graduate assistant, I had roles in strength and conditioning, secondary coach, defensive lines coach, offensive lines coach and then after that I had a short stint at Washington & Jefferson for four years where I coached linebackers for one year and secondary and special teams for three years.”

One of the biggest goals Smithley said he has for the football program is returning to the level of play they were at when he was a player and a coach.

“Just that mentality of hard-nosed, physical football – discipline, accountable players to their teammates and the program, giving it everything that they got on every play,” said Smithley. “Just that work ethic is something I really want to get back and instill in these young guys and make them understand that this is what Waynesburg football is all about.”

Around him, Smithley has brought in new parts to the coaching staff, who all mirror his desire to pursue a physically tough football program.

Offensive Coordinator

Joining Smithley this year, new to the program, is Offensive Coordinator Erik Foust, who also serves as an offensive lines coach and recruiting coordinator. Foust has spent 22 years coaching high school football throughout western Pennsylvania with a focus in the Indiana and Westmoreland county areas.

Foust’s relationship with Smithley goes all the way back to high school where he served as a defensive coordinator for the team Smithley played on. With similar goals and values in coaching, Smithley said Foust makes a solid fit in the program at Waynesburg.

“We carry a lot of the same values and morals because we kind of grew up in the same place,” Smithley said. “We both played for the same high school head coach – he coached with my high school head coach – so there is a lot of similarities in what we are trying to drive and what we are trying to get done here.”

One of the bigger focal points for the season, Foust said, is the offensive line.

“Currently, I’m really focusing on the offensive line – trying to get that established and building tremendous continuity and depth in the offensive line,” Foust said.

According to Foust, accomplishing the goal of a strong offensive line starts with team chemistry, and the team is already trending towards improvement.

“Chemistry is huge, it’s all about chemistry, building great chemistry with each other – teamwork,” Foust said. “Communication is a tremendous factor, the guys are really buying into that stuff. I know Week One we didn’t get the results we were looking for, but we certainly saw some great positive things to build on individually and as a unit.”

On a weekly basis, Foust said the program is capable of accomplishing the goals of the coaching staff by taking care of the smaller details of the game.

“I just expect to go out every week and be the best we can be, I’m a person that believes you have to prepare every week to win every week,” Foust said. “We have to prepare to win every week, I believe in the little things, doing the little things right and it’ll take care of the big things.”

Running Backs and Tight Ends Coach

Zach Sterling enters his first year with Waynesburg University after spending the previous two as a graduate assistant at Bethany College. Previous to working with the Bison, Sterling spent a year as a student assistant with the offensive line at SUNY Brockport, his alma mater. During his time at Brockport, Sterling’s football career included being listed twice as a member of D3Football.com Team of the Week.

With the Yellow Jackets, Sterling will serve as a combination of a running backs and tight ends coach.

Graduate Assistant

Moving in as a new graduate assistant for the Yellow Jackets, Brian Radakovich will also work with wide receivers. Last year, Radakovich spent time with Thiel on the coaching staff recruiting players and coaching running backs.

The common goal of improving the teams running game and offensive line coordinates with the wide receivers, Radakovich said, and how they approach the game.

“Offensively, we try to be a physical old school type team, we want to run the football and where the receivers come into, that is being physical type wide receivers – guys that are going to sell out and get excited about blocking,” Radakovich said.

With a focus on perfecting the details, Radakovich said he believes the wide receivers have the ability to help propel the offense towards what the team needs.

“We just talk about perfection all the time, being precise, our mindset is our concepts are going to work against whatever defense we see,” Radakovich said. “It’s a matter of executing them and having good fundamentals, having good route fundamentals which obviously is catching the ball and the big thing for us is being perfect on all the little things.”

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Through the changes to the coaching staff for the 2017 campaign for the Yellow Jackets, Smithley said one of the biggest goals for the program is solidifying the running game, which is achievable through a powerful offensive line. But ultimately, Smithley said the coaching staff all share the common goal of getting the program back to a winning record.

“I just want to get back to Waynesburg football – where we’ve been in the past,” Smithley said.