Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Thweatt follows Herd ties, love of coaching to Marshall
8/24/2018 9:08:00 AM | Football, Word on the Herd
Linebacker coach is in his first season in Huntington
By Chuck McGill
HerdZone.com
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. – Byron Thweatt sat in a classroom inside his old high school, Matoaca, and wondered about a life in which he taught his favorite subject: football.
The Virginia native, who starred at Matoaca and the University of Virginia before embarking on a three-year trip to the National Football League, returned to his hometown after his playing days and became a history teacher and coach. Thweatt enjoyed being around young people and found teaching to be a rewarding profession, but the love and pull of football was too great.
"I couldn't take it anymore," he said. "I wanted to do all football, all of the time. I didn't want to be in a classroom."
More than a decade later, Thweatt is the first-year linebackers coach at Marshall University. He began his collegiate career as a graduate assistant at U.Va., and then coached several different positions during a long stint at the University of Richmond, which is a short drive from his hometown. While at Richmond, Thweatt worked on the same side of the ball as Adam Fuller, who was promoted to Marshall's defensive coordinator position in the offseason. Fuller knew the perfect candidate to replace him in a deep and talented linebackers room.
"Byron has a great personality and it is good for our players," Fuller said. "You have to keep putting good people and good coaches in front of our players. Byron is great at what he does. He's a great communicator and he's smart."
Fuller saw a bright future in Thweatt at Richmond. Fuller was the linebackers coach from 2005-07 for Dave Clawson, now the coach at Wake Forest, and Thweatt was hired to coach the defensive line in Fuller's final season at the school. After Fuller left, Thweatt coached tight ends before settling into Fuller's old role.
"I have been a linebacker since I was eight years old," said Thweatt, who ranks sixth in University of Virginia history in tackles with 387.
And his Marshall ties have been around since he starred as a running back in high school. Thweatt was highly recruited out of Chesterfield County, and while he ultimately decided to stay in state and play for the Cavaliers, there was a defensive coordinator who sought his services at the University of Florida: Bob Pruett.
In addition, Thweatt paid close attention to Marshall when Michael Birdsong transferred to the school to play quarterback. Birdsong, like Thweatt, went to Matoaca High School. Fellow defensive assistants J.C. Price and Cornell Brown starred at Virginia Tech, and Thweatt's teams faced Brown's Hokies.
"That all fueled my decision to take the job," said Thweatt, who has three daughters.
Thweatt has coached on both sides of the ball at the collegiate level, and he even spent a season as a head coach at Virginia State – his hometown school – but returned to major college football after one season.
Now he feels like he is back where he belongs, coaching a linebacker unit spearheaded by all-conference performer and team MVP Chase Hancock. Thweatt's experiences have shaped him, and someday he hopes to elevate to defensive coordinator and, then, a head coach again. But he is in no hurry.
"I do want to be a head coach again, I really do, but being a head coach you don't get as much time to really be hands-on with the guys," Thweatt said. "You're more of a manager. You trust that your coordinators and coaches are doing everything that you want them to do. I enjoyed my year as a head coach, but I missed the part of being with my guys and having my group."
Chuck McGill is the Assistant Athletic Director for Fan/Donor Engagement and Communications at Marshall University and a six-time winner of the National Sports Media Association West Virginia Sportswriter of the Year award. In addition to HerdZone.com's Word on the Herd, McGill is the editor of Thundering Herd Illustrated, Marshall's official athletics publication. Follow him on Twitter (@chuckmcgill) and Instagram (wordontheherd).
