Marshall University Athletics
MCGILL: Ulmer plays his way into hearts of Herd fans
8/31/2020 11:05:00 PM | Football, Word on the Herd
Richmond native makes senior season debut against hometown EKU
Note: This story originally appeared in the July 2020 issue of Thundering Herd Illustrated, the official magazine of Marshall University Athletics.Â
By Chuck McGill
There are no one-word answers for Will Ulmer. Even the simplest response – yes or no – is followed by sir.
The Marshall University senior, who is entering his fourth consecutive season as a starter on the offensive line, speaks in a measured tone, and an unmistakable southern drawl is merely one tipoff that he is a country boy at heart. Ulmer is known for his long, dark hair, a mane he occasionally has sculpted into a mullet. He is most comfortable in blue jeans, boots and a weathered hat, and rides around in a Chevy pickup truck that wears the dirt kicked up on the back roads of his home state Kentucky.
Ulmer is the antithesis of what one might envision a 6-foot-5, 295-pound behemoth to be. He is gentle, polite and respectful. Jennifer, Will's mother, is still called "momma" by her first born. And when Will wants the worries of the world to melt away, he picks up his guitar and strums.
"He reminds me of my dad," Jennifer Ulmer said. "Easy going, friendly. Everyone loved him."
Jennifer said Will is, indeed, a momma's boy – "He's so sweet to me," she said – but the native of Richmond, Kentucky, can flip a switch when the helmet and pads are on and the bright lights are shining down upon him.
"He's a happy-go-lucky guy off the field," said Mark Scenters, the head football coach at Madison Central High School, "but he's not afraid to roughhouse and rough it up, too."
Ulmer enters his final season in Huntington with a streak of 35 consecutive starts. He is an anchor on an offensive line that paved the way for running back Brenden Knox, the 2019 Conference USA Most Valuable Player. He is one of the most recognizable student-athletes on campus and one of the most beloved by fans. His rendition of John Denver's "Country Roads" at the Gasparilla Bowl beach invasion event in December took home the top prize in the talent show to the delight of those in attendance.
He is a man of many talents, which means after college he can follow many different roads to the place he belongs.
"He could go in a gazillion different directions," Jennifer said.
***
Will Ulmer was born Dec. 30, 1997 to David and Jennifer Ulmer. Will arrived a few weeks earlier than anticipated, but at a little over seven pounds there was no indication a future lineman was in the cards. By the time Will reached the sixth grade, he had grown to a height of 6-5 with a size 15 shoe that had to be specially made.
"I was always big," Will said. "I would have to bring my birth certificate to Pee Wee games because parents wouldn't believe how old I was."
That size made Will a recruiting target within his own school. His middle school basketball coach had to plead for Will to join the team, but that pursuit was fleeting. By the time he reached Madison Central High School, Will focused his energy on football.
Will had two significant moments during his recruiting process and search for a college home.
Current New England Patriots running back Damien Harris, who was then a blue-chip running back with scholarship offers from nearly every major program in college football, played for rival Madison Southern. When Harris' team played Ulmer's, that drew college coaches from all over the country to Richmond, which is located 30 miles south of Lexington. That put Ulmer on the radar of college programs, but he was still in search for his first offer.
Scenters started to send film of Ulmer to college coaches, and one day he visited HerdZone.com and searched the staff directory for Marshall's offensive line coach. He found then-assistant Alex Mirabal but noticed the coach did not have an office number listed. Mirabal instead had his cell phone listed on the athletic department directory. Scenters took a shot and chatted with Mirabal about Ulmer. A week later, Mirabal called back.
The high schooler who loved football so much as a boy that he'd wake up on Saturday mornings and dress himself for practice had his first official scholarship in hand.
"I could've cried because of all of the history at Marshall and all that we knew about it," Jennifer said.
Ulmer, though, took his time to decide. He took official visits. He talked to other programs. Then, during spring break, he visited the Huntington campus for the first time.
"They tell you when you go on your recruiting visits that you'll know when you find your place," Jennifer said. "He knew the second he got there that this is the place he wanted to go."
Will committed and never wavered.
"There's something about the community, about how much football means in this town," Will said. "You can feel it in the air."
***
Will has always had to share his heart with his family, the farm, football and music.
"Growing up my main musical influence was my dad and I liked what he liked," Will said. "He got me into country, classic rock and southern rock."
When Will was a little boy, he had a role in his uncle's wedding. As a thank you gift, the uncle handed Will his first guitar.
"My husband's grandmother was gifted with music, and my husband has an aunt who went to school on a music scholarship," Jennifer said. "All of that comes from my husband's part of the family.
"Will's uncle, Matt, played a little guitar and gave Will his first guitar."
Soon after, Jennifer called to set up Will with bluegrass lessons.
"He loved it from the beginning," she said.
Will loves to play and sing with his teammates and his little brother, Wyatt, whom Will claims "can play circles" around him on the banjo. In 2017, Will went viral on Twitter playing cover songs on the front steps of a house he shared with other football players. It was no surprise to see him showcase his talents on a stage on the beaches of Florida two years later.
"He has a gift," Jennifer said. "Will can hear a song on the radio and by nighttime play it by ear."
That gives the Kentuckian options when his days at Marshall are finished. He wants to take football as far as he can, but he is reluctant to shut the door to opportunities in music. He also has an interest in helping with his dad's business, and he is still a farm boy at heart.
"I never knew I would be in this situation," Will said. "I could've never predicted that it would have gone this way. I'm so happy that it has."
