Edinboro getting 'green'
EDINBORO — Unintentionally, Edinboro University's football program is taking on a little green these days.
Fighting Scots first-year head coach Jake Nulph has hired three assistants with Slippery Rock University ties: associate head coach and defensive line coach Keith Willis, defensive coordinator Tony Papley and defensive backs/special teams coordinator Jayson Nickson.
“That's strictly by coincidence,” Nulph said. “I didn't hire them because of their Slippery Rock background. They're great people and great coaches.
“I'm very passionate about football and Tony's fire for the game rivals mine.”
Papley, a defensive lineman at The Rock and a Slippery Rock High School graduate, was a teammate of safety Nickson at SRU in 2011. Papley played for two PSAC West championship teams and Nickson was SRU's leading tackler for consecutive seasons.
Willis, a retired Pittsburgh Steeler, began his coaching career at The Rock in 1995. He coached the defensive line at SRU through 1998 and was part of two PSAC West title teams there as well.
Current SRU head coach Shawn Lutz had solid relationships with all three. He was defensive coordinator at The Rock when Papley and Nickson played.
“I use the word relentless all the time and Tony and Jayson are exactly that,” Lutz said. “I was coaching on the offensive side of the ball when Keith joined our staff.
“I learned so much from him. When he moved on, I slid over to the defensive side and replaced him coaching the defensive line.”
Nulph and Papley were assistant coaches together at Duquesne in 2018, the year the Dukes reached the FCS playoffs.
“We shared an office,” Papley said. “You get to know somebody well when you spend so many hours together.
“When Jake offered me the position at Edinboro, it was a no-brainer for me. Obviously, Slippery Rock is close to my heart. It's going to be fun when we play them.”
Nickson had been an assistant coach at Marietta College before joining Edinboro. He is a graduate of Cathedral Prep in Erie.
Nulph had met Nickson along the recruiting trails. When he was looking to fill out his coaching staff, Nulph received a recommendation for Nickson — from Papley.
“When you get a head coaching job for the first time, you want to surround yourself with people you know,” Nulph said. “Obviously, I knew Tony and what kind of coach he was. He asked me if I knew Jayson. He told me how fiery he was — similar to himself — and suggested I go get him.
“I contacted Jayson and asked him if he wanted to come home. That was my selling point. And when it comes to recruiting, you want people who know the area.
“These guys came from a consistent, winning college football program. That doesn't hurt, either,” Nulph added.
Since leaving SRU, Willis has coached at the University of Cincinnati, Boston College, North Carolina State, the CFL's Montreal Alouettes and NFL's Tennessee Titans.
Nulph broke into coaching as an assistant at his alma mater, Robert Morris University, in 2005. Mike Miller was also on the Colonials' staff and eventually coached with Willis in Montreal.
“Mike was my connection to him,” Nulph said. “Keith Willis is a tremendous person. He's always been the underdog. He saw a chance to get back into the PSAC — where coaching all started for him — and make a big name for himself as we build this program.”
Lutz remains friends with Papley, Nickson and Willis and will root for their success “in every game except when they play us.
“I know how badly those guys want to win and how much they'll work for it,” Lutz added. “They will succeed at Edinboro, probably sooner rather than later.”
Edinboro is coming off a 3-8 season. The Scots are 16-17 over the past three seasons and have not finished as high as second in the PSAC West since 2008.
