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Preparing for a season opener – that’s nothing new to Nicholls State coach Charlie Stubbs.
The veteran coach is entering his 23rd season as a collegiate coach, so first games of a season are nothing new to him.
But preparing as the head coach – that’s a first, even to Stubbs, who said he embraces the challenges he has in front of him in Thibodaux.
“We’ve got our work cut out, there’s no question, but this isn’t an impossible task by any means,” he said.
For his past 20 years of collegiate experience, Stubbs has served as an offensive coordinator, which meant his primary responsibility was to call the offensive plays for his team, while preparing his quarterbacks for the upcoming game.
Stubbs also holds that same position in Thibodaux – a responsibility he said provides normalcy to his day-to-day routine.
“That’s something I’m used to doing,” he said.
But in addition to running the offense comes a slew of other tasks the coach will need to juggle throughout the season – some he hasn’t seen throughout the entirety of his career.
“The head coaching part that’s different is the little administrative things you never have to mess with as an assistant like the travel and all of the little things that come up with scholarships and things like that,” he said. “So I’m trying to learn to budget my time to be able to handle all of those duties.”
The coach got his first taste of his new position in the past few months during Nicholls’ spring drills.
In that short stretch of time the veteran instilled the team’s new, passing-oriented playbook to his roster, while also teaching his philosophy to his players.
“We’ve had this transition be a lot easier in that we’ve had a lot of our players dedicate themselves to being here all throughout the summer,” Stubbs said. “We have plenty guys who’ve been here that are lifting, running and throwing, and that’s the kind of work ethic you need to succeed in this type of offense. I really like the commitment we’ve seen from our players.”
But the Colonels’ roster had just more than 50 players in the spring. The coach expects a team of 90 players when fall practice opens tomorrow, which means the coach’s teaching cap will again have to be on in full force.
“I’m going to have to get things going pretty quick,” Stubbs said. “But ultimately, I think we’re going to have a lot of guys competing for time, and I believe that pushes people to becoming a better team.”
What works against Nicholls’ learning curve is an early season schedule that pits the team against three-straight Division I opponents to open the season.
The Colonels will open the year with games against San Diego State, before also traveling to take on Western Michigan and South Alabama.
The coach said he plans to use the early trio of games to help sort out his depth chart before the start of the Southland Conference season.
But Stubbs also said his team isn’t going to roll over to anyone.
“We’re still playing to win – no matter who we play against,” he said. “But we want to get better each week. And I feel like that’s the thing that should happen. We’re playing those three D-1 schools right off the bat, so I’ll find out a whole lot. You think you know some things as a coach through practice, but when you play those games out in front of 50,000 people, that’s when you really find out the players that you’ve got.”
The season is exactly a month away from starting, and when the first ball is kicked in San Diego, Stubbs admitted it will be a special feeling – one the coach hopes he and everyone he’s ever coached with can enjoy.
“I’ve been around this game now 32 years and I’ve worked with a lot of very good coaches,” he said. “I’m sure in my mind, I’ll end up taking the strengths from all of them, then combine those with things that I believe and try to do them all. That will be a special day for me.”
Nicholls’ football coach Charlie Stubbs gives instructions to his team during spring practices. Stubbs is preparing for his first-ever season as head coach after more than 20 years working as an assistant. COURTESY PHOTO
