Howard Bentley
September 1, 2015I believe in Tim Rebowe
September 2, 2015
Tim Rebowe knows it can be done.
He’s seen it happen once before.
As an assistant coach at Nicholls State University early in his career, Rebowe was on a staff that helped turn the Colonels from a last place team into a winner – a change that happened almost overnight.
Flash forward about 20 years into the future, and the new coach thinks that he can perform and encore act.
Spirits and energy are high at summer practices for Nicholls as the team rallies around first-year head football coach Tim Rebowe, who took the job one day after the team’s disastrous 2014 season ended.
The new coach said it’s possible to win at Nicholls. He’s done it once before. He’s vowed multiple times throughout the offseason to do it again – maybe even as soon as the 2015 season.
“Nicholls has had success when we’ve had certain people in the (head coaching) position, so it can be done,” Rebowe said. “I’m excited. … We have some work to do, we’re not going to sugar coat it. … But I definitely think you can have some success in Thibodaux, Louisiana.”
“The passion, the energy level and the all-around hype surrounding Nicholls football has been tremendous from the very first day that Tim took the job,” Colonels Athletic Director Rob Bernardi added. “We think he’s the right man to lead our program, and we’re excited to see our team grow under his great leadership.”
In 2014, the Colonels hit rock bottom.
Nicholls didn’t win a game last season, and wasn’t close in most of its tries. The disaster started about a month into the season when veteran head coach Charlie Stubbs resigned from his position, citing health issues that needed his attention.
With the Colonels in a bind, Bernardi tabbed longtime acquaintance Steve Axman as interim coach – a guy who brought stability to the team, but was still unable to secure a victory.
Rebowe entered the picture immediately after the team’s 2014 campaign drew to a close. Just 12 hours after Nicholls wrapped up its season against Southeastern Louisiana, a press conference was called to announce his hiring.
The coach has worked tirelessly ever since to change the mindset of his team and convince them that things can be different around the program. Rebowe also applied for, and was a finalist for the Colonels job when Stubbs was hired.
“Our team has a whole new atmosphere behind us,” Colonels halfback Michael Henry added. “In the locker room, in the field, outside the field – just everything we do is totally different, but in a better way.”
Offensively, Rebowe said the Colonels will operate out of mostly spread sets, though the team’s plan is to run more than it passes.
That should fit Nicholls roster, as the Colonels return Tuskani Figaro at quarterback and Michael Henry at halfback – two of the three players in school history who have ever rushed for 1,000 yards in a season.
Rebowe hasn’t yet decided if Figaro will be the team’s starting quarterback. The run-first threat is currently in a position battle with senior Landry Klann for that job.
But the first-year coach said the Colonels will want to run the football successfully regardless of who is under center.
“One thing that I know is that for any team, if you can run the football and control the line of scrimmage, you’re almost 100 percent of the time going to be successful in the things that you’re trying to do,” Rebowe said. “Tuskani is a home-run hitter. He’s a guy that is elusive and has a God-given gift when he’s in the open field. Big Michael Henry is more physical. He will have to be a bell cow for us – the guy who gets us those tough, hard-fought yards to help us get first downs.”
Defensively, the Colonels need change. Under Stubbs, Nicholls was annually at the bottom of the Southland Conference in keeping opponents out of the end zone.
But Rebowe knows a lot about that side of the football, having experience as a defensive backs coach and linebackers coach throughout his more than 20 years as an assistant coach at the college level.
The Colonels return several starters on defense, including defensive back B.T. Sanders, who recorded 79 tackles last year.
Rebowe said the Colonels defense doesn’t necessarily lack talent, but often lacked intensity to succeed. So far this offseason, the coach has liked the effort he’s been given.
“We’ve really played hard defensively,” Rebowe said. “I love the effort that they’ve given us every day at practice. Those guys have showed up every day ready to work.”
Sanders said that diligence is part of a team-wide buy-in that’s going on around the Nicholls football program. The university’s players believe in Rebowe and trust him to turn the program around one more time.
Nicholls players remember the dark days of the past. They don’t want to see another winless season anytime soon around these parts.
“What happened last year, that’s motivation for us every day,” Sanders said. “We just have to keep moving forward and we just want to get better and continue to improve ourselves.
“We can’t look back. It’s not an option.”
