Larry Porter didn’t need much convincing when it came to working with Rich Rodriguez.
That’s because the veteran running backs coach already believed that the things that Rodriguez prioritized aligned exactly with what he valued in the game of college football.
Those traits such as playing with toughness, earning success and being a blue collar program are things that Porter believes are true indicators of building a strong team.
“All the things that coach is trying to lay foundation with here,” he said.
The allure to West Virginia for Porter was largely due to the fact that Rodriguez has so much invested in the success of the program and given his background as a state native, an alumni and a chance at redemption it led to a very exciting opportunity for a coach that has seen a lot over his career.
On the field, Rodriguez wants to run the football which makes that attractive for a running backs coach. The goal is to find ways to stretch the field both horizontally and vertically but everything that the Mountaineers do will be built around running the football.
The tempo aspect of the scheme isn’t new, but there of course are some philosophical differences between what Porter will be doing in his role in Rodriguez’s scheme.
As far as what Porter values, it starts with protection both of the football and the quarterback in terms of pass blocking. Then it trickles down to production and finding a way to get more than what the play gives you.
And of course that means doing it with a hard edge.
“It means grit. It means toughness. It means earned success. It means the discipline. And it’s living to a standard that really and truly, in my mind, represents this program, this state and our head coach,” he said.
Porter, who has been coaching college football for 27-years, elected to get into the profession as a way for him to give back and impact the lives of young men. He started his career in high school football and then got the opportunity to follow a former coach of his into the collegiate game.
It’s something where Porter quickly learned that he didn’t know as much as he thought he did when he was a player and was able to further develop his mastery of the game over the years.
“And I've been fortunate enough outside of that piece to also be around some good coaches that I've been able to steal certain things from,” Porter said.
The platform of coaching is one that Porter has used to help teach his players how to overcome adversity and fight not only on the field but applying that to real life situations. But there’s also an element of love, too.
“I want them to know that that is a manly piece of life,” he said.
The one constant is whatever level Porter has operated he has always put his heart into it and now he will carry that over to his latest stop in Morgantown.
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