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LIVINGSTON, Ala. — Immediately after West Alabama senior linebacker Tray Nunn met Scott Cochran, the program’s new head football coach, he went to work.
Nunn said he went to YouTube and watched highlights of Cochran to see what he and his teammates were getting themselves into.
“I seen ‘Yeah,'” Nunn said, doing his best imitation of Cochran’s memorable catchphrase. “He’s very much energy. But we love it, though. That’s what we need.”
Cochran is back in college football, taking the head coaching position at West Alabama after stints with LSU, Alabama and Georgia, stints that turned into eight national championships.
How Scott Cochran became West Alabama football coach
Scott Cochran stands with West Alabama president and athletics director Brett Gilliland at his opening press conference.
Cochran didn’t think that becoming a head coach would be an option for him.
After leaving Georgia after the 2023 season, Cochran fielded job calls, each of which were for assistant posts, and nothing worked financially.
But Cochran took a step back.
“I think going through what I went through, I realized that I kind of got back to the pure of I didn’t get into coaching for the financials,” Cochran said. “I didn’t get into it for the money. I mean, I didn’t make any money in the beginning. So taking the year to reassess my life made me realize it’s not about that.”
All Todd Fritch, the University of West Alabama president, was looking for was someone who can pick up where Brett Gilliland, who’s now the West Alabama athletic director, left off: finishing with a 9-2 record in 2024 with a loss in the NCAA Division II first round.
“Look, (I) just don’t want to be worse at football next year than we were this year,” Fritch said. “So let’s try to get a good hire.”
Gilliland had many mutual friends who worked with Cochran. He knew what West Alabama…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/theyll-learn-love-scott-cochran-191939762.html
Author : The Tuscaloosa News
Publish date : 2025-02-07 19:19:00
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