Lemon-aid for SSU
Veteran coach hopes to bring stability, success to struggling Tigers
Noell Barnidge
(912) 652-0347
noell.barnidge@savannahnow.com
The Savannah Morning News
What is the essence of Theo Lemon?
"Faith. Family. Education. And then, football," the Savannah State head coach said. "It's a holistic approach that I believe in, in that order. I believe if you take those first three and live by them, football becomes easy."
The 49-year-old native of Massillon, Ohio, has a reputation for rebuilding programs.
He came to the right place. There perhaps is no greater reclamation project than SSU's football program, which is 3-40 at the NCAA Division I-AA level. The Tigers were 0-11 last season and 0-12 in 2003.
In 2003, Lemon was hired by Central State in Wilberforce, Ohio, to resurrect a football program that had been dormant since 1996.
Last season, he and his Division II non-scholarship Marauders spoiled SSU's Homecoming with a 28-27 victory.
It was the final game of Central State's first full season in nearly a decade. It was the only victory during a 1-5 campaign. And it was the perfect ending for Lemon, who was hired April 10 by SSU athletic director Robert "Tony" O'Neal.
O'Neal played for Lemon during the late 1980s when Lemon was a Central State assistant to then-head coach Billy Joe.
"He's going to bring success to Savannah State University," O'Neal said of Lemon, SSU's seventh head coach in 10 years, and its 20th head coach since the historically black college began playing football in 1915.
Kudos from Caldwell
Lemon, who is being paid $65,000 annually to resurrect SSU's football program, was a Wake Forest assistant coach from 1996-2000. In 2000, he was promoted to assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator.
Lemon in 1999 helped then-head coach Jim Caldwell guide the Demon Deacons to a 7-5 record and their first bowl game since 1992.
Caldwell, now the assistant head coach/quarterbacks coach of the NFL's Indianapolis Colts, said Lemon is the right person to rebuild SSU's football program.
"When Theo worked for me he was a very well-organized guy, an outstanding coach, great disciplinarian," Caldwell said. "He was a real fine strategist as well. Good family man with a great wife and kids. I think you'll find in very short order that the (SSU) kids will enjoy playing for him because he gets the best out of them."
Lemon and his wife, Channon, spent their honeymoon in Savannah 19 years ago. They have two sons: Willis, 12, and Dean, 9.
Lemon also has 90 other "sons" who see him as a father figure.
"Coach Lemon is a good role model," SSU quarterback Garrett Williams said. "You see a lot of D-I coaches on ESPN, well, he fits the role perfectly."
Coaching as a ministry
Lemon's stoic, reserved demeanor suits well his no-nonsense approach.
"He has this aura about him," said Opio Mashariki, SSU's sports information director. "It's hard to explain. He just has this presence about him that commands your respect when he walks into a room."
Within weeks of arriving at SSU, Lemon established a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter.
"In every place I've ever been, we'd have the group, we call them huddles, and it's a Bible study, and the players come and meet and have a place to discuss their faith," Lemon said. "For us to be able to do a huddle here is going to be exciting for our guys. It will bring a lot of structure to our guys and give them a chance to share their faith together.
"A lot of times, people think that expressing your faith isn't macho. They think they have to be tough. Well, guys like Curtis Martin and Shaun Alexander, they're in the NFL and they express their faith, and those guys are as macho and tough as they come."
Lemon said the FCA huddle will meet once a week, probably on Thursday evenings. He was an active member of Wake Forest's FCA huddle, and said the experience enriched his life.
"It took me a while to come to grips with the fact that coaching could become a ministry," Lemon said. "I started out wanting to be one of the first black head coaches in the NFL, and to win a Super Bowl. That was my dream, and it was a climb. Let me tell you, the climb up that ladder was an uphill climb.
"I came to realize it wasn't about me climbing that ladder. It was about making a difference in the lives of young men, helping them shape themselves. It's amazing how, when you surrender yourself, God works within you. I realized that coaching could be a ministry, and I could devote my time to mentoring (players) and helping them to understand how God has a plan in all of our lives."
'All-Americans sleeping under bridges'
Lemon, who does not use profanity, has brought to SSU a my-way-or-the-highway approach. It has resulted in players who noticeably are more focused and display a greater sense of urgency than they did the past two seasons.
"I'm a strong believer that kids want discipline," Lemon said. "They want to be told 'No.' They have a vested interest in someone showing them right from wrong. If you show an interest in them outside of football, they will run through brick walls for you.
"We're going to demand that they go to class. We're going to demand that they sit up front in the classroom. We're going to demand that they take off their hats. We're going to demand that they pull up their pants. We're going to demand that they talk to females in the right way. Those are things that, if you buy into them, they are going to buy into you."
Lemon guaranteed that the rebuilding process will not be pretty.
"Be positive. Work hard. And don't candy-coat things. I believe in those things," Lemon said. "I don't believe kids want to be told things that sound pretty or make it look good. With football, you don't have to candy-coat it. With football, that's the way the game is. It's brutally honest. You can either play or you can't play. You're either fast or you're slow.
"Football is a lot like life. The same principles in football apply in the business world. I'll take a guy with effort over a guy with more ability because the effort will make more of a difference. Take a guy like (former Ohio State running back) Maurice Clarett. All the potential in the world, and now he's got his mug shot all over the place. He's likely headed to prison. And it's an absolute travesty."
Lemon has seen the pitfalls into which players can fall when they focus solely on football and fail to take care of their academic - and civic - responsibilities.
"I'm a strong believer in the fact that you can win and have good academics," Lemon said. "A lot of people don't buy into that, but I believe you don't have to have bad people to win. It's all about education, and the plan and the method you use.
"I'm from Massillon, Ohio. Every baby boy born in Massillon is handed a football at birth. I've seen the frenzy that takes place within the community when there are 22,000 people in the stands on a Friday night. It's like no other place on earth.
"But because sometimes too much importance is placed on football there, I've also seen the other side. I've seen things go over the edge of what is acceptable. I understand the fact that there's a lot of All-Americans sleeping under bridges. A lot of them."
Tight lines and good fishing
To get away from football and relax, Lemon said he enjoys playing basketball and fishing.
"My real passion is fishing. It is," Lemon said. "I'm an avid bass fisherman, and I've started to get into the ocean fishing. I've always said I'm an angler who just happens to coach football. I could go fishing for the rest of my life and be happy.
"I'm still new to ocean fishing, but I've already come to find out the hard way that anything that comes from the ocean has teeth."
Lemon will be fishing for a victory Sept. 2 when SSU plays its season opener against Division II Benedict College. Kickoff is at 5 p.m. at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, S.C.
"(Coaching at SSU) is a very unique situation," Lemon said. "But I believe God brought me here not to worry about winning games, but to put these young men in a position to further their lives and do great things. If you have morals and ethics, that other stuff (winning games) will come."
THE LEMON FILE
Hometown: Massillon, Ohio
College: Ohio University; bachelor's degree in 1980; master's degree in physical education in 1990; four-year starter at defensive back.
Coaching experience: Central State University, head coach (2003-2006); College of DuPage (Ill.), head coach (2001-02); Wake Forest, assistant head coach, co-defensive coordinator (2000), defensive line (1996-2000); Rutgers, linebackers (1994-95); East Carolina, defensive line (1993); Northeastern, defensive coordinator, linebackers (1991-92); Central State, defensive coordinator (1990), offensive line (1986-89), running backs (1985); Kentucky State, interim head coach, defensive coordinator, defensive backs, outside linebackers (1983-84); Ohio University, graduate assistant, defensive backs, outside linebackers (1981-82).
- By olldflame