Good to have Bryce Paup back on
staff coach?
Exactly. You know, Bryce knows
this university. It's an easy
transition. He knows our
defense, he knows this
university, and now he's a
better coach today then when he
left because he experienced the
BCS. And as I did, sometimes
through the appreciation of
UNI, you really understand the
uniqueness of UNI once you have
left this university.
Here's what the players have to
say about welcoming back coach
Bryce Paup.
Bryce Paup loves to pay it
forward as he mentors and
teaches UNI student athletes
who are following in his
footsteps. An All-American for
the Panthers, Paup went on to
have an impressive 11 year
career in the NFL. In 1995 Paup
was named the defensive Most
Valuable Player in all of the
NFL. He served as the defensive
line coach for his alma mater
from 2013 to 2016, and he is
back on campus in 2018 to lead
the Panthers d-line.
The first thing everyone is
going to think of is that he is
a pro bowler multiple times,
NFL for a long time, phenomenal
athlete but the one thing if
you forget about it all is he
is just a great guy. We
correlate on multiple things
besides football. There are
times in our meetings where we
are just sitting there talking
about life, making smart
decisions, doing the right
things, and admitting when we
are wrong. I believe he has
helped me grow as a young adult
to things that I would never be
able to do with out that
feature and I give him thanks
to that. As far as coaching he
hits me right on a perfect
level and I couldn't be more
glad that he is back.
Under the leadership of Bryce
Paup the UNI defense was one of
the best in the nation from
2013 to 2016 and several
Panthers went on to play in the
NFL. He is always looking at
new methods and techniques to
get the most out of his players.
Bryce Paup has done a great job
of communicating what made him
successful and able to
communicate that well to us.
One thing that he emphasizes
with the team is recovery.
Stuff to make sure we don't get
hurt. We do a bunch of
stretches and therapeutic walks
before practice to make sure
our body doesn't get hurt and
strengthens our body in the
right spots and as a player
himself he is teaching us many
different ways and what makes
him such a good coach is that
he finds everyone's niche. What
works for them and he drives it
home with them so they can get
that down. If it is a move that
I can't do...we will move on
from it. And if it is a move
that I can do..we will practice
and practice it until it
becomes 2nd nature.
The relationship that Bryce Paup
has built with this team is one
of the reasons why his players
will continue go above and
beyond for their coach when the
game is on the line.
Coach Paup is so humble and
caring and he is wililng to go
the extra mile for his players.
You would never know that this
man played 12 years in the NFL,
he was the defensive player of
the year and a 4 time Pro
Bowler unless you googled it!
You wouldn't know any of that
and he is always willing to
fight for his players and that
is the one thing I love about
coach Paup. He is the reason
my first year here I was ready
to quit football and he
literally called me into his
office and he just talked to
me. We didn't even talk
football for the first 30
minutes. He knows my dad is a
pastor and he was talking to me
about bible verses and God and
our families for 30 minutes
before we talked about football
and that is why I love him. He
cares about me and people
outside of the sport. He will
tell you in meetings he is here
to build relationships because
he knows that if he builds a
good relationship with you off
the field that everything on
the field will be taken care of
and that is the motto he
preaches by.
He has just been a great
influence on me.
We still have more Panther
Sports Talk coming your
way…including a story on two
players who are pushing each
other to be some of the best
tight ends in FCS football, and
we get final thoughts on the
first game of the season with
Mark Farley.