Staying home paid big dividends for KWU's Sullivan
Like many high school seniors, Justin Sullivan figured he would attend college somewhere away from his home in Salina. See what life is like on your own in a different location.
Fortunately, things did not turn out that way.
Sullivan, a standout linebacker at Salina South High School, was trying to decide where he wanted to play college football when he remembered Matt Myers had returned to Kansas Wesleyan and was working as a volunteer assistant for then-head coach Matt Drinkall. Myers had coached Sullivan in American Legion baseball in 2013 and he enjoyed the experience.
“I shot him a text and was like ‘You guys got any spots open?” Sullivan said. “He was like ‘yeah man, come on’ so I came here.”
That was 2017. Sullivan remains at KWU and is in his first season as the Coyotes’ defensive coordinator on Myers’ staff.
“When I came here during the (Matt) Drinkall era I met him and Myers and coach (Josh) Lewis, coach (John) Micheletti and they really motivated me to do football once I was done,” said Sullivan, who played from 2017-21 before becoming linebackers’ coach and director of football operations last season.
Sullivan was a member of KWU’s 2018, ’19 and ’21 Kansas Conference championship teams. Turns out the grass was greener on his side of the fence.
“I’m around my family and friends and I’m doing it with the right people,” he said. “It’s awesome, it’s a huge honor to be a defensive coordinator of a top 25 program.”
Wesleyan’s defense has benefitted as well. Myers was defensive coordinator before being promoted to head following the 2021 season and decided to help on that side of the ball this fall.
“It’s good to have him above me, that helps me out because he can give me advice and lead me in the direction that I need to start going and improving so I can do an even better job,” Sullivan said.
The defense has done a good job all season. KWU opponents are averaging just 13.7 points and 263.4 total yards which includes 102 rushing.
The Coyotes (7-2) play Ottawa in a pivotal Kansas Conference game at 1 p.m. Saturday in Ottawa. Both teams are 3-0 in the Gene Bissell Division with two games left.
KWU is on a six-game winning streak and coming off a 31-0 victory over Tabor last Saturday in Hillsboro. Ottawa (5-4) has won four in a row.
“One of the things that we really key in on is making sure that a team cannot run the ball on us,” Sullivan said. “Force them to go to the air and when they go to the air, we want them dropping back and let like guys like (Josh) King-Bradley and Ricardo Garcia go to work and go get sacks. Force them into the quick game and we make plays off that.”
Sullivan said it’s a matter of consistently doing the right things.
“Schematically we’ll make some adjustments here and there week by week but we’re not installing a brand new defense every Tuesday to adjust to what other people do,” he said. “We’re going to do what we do and if we can do that then I like our odds against anybody.”
Ottawa presents a stiff challenge, though. Running the ball is the Braves’ forte with backs Wynton Ruth and Malaki Peko. Ruth had 268 yards rushing and four touchdowns in OU’s 42-14 victory over Avila a week ago.
“Their running game has really taken off in the last three weeks since they’ve gotten into divisional play,” Sullivan said. “They have a couple of really good tailbacks that run hard and they’re patient. They remind me in a way of (former KWU standout) Demarco Pruitt. They sit behind their blockers and read what’s going on in front of them. I think the Ottawa line is infinitely better than they were last year as well.”
Coaching with and for Myers, who was his position coach as a player, has been the best part for Sullivan.
“I remember when he called me and told me (about the promotion),” he said. “I was also working with housing (at KWU) and was flustered with all the stuff that was going on. He said ‘you’re up, you’re going to be a DC, I’m coming back to defense, let’s go.’ I was super excited and was like ‘all right, time to go to work.’
“He’s coached me, he’s been my mentor through this transition from player to coach. I owe him a lot.”
Being a coordinator has required some adjustments, though.
“It’s a lot more stressful as far as the management of it, that was an aspect I hadn’t really had to deal with,” he said. “Managing my peers and coach (Nolan) Jones and coach (Jacob) Brown while realizing that I still don’t have all the answers.”
Recruiting is also impacted.
“There are guys that want to talk to the coordinator and that’s me,” he said. “Coach Jones can have a sweet lineman from California who says ‘can I talk to the DC?’ Yeah, that’s me, right, okay so in a way you’re still recruiting but you also have to help others.”
KWU football has become a way of life for Sullivan.
“It’s been seared into my mind since I got here in 2017,” he said. “It’s taken up seven of my 25 years, it’s who I am, it’s what I believe. It’s me.”
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Staying home paid big dividends for KWU's Sullivan
