New coach Steve Englehart leading new era of Presbyterian College football
Steve Englehart is looking to turn the Presbyterian College football program back in the right direction.
The 45-year-old Indiana native was announced as the Blue Hose head coach in January. He took over for Kevin Kelley, who departed after one season as head coach.
Englehart has made previous head coaching stops at Division III Rose-Hullman and Division II Florida Tech.
The State spoke with Englehart this summer in Clinton about his task of rebuilding a program that in 2021 made the official move to non-scholarship football.
Englehart’s comments have been edited for brevity.
The State: How’d your first spring go at PC?
Englehart: It was good. You know, a lot of young guys, a few veterans in there, but a lot of young guys. Really for me it was about, more so, not what we do, but how we do it and really try to instill a good strong culture of family and teamwork. I thought that they worked hard and they did well and we were able to see what they could do and kind of put them in a position to hopefully be successful.
You can’t just go someplace and think that you’re going to do things a certain way. You’ve got to kind of build around your talent, and then as you get your new talent in, then maybe you can go back to what you were doing. … I thought that the players worked really hard and bought in to what we were doing. They haven’t necessarily seen a ton of success, so I think they’re hungry for that.
The State: You’re taking over a program from a coach who was famous for never punting and always going for it on fourth downs. Do you have any unique coaching schemes you’re bringing?
Englehart: No, not really. I think I’m pretty traditional. You know we’ll certainly take our risks, and I certainly respect Coach Kelley for the guts that it takes to kind of move to a different level and to do something that the “football gurus and gods” haven’t really seen — to do something that you know, put yourself out there a little bit, and he did that. So I have a lot of respect for that, but I’m going to be probably a little more traditional.
The State: Last year, PC made the official move to non-scholarship football. For the people who don’t know, how does that affect the program?
Englehart: I see that there’s a strong commitment to football — to being successful and winning. … The school has scholarships, they’re just not necessarily labeled football scholarships. We have academic scholarships and other grants and need-based scholarships that some of that money that was allocated as “football scholarships” has just kind of been reallocated in a different way ... There’s still scholarships to be had, and we can make it affordable for players to want to come here.
The State: Was it kind of challenging coming and adjusting to that during your first year, or is it just part of it?
Englehart: I think it’s part of it. I think with my background, I’m a little more used to this type of recruiting. You know, I spent eight years at a Division III school in Indiana, where there were no scholarships. It was a private school. There was a lot of similarities with that, and we were still able to package certain kids with other scholarships that were able to get them in. You work well with your admissions office and financial aid office and there’s rules and all those things that you have to stick to, but I think that if you work well with those families in recruiting, you’ll be able to get them. ... The benefit of this situation and program is, every school that we compete against is in the same boat.
The State: What was it like starting Florida Tech from scratch?
Englehart: It was fun and challenging. I learned a lot from that. Taking on that role of coming in and, at one point, you get there and it’s me and one other assistant and no players. … I got to hire a couple of staff as we got going, and we had one year where it was just a practice year and we pretty much had a 15-week spring schedule and playing against ourselves for an extended period of time. It was tough, but I got to have my hands in a lot of the building process of not just the team and the football program, but the facilities and the conference and everything else that went along with that. So it was enjoyable, it was rewarding.
The State: The team’s coming off a subpar year last season. After going 2-9, what are your expectations for year one?
Englehart: First off, compete. I think that there were a lot of games last year going 2-9 where they just didn’t compete — and not just on the scoreboard, but they just didn’t compete mentally, physically and everything. So we’ve got to get them to where they’re, first off, competing and having a hunger and a drive to compete. The byproduct of that competing and that desire will show benefits on the scoreboard.
The State: You’re a younger guy with 13 years of head coaching experience under your belt already. What’s one important thing you take from your previous stops that you can apply here?
Englehart: I think my first my first stop at Rose-Hullman. ... I learned about team building and toughness as an assistant. ... But then when I was the head coach I learned about — I guess I’ll use the word inclusion — but including everybody on the team and giving everybody stock on the team. I think that was really good, I was a young coach, I was 27 years old as a head coach and our players had a say in how the program was doing.
Then I went to Indiana State as a offensive coordinator, and that year I really learned about discipline and doing things perfect, doing things the right way. … I think at Florida Tech is where I really learned that you have to restart a team every single year and don’t take anything for granted.
The State: What drew you to Presbyterian College?
Englehart: I was out of (coaching) because of COVID and then I sat out a year to watch my son in his senior year, and just had an empty feeling in me to get back into it and started looking at head coaching jobs. I actually applied for this job twice. ... We played Presbyterian when I was at Florida Tech one year in 2016. We came up here and just really there was something about the place — it kind of struck me that I always remembered. I remember the people being super friendly and all this staff here and everything and just thought it was a nice little place. I always kind of kept an eye on Presbyterian. And I guess the rest is history.
The State: How much love and support have you gotten from the Presbyterian College community and the Clinton community at large since you’ve gotten here?
Englehart: I cannot say enough about it. You know, we were sitting here after I’d hired a few of my staff members and we’ve been here for about two weeks. And I remember us just sitting down, it’s kind of almost like taking a breather, and we just started talking and one thing we all said, we literally just looked at each other and said, I cannot believe how nice and friendly and welcoming everybody is here, not just at Presbyterian but in the Clinton community. It’s just been really good and refreshing.
The State: Other than the first game, is there anything about the upcoming season that you’re looking forward to the most?
Englehart: I think I’m looking forward to all of it. But of course, you know the rivalry that the Presbyterian has with Davidson and I know that our players have a strong desire to win that game … looking forward to seeing all of the other schools in this conference ... get to travel to San Diego and Marist and Stetson down in Florida, which will be a good thing. There’s a lot of things I’m looking forward to, but really just looking forward to seeing the team come together as a family.
Presbyterian football 2022 schedule
Sept. 3: at Austin Peay, 7 p.m.
Sept. 10: vs. Virginia-Lynchburg, 1 p.m.
Sept. 17: at Western Carolina, 3:30 p.m.
Sept. 24: vs. Davidson, 7 p.m.
Oct. 1: at Morehead State, 1 p.m.
Oct. 8: vs. Valparaiso, 1 p.m.
Oct. 15: at San Diego, 5 p.m.
Oct. 22: vs. St. Thomas, 1 p.m.
Oct. 29: at Maris, noon
Nov. 5: vs. Dayton, 1 p.m.
Nov. 19: at Stetson, 1 p.m.
