WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WTKR) — Two decades ago, Mike London was paying visits to Darryl Blackstock in Newport News, recruiting him to play at the University of Virginia.
Flash forward to 2019, another visit would reunite the duo at William and Mary.
"I came by to say what's up and I said, 'By the way, I want to coach,'" Blackstock remembered. "There was a volunteer spot open. Popped in here one day and he gave me an interview on the spot."
It's a story that sounds familiar to current Tribe defensive line coach Keenan Carter, quarterbacks coach Matt Johns, and co-defensive coordinator Ras-I Dowling.
"I remember looking for a grad assistant job. I didn't have anything going on," Johns said. "Coach London spoke at a convention and it was the first time I saw him since he left Virginia. He said let's stay in touch and here we are."
"He got the job at Howard (University). I texted him and said, 'Coach I'm interested in coaching,'" Dowling said. "He said, 'Come here on this certain date about two weeks out. Do you really want to do this?' And I was like, 'Yes, I want to give it a try.'"
Those four coaches have become mainstays in Williamsburg. They've been on staff with London every season he's led the Tribe. Dowling and Carter followed him from Howard, where they coached for two seasons.
"Having a chance to have coached those guys and watch them grow and mature, then watch them develop into men, into leaders and part of this staff," London said. "It's a proud moment for me."
Blackstock and Carter played for London while he was an assistant at Virginia, while Dowling and Johns were in Charlottesville while London was head coach of the Cavaliers.
"The intense moments that he had when we were playing at UVa, that's like all the time now," said Blackstock, who is the special teams coordinator and outside linebackers coach for W&M. "'Oh that was just the head coach in you.'"
No matter the era they played in, they're now all connected by their next chapter in the game of football.
"We were all young kids trying to figure our way out in terms of what we were going to do with our life when football was done," Johns said. "Here we are, still trying to make an impact on the game of football and the kid we're coaching."
At William & Mary, they've shared wins, a Coastal Athletic Association championship, and an FCS playoff run together. The most fulfilling part for them, however, is the chance give back to the man that gave them an opportunity so many years ago.
"Somebody that had an opportunity to take a chance on you believed in you," Dowling said. "So now all you want to do is give your 110 percent effort just to make him proud."
"It's amazing how they still remember. 'Hey coach I remember when you said this,'" London said. "We think sometimes as coaches they weren't listening but then you find out, 'Yeah, they were still listening.'"
William & Mary opens its 2023 season on the road against Campbell on August 31, looking to defend its CAA title.
