Even At 1-4, Tully Has Whitworth Right Where He Wants

Whitworth Pirates football coach John Tully is excited. He’s as excited about his team now as he was at the start of the season.

It doesn’t matter that the team is 0-1 in the Mount Hood League and 1-4 overall. It doesn’t matter that the young offense has struggled. And it doesn’t matter that the Pirates have suffered key losses in personnel to injuries this year.

“These things are a part of the game,” Tully said. “The only things they have control over is their work ethic. Each week is another opportunity. For a team that is 1-4, we are still really up.”

Saturday at 1:30 p.m., the Pirates host No. 25 Willamette (1-0, 3-2) at the Whitworth Pine Bowl.

Willamette is coming off a lopsided 40-6 home win against formerly No. 1-ranked Linfield. As for Whitworth, the Pirates lost 37-7 at Pacific Lutheran.

Tully and his coaching staff have approached every game, as well as every practice, as if it’s the first of the season.

“We always want them to aim high, and that’s the way we will continue to approach it.

It’s no easy task for a first-year coach to step into a program and make immediate changes, especially in the 12-team Columbia Football Association. This week, five are ranked in the Top 25 in the NAIA Division II poll.

And all five of those teams are on Whitworth’s schedule this year.

“I’ve been through this before,” Tully said. “I understand that these are the things you have to go through before you can get to where you want to go.”

Tully’s task may be compared to that of former Dallas Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson. He inherited a team that was a mess.

“Whether you’re a Jimmy Johnson fan or not, he brought in a coaching staff and a cast of players that believed in what the organization was trying to accomplish.

“The changes that take place in this

kind of a program at this point are never ever drastic. Eventually good things are going to happen.”

Whitworth notes

Whitworth senior running back Brion Williams will redshirt this season and return to action next year. Williams will undergo surgery on his right knee which was injured in the Pirates 27-10 home defeat against Central Washington on Sept. 23.

Whitworth will be without two of its defensive mainstays this weekend. Linebackers Jeff Baxter and Casey Clark suffered injuries last week and won’t play this weekend.

Baxter has a pinched nerve and Clark sustained injured a kneecap.

Senior quarterback J.J. Green will start against Willamette, but Tully said freshman Josh Parbon may see some action as well.

, DataTimes