Tony Coats Feature
September 21, 1998
Still Waters Run Deep By Susan Reid
It used to be said that Tony Coats was former Husky all-American offensive lineman Benji Olsons spokesperson. Olson, a fifth-round draft pick last spring, wasnt much for chatting with the media and often referred his questions to his former Kitsap High teammate. Now Coats could use his own spokesman.
A three-year starter on the Huskies offensive line, the 6-foot-7, 310 pound Coats has received a good deal of preseason hype as he begins his final campaign. He was named to Playboys 1998 All-America Team and was a second team pick and All-Pac-10 selection by Athlon Magazine. The Sporting News ranked him the fifth-best offensive guard in the country and The Football News also tabbed him an All-Pac-10 candidate. Most recently, he was named to the Street and Smiths/Walter Camp preseason All-America Team.
This may seem a bit surprising for someone who is playing a new position as a senior but Coats has earned the credentials. After starting all 11 games at weakside tackle last season he moved to weakside guard during spring drills. Husky coaches wanted to get sophomore Eliot Silvers onto the line and figured Coats could best handle the adjustment.
"The challenge this year was for Tony to switch positions for the betterment of the team, "says offensive line coach Steve Morton. "It allowed us to get the best five athletes on the offensive line.
"Tony really started to come into his own early last season," Morton continued. "His two-a-day camp was sort of status quo. Then about the last three quarters of the season, you could really see a transformation in him, in all aspects of his game. We can still use Tony as a tackle anytime we need to. We will have several different scenarios, but Tony took this on as a challenge. I think he saw it as an opportunity to better prepare himself to play football after college."
Despite losing all-Americans Olson and center Olin Kreutz from the unit that led the Pac-10 in sacks allowed last year (24), this years line figures to be a solid foundation for the young Huskies. Coats is one of three seniors, including center Brad Hutt and tackle Aaron Dalan, to anchor the line.
The group has taken on the traditional role of the all guts, no glory job of an offensive linemen, buried in the trenches while your quarterbacks name is preceding by the words Heisman trophy candidate. And to the casual observer, Coats appears to be that quiet guy, not much of a talker, except of course, when he filling in for Olson.
His teammates and coaches quickly dispel that notion. The descriptions range from humorous to downright puzzling.
"Still water runs deep," says Morton with a hearty laugh when hearing the suggestion that Coats is a mellow guy. "Hes a clown. Hes a clown off the field. He likes to laugh, play practical jokes, puns, all sorts of things. His cynicism is unparalleled."
Dalan, who has shared a dorm room with Coats during the last two fall camps, simply says, "he is the most high-maintenance guy I know.
"Its everything from skin-care products to his fancy electrical toothbrush," says Dalan. "He better hope he makes a lot of money, whatever he does, or hes going to have to lower his standard of living."
Quarterback Brock Huard, who reaps the benefits of the offensive lines hard work, simply calls Coats "the big sexy." He does not offer an explanation.
Perhaps the story of his summer marriage proposal to longtime girlfriend Alicia Meatzie would offer insight. Coats took Meatzie, who does not like to fly, up in a small airplane flown by his roommate. They flew to their hometown of Port Orchard and the pilot circled a dock upon which Coats had first asked Meatzie out and where they had shared their first kiss.
"She had no idea any of this was going to happen," Coats explains. "She thought we were just going for a ride because my roommate was leaving soon and I was going to be starting football, an end-of summer thing. She had taken some motion-sickness medicine to help her out."
As they circled the dock, and circled, and circled, Coats proposed to Meatzie. She said yes - and then immediately proceeded to throw up, not just once but twice.
"It was maybe 30 seconds after I asked her," says Coats. "She was overwhelmed by the whole thing, all teary-eyed, and my roommate keeps circling the dock. It was a beautiful day and it was pretty warm in the plane. All of the sudden she say, I think Im going to be sick and bam, there she goes. I got a lot of grief about that from my buddies.
"Will you marry me? Yes, bleeeck," Coats says as he makes a retching noise. "How romantic."
Needless to say, the couple plans to marry next March.
Coats is much quieter when it comes to talking about his success on the football field and in the classroom. "He is not one to seek out glory," says his father Dave. "He sets high goals for himself and just goes about his business."
The elder Coats can easily testify to his sons goal-setting prowess. As a ninth-grader with a B average in school, Dave Coats offered his son $200 if he came home with straight As on his report card, a perfect 4.0 grade point average.
The youngster didnt quite make it the first quarter but did the next time around and kept his streak almost intact through the rest of high school. The lone blemishes were a pair of A-minus grades as a sophomore. Fortunately for Dad, it was a one-time payment.
"He couldnt afford me after that," Tony says with a laugh.
But the trend was set. Coats, who has is an academic all-America candidate this season, plans to pursue a career as a chiropractor. He has completed the pre-medical requirements for chiropractic school and plans to apply to the Palmer West School in San Jose, one of the top institutions in the profession.
Coats, who may delay this career path if he is drafted next spring, chose chiropractic medicine after discarding family practice or veterinary medicine.
"I never like needles and blood when I was growing up," he says. "I figured, if I didnt like that stuff myself, how was I going to do anything for someone else? I thought maybe I didnt like that idea because it was working on people, so my next thought was to be a veterinarian. That only lasted until I saw two surgeries. I almost fainted and had to leave the room during one of them.
Plan C.
Coats, who is actually earning his degree in psychology, had a high school friend whose father was a chiropractor and offered summer internships in his office.
"With chiropractic medicine, people want to get better," says Coats. "They dont just want a quick fix with drugs or medicine. You are dealing with people who are excited to get better.
"I learned a lot in my internships and the biggest thing was that there is always something new. The people I worked with said their job was like a hobby. They enjoyed going to work every day. If something new or different comes up, you hit the books and try to figure it out."
Whether he plays in the NFL or goes straight to chiropractic school, Coats will spend this year trying to figure out how to keep Brock Huard standing and how to get the Huskies into the endzone. He says the preseason accolades just give him incentive to work harder.
"Im sure there will be added pressure," he says of all the hype. "I guess I might be the guy with the bullseye on my chest this year. That just gives me motivation to work harder.
"Every year the seniors talk about how you should enjoy your last year," he continues. "Now I see what they meant. It hasnt completely sunk in yet, but I think about it. I want to go out on top, win all our games. I want to hear that horn go off in Husky Stadium every time we score a touchdown. Theres nothing else like it."
