Building A Winning Culture At Baldwin Wallace

A shoulder injury changed the plan, but not the passion. We sit down with Baldwin Wallace defensive coordinator Ethan Nichol to unpack how a would-be sports broadcaster became a college coach, why a cross-country move to Wyoming collided with COVID, and how a family-first choice brought him back to Ohio—and into a program built on grit and continuity.

Ethan shares the apprenticeship years at Heidelberg, where doing everything from DB drills to administrative grind taught him how a program works under real pressure. He opens up about that eerie pandemic road trip, the decision to keep his kids close to grandparents, and the surprising upside of coaching where the players know your children by name. From there we get tactical: a defense returning seven to eight starters after ranking top 29 nationally against the pass, an offense with elite red zone and third down numbers under OC Matt Brown, and a staff nucleus staying intact to turn language and reps into second nature. The theme is clear—8–2 is the floor. The next step demands adaptability, smarter in-game adjustments, and the humility to do the simple things perfectly.

We also zoom out to what makes Baldwin Wallace different. Born from a quarry owner’s belief in access, BW blends small-school focus with a big-city backdrop, pairs excellence with affordability, and boasts a 97% job placement rate. Ethan calls the OAC “only allowing calluses,” a wink to the students who pull up sleeves and make opportunity real. Along the way, we trade laughs about colleague Steve Thompson’s people skills, Fiddy's encyclopedic trivia, and the chaotic joy of parenting through game weeks. If you care about culture, development, and how stability beats flash, this one hits home.

All music brought to you by former guest of the show Speedo

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Transcript

Sponsor And Guest Introduction

SPEAKER_01 4:48

Welcome everybody to another episode of the Ride Home Rants podcast. This is as always your host, Mike Bono. I have a great guest for us today, but first and foremost, I do have to get in the newest sponsor that we just landed here for the Ride Home Rants podcast, and that is Web Western, a clothing apparel line uh made for everyone who is not afraid of hard work. For those who like to live outdoors, hunting, fishing, and just general working on the land. They have also started a golfing line too as well. So if you'd like to get out and hit the links, check them out at webwestern.com. Company that is a no BS company. And again, webwestern.com, use the promo code MikeBono and you will save yourself 10%. Webwestern.com, promo code Mike Bono. That being said, my guest today is coming to us from Balden Wallace University. He is the defensive coordinator and the assistant football coach there. And that is Ethan Nickel joins the show. Ethan, thank you for joining, man.

SPEAKER_00 5:51

Absolutely. Happy to be here.

SPEAKER_01 5:53

All right. So I mean, we're gonna we're gonna get into your background here a little bit here too as well. Uh, but tell everyone, you know, um, a little bit about yourself, first and foremost, for the people that may not know you.

Wyoming Hire And The Onset Of COVID

SPEAKER_00 6:03

Yeah, yeah. So uh born and raised in the state of Ohio, um, you know, one of four children. Father uh worked in basement waterproof, and mother was a teacher. Um you know, spent my childhood in Delaware, Ohio, and and went off to college, played ball there, uh, sustained a number of shoulder injuries. Um, and I actually had a dream uh, you know, of getting into sports broadcasting. At one point, was the uh general manager of the college radio station there, called just about every game I could get my hands on, whether it was basketball, baseball, anything that was outside of football season. We've done women's lacrosse, which, you know, for someone if you don't have a real background in that, right, is uh it's tough. Uh, you know, not necessarily knowing exactly the scheme of the game. It's a lot of just explaining who's passing the ball to who at that point. Uh, but you know, it was a it was a good experience. Um, I think all those shoulder injuries had kind of uh unearthed to me something I knew deep down all along was that uh, you know, football was more than just uh a hobby, it was a calling for me. And so I didn't about face going into like my junior year, um, gotten to an education background, you know, went through all of that with the intention of just coaching high school football and was just fortunate enough that um my college head coach had recommended to me, you know, the possibility of college coaching, specifically had mentioned, you know, hey, if teaching's what you want to do, you might be able to get a master's degree out of this. And so I kind of explored the possibilities and uh put my name in for a few jobs and was lucky enough that uh upon graduation, Heidelberg University over in Tiffin, well, one of our competitors in conference, uh, had an opening. And, you know, long story short, I get out on campus, they offer me a job, and uh I got, you know, uh an immersive experience there, two years as a graduate assistant working in the defensive backfield, uh, basically wearing every hat you could ever uh imagine of. And, you know, I loved it. I loved my time there. I love the people, uh, the players, the coaches I worked for and with. Like um, I couldn't have asked for a better way to be baptized into college football uh from the coaching perspective. And it just so happened that as my graduate assistantship was running out, um, that they had an opening for a full-time position. So uh the stars kind of aligned and I I accepted the full-time spot there. And I was there for two more years as a linebackers coach. Um and then just, you know, as fate have it, right? You know, I never went out looking for a different job, was always happy where I was, um, but had a colleague of mine who I actually came up with as a GA at Heidelberg who had kind of worked his way around the coaching profession a little bit. And um, you know, he got on at the University of Wyoming, knew that there was gonna be an opening there, and kind of alerted me about it. So uh interviewed for it. Uh, was lucky enough that my resume stayed on someone's desk during a coaching transition there. So actually the folks I interviewed with weren't even the folks that hired me. I just happened to kind of be lucky that my resume didn't get dusted up by the custodial staff over there. And uh nonetheless, uh going into March of 2020, I started over at uh you know the University of Wyoming. Consequently, the same time as COVID hit the world. So uh it's crazy. I remember driving out uh and I got about 10 or 12 hours into the trip. I stopped in Omaha, Nebraska. And Omaha was actually one of the first places to house COVID patients. Like as this was becoming a whole uh ordeal, right? Uh, they needed to go to like a top flight medical facility. And so it just so happened that relative to where these people were afflicted with COVID, the closest facility of a certain degree, of a certain level, was that Omaha, right? So it's like little did I know that like hearing that on the radio passing through Omaha was gonna flip the whole world upside down. So was there for like, I don't know, maybe a month before everything shut down. Uh, you know, came back for a little while uh to Ohio. Um imagine getting a rental car doing that. I I remember driving back too from Wyoming to Ohio, which is again like a 24-hour trip, round trip. It's like I felt like I was in like the walking dead. There was no one on the roads. No one. But um neither here nor there. So, you know, eventually the world starts back up. Uh, but in the process, right, you know, following that first season there, my wife and I were blessed that uh we got to be pregnant. Uh, our firstborn son was on the way, and we kind of made a decision that, you know, no matter where coaching took us, we wanted to make sure we stayed central to family. We kind of wanted to know that uh our kids weren't gonna know our parents or our siblings only through FaceTime or only through once-a-year visits, right? So we uh we started looking for for work back home and uh just again got lucky that my college head coach recommended me for the job here at BW and um came in and interviewed in 2022 uh and started that summer and spring. Um and been here now going on five years. So uh, you know, that's the long and short of it. Um brings you up to the current day at least.

Choosing Family Proximity And Landing At BW

SPEAKER_01 11:00

So gotcha. Uh you started it sound like you were reading my resume there for a little bit with wanting to be a sports broadcaster. That's actually what I got my degree in was uh journalism and uh sports broadcasting. Um thought that's what it was for me and you know, shoulder injuries. I was a competitive swimmer, a collegiate swimmer um senior year of high school, but I still, you know, want to play football with my buddies and everything like that, even though swimming was the sport of choice for me and ended up hurting my shoulder, losing my senior season, losing a bunch of scholarships there too, as well. Ended up going to Bethany College and uh sports broadcasting was and sports have just always been something that's been you know ingrained in me. And I always said, even though I love the game of football, I always said I would have made a better coach than I did a player uh at uh football, you know, a habitual special teamer um kick covers and everything like that too, as well. But knew my role and and executed it, but ended up sustaining an injury that was pretty detrimental to my uh swimming career. Uh, but you know, you live and you learn. And yeah, and now here, lo and behold, a lot of years later, um running a podcast that I get to talk about sports too now. It comes full circle uh with that. But yeah, I I love I love that. And you sound like you had a a pretty great uh start. And COVID kind of I don't want to say it it it helped you, but it kind of guided your career into the in the direction that it's going.

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Yeah, uh it's funny. My wife always says, like, you know, you're exactly where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there. So, you know, I don't know that I ever really had a plan in any of this, to be honest with you. You know, I set off to be a high school coach, and here I am a decade into college coaching, you know. So it's kind of going where the wind takes me a little bit.

SPEAKER_01 12:50

Absolutely. I get that for sure. You know, and being a football guy, I gotta know your thoughts with it being uh this recent. What did you think of the the Patriots Super Bowl, uh Patriots Seahawks Super Bowl this uh past couple weeks now?

SPEAKER_00 13:03

Yeah, uh I don't know, man. Like it's easy for me to be uh a critic on the outset, right? Um it felt like Drake May wasn't entirely accurate, you know, and I think there's some some blame to be shouldered there because I think the Patriots are better than what they put on tape that day, right? Uh but he he was inaccurate and it just that'll always stifle an offensive momentum. And then anytime you start getting behind the eight ball from a scoring standpoint, right? Like it always it wasn't until that Mac Hollins touchdown that uh you know it felt like it was dead to rights. And even then, you know, they controlled the clock, the run game, uh Seattle that is, and you know, the rest was history. So like, you know, the other the other piece of it is it was interesting to me that uh froze up on me there, Ethan.

SPEAKER_01 13:55

Can you hear me? I think I might have lost you there. Can you hear me? Can you hear me?

SPEAKER_00 14:01

I got you.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

I got yeah. I yeah, it froze up on me there for a second. I don't know what uh happened in there, but we got your back there. Um yeah, wonderful world of technology. Uh technology is great when it works. Um but yeah, we're talking about the the Patriots Sea Super Bowl. I don't think Drake may, I I I don't I don't necessarily want to say that I think the magnitude of the stage got to him, but he did not look like what I saw on tape for the entirety of the season.

SPEAKER_00 14:34

Yeah, I mean, was in contention for the MVP, right? And they say he maybe there was whispers of a shoulder injury, right? But you know, it's one of those things where it's like, hey, if you're good enough to play, you're good enough to play. If it's the Super Bowl on the line, there's enough adrenaline coursing through your veins that you kind of forget about any injuries or or bumps or bruises at that point.

Patriots vs Seahawks Super Bowl Breakdown

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah, I mean I I I feel like at that point in time of the season, is there anybody a hundred percent? You know what I mean? There's nobody that's a hundred percent. So you can blame it on whatever you want to blame it on. But I mean, I just the end of the day, I just I think being as young as he is, he it's a learning experience for him, and I think he'll be better uh for it. But that's you know, neither here nor there. I mean, we all can sit back and talk about it now all we want after a couple weeks after the Super Bowl and everything like that. And but yeah, it just it's it's tough to see because I like Drake. I liked him coming out into the draft. I thought the Patriots got a steal with him um and picking him, and I think he'll do great, but I just I think he was just a little too young for that that experience there, but I think he'll be better for it.

SPEAKER_00 15:43

That and the the fact that the Seahawks could keep getting home with the same pressure, you know.

SPEAKER_01 15:47

I mean, there's got to be some coaching decisions that's just bringing that you can't stop. Like, I mean, you're you're not gonna have a pass game if you can get get in with four. Like, that's just unheard of at that level with a four-man rush getting in in the Super Bowl.

SPEAKER_00 16:02

Come on now. Sure, sure. But even even the blitzes they were bringing, it felt like there was some of the same patterns that were coming home free, and there wasn't they can lost you again, even can you hear me?

SPEAKER_01 16:18

I don't know if we lost them or what's going on here. Can you hear me?

SPEAKER_00 16:24

Yeah, man. I'm gonna try on my phone here and see if that's a little better than uh I'm gonna see if that'll be better for the uh sake of technology.

SPEAKER_01 16:34

No, you're good. No worries on that. Um yeah, I got you good there now. Um I don't know if it's if which edit is going on because you know, my internet, we've been having terrible wind here in central Ohio the past couple of days.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

So uh where you at in central Ohio?

SPEAKER_01 16:52

Um I'm I don't know, we're outside of Columbus, a little town called Philo, Ohio.

SPEAKER_00 16:56

Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we used to go hunting out in uh Cambridge. Um okay, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, so we used to, I'm not kidding you. We used to sight uh sight our guns in on the embankment over off of uh 77 and 40 there.

SPEAKER_01 17:08

So okay.

SPEAKER_00 17:10

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 17:13

All right. So yeah, we got you back here. So we are good to go there now. Um yeah, getting into the super bow, I could talk about that all day, but I want to get into to you here a little bit. You know, you're a proud dad and husband. Uh I believe we've talked about it before we started rolling here, just had uh third third child, and you know, what's it like and being a dad and husband and the joys that that brings you with, you know, the coaching career too.

SPEAKER_00 17:42

I say uh we're rich on love and poor on sleep right now. Um you know, it it's uh I I don't know what I ever expected in terms of what it would be to be a dad, but I think it has far surpassed any expectation I could have had. You know, it's uh it's funny. My father-in-law used to tell me that the greatest joy is when you get home from work and they come pitter-pattering around a corner and they're so fired up to see, and I and words don't begin to express, you know, how special that feeling is, because especially because you know it's fleeting, right? Like it won't be there for forever. So uh constantly you're always forcing yourself to remember that you know, uh miss any tantrums you're dealing with, or uh, you know, just the other night, they're up in the middle of the night throwing up, and it's like, you know, they're only gonna be this little once, you know, and and you you gotta enjoy that. So it's been really cool because you know, you you mix coaching into all that, right? And like uh they to them, I'm I'm coaching for the New York Jets, right? Like it is the be-all end-all for them. And so they get to know a lot of the players. You know, I brought my oldest into meetings, um, he would be in there watching film with us, and you know, it's like each of the coaches have a special relationship with uh my kids, you know, where my middle son loves being able to call up our quarterback's coach, but our oldest son uh loves our O-line coach and offensive coordinator because you know he'll let him wrestle him and the OC sells it like he's you know, mid-90s Shawn Michaels here, you know. So um it's uh it's just cool because you know, for whatever you do lose maybe in terms of time with them, you gain in the number of relationships they develop and the other models, right? Uh the other um the other people they have to look up to besides just you, right? You know, upstanding people, hopefully in your organization as players or as coaches that set an example beyond what you set. Because no one's perfect, right? Like everyone's a fallible human being, but to see that there's more examples of goodness and potentially even the influence that maybe their dad has on them, like I don't know, that that's where you you gain anything you lost and then some back, if you know what I mean.

SPEAKER_01 19:56

Yeah, I get that. Um I I'm getting that now uh with my son being a stand-up comedian too, as well. I mean, I couldn't exactly be taking him into to bars and clubs when he was younger to get to see what dad does. Now he's getting a little bit older, he can start to be coming to to shows and that. But I mean, I still remember the one time um was doing a show, I was actually just hosting the show, and uh had my wife reported to one TikTok live or something like that to get the show out to a little bit more people, right when COVID was kind of starting to die down and everything like that, and people were getting out and being able to go and do shows and everything like that. And she ended up taking a picture on her phone, and my son was watching from TikTok live and comment on it. That's my dad right there. So that was just just something that little a little comment on a live stream that I was doing that he got to see because I mean he couldn't, he was just wasn't old enough to get in there. Now he's almost 17. He can start to come to the clubs and the and that and get to see get to see dad do his work when I when I can get shows and everything like that. So I'm starting to get that now with the work aspect, but I mean, there's nothing like when you get home and you the the kids are excited to see you, you know, especially you know, long road trips for me. And I'm sure with away games and stuff like that for you getting home from the on from the road, it's it's a little different, but you know, it's the same thing.

SPEAKER_00 21:26

Absolutely. No, yeah. I mean, that uh it it is cool too. I uh I have all these delusions of grandeur, maybe, but I'm hoping that as he gets a little older in each of them, right, that they can maybe take trips on the bus with me a little bit, you know, like you know, be on the sideline as a ball boy or something. Just some of those things where they can continue to to be there with you, even though you're busy uh with the game, right? That they're kind of creating those memories right there alongside you.

SPEAKER_01 21:52

Yeah, absolutely. Heck, I'm hoping he can work a camera at this point in time. You know what I mean?

SPEAKER_00 21:58

Put him to work, right? Ernest.

Fatherhood, Joys, And Balancing Coaching Life

SPEAKER_01 22:00

Put him to work and get to see dad do what he does, and we'll get we'll we're gonna put you to work if you're coming to come to work with dad. Um but yeah, it's it's it's just it's awesome. Uh, you know, honestly, never thought I would be here, you know, being a comedian, you know, now almost 17-year-old, got a couple stepkids too, as well. You know, it's just been living the dad life is is awesome. Never thought I was gonna to get to this point, you know, growing up, never thought it was gonna be for me, wouldn't change it for the world. Uh all my kids are are awesome, and there's that. But we're gonna get back into uh BW here a little bit for you. Uh, because you guys had a pretty good season last season, you know, finishing uh, I believe it was eight and two. Um, how has this off fest off uh offseason been going for you guys to prepare for the the uh this upcoming 2026 season?

SPEAKER_00 22:54

No, it's been good. Yeah, I mean, to be honest, eight and two, uh a lot of programs, obviously, and certainly, you know, it is nice to know that uh we're at the upper half of the league. And um what we think, you know, 55 of the last 60 years, we've had a winning season. So this is a a time-honored and and you know, tradition-rich program. But you know, eight and two, if it if we're not making noise in the national playoffs, you know, it's a little bit of uh a shortcoming for us, right? And so uh how do we take that next step? That's really been the the the focus and the emphasis of the offseason, um whether it's a from a developmental standpoint with the guys we have or you know, getting into the recruiting aspect of it, trying to address some of the deficiencies. You know, the nice thing is we're graduating um very little, you know, and and not in terms of talent, but in terms of starters. You know, I think on defense, we're gonna return seven or eight of the starting 11 uh from last season. And you know, that was a defense that was top 29 in the country in passing yardage. Uh, we gave up the fewest first downs in the league. Uh, we had two All-Americans, um, countless all-conference selections. So, you know, there was a lot to be fired up for there. And I think the other thing, you know, offensively, it's similar. I think again, either eight or nine out of the 11 are coming back. And that was a prolific offense. I mean, credit to our offensive coordinator, uh, Matt Brown, who's a BW alum. So I know that anytime they succeed, it's more than just his efforts on display, right? It's it's he is a part of that tradition. So to be able to give back to the program in that way, I'm sure is special for him, you know. And I mean, we were like second in the country in third down conversion or red zone percentage. Um you know, and he was named the assistant coach of the year. So the other thing that we're not turning over, thankfully, uh, is is the coaching staff. You know, all but um our graduate assistants are coming back, and that's just pretty common across any level, right? You know, graduate assistants have a limited time contract at any institution they work, and so uh outside of that, right, like the nucleus of our staff is coming back. So when you have that continuity and the ability to teach and coach, yeah, uh we've been able to get into meeting times, you know, optional meeting times with the guys, um, and they're hungry to learn. And and the nice part is is it isn't like we're reinventing the wheel necessarily, but to be able to get time on task so that this stuff is all second nature to them, like I don't know, that that's kind of been the secret sauce, I would say, right? Is getting really good at what you do. The old Bruce Lee thing, right? Like, I fear not the man who's practiced 10,000 kicks once, I fear the man who's practiced one kick 10,000 times, you know. And uh, I think that our guys are have really bought into that. It's not that we're putting a whole lot of new scheme in right now, it's not that we need a whole new uh line change, like in hockey, and we got to get fresh faces in the door. It's more about let's get really good at what we do and let's freaking take eight and two is the floor, right? Where's the ceiling? We can figure that out as we go.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

Yeah, I mean that that's awesome, and especially for turning that many people in this transfer portal college era that uh we're in, with everyone just looking for the the next step, I guess, um in their college career. That's huge for any program. Even the the coaching staff, you don't have to put in any new schemes so the guys know what the what the expectations are. And it's I don't want to say not a lot of coaching that needs to happen, but you guys can let them let them rip and then add pieces here and there that you need, uh whether that be plays or players or whatever it is. I mean, I'm looking for big things coming out of BW for for next year for sure for you guys in 2026.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

Yeah, I mean, that's the hope, right? Is uh it's a matter of you know, just making sure that not necessarily we try to uh you know reinvent the wheel or or change what we're doing, right? But that we adapt and overcome to whatever, you know, there's inevitably gonna be adversity, right? And so it's more so about making sure that you're tuned up and that you got your gears greased up ready. For whatever comes your way, and that you can be adaptable and have a plan. Um, you know, when your first plan doesn't exactly work or things don't go accordingly. So that'll be, I think, that's that's where you make your money as a coach, right? Is not necessarily the plan you have going into the season, but how you have to adjust or or what you become as the season concludes, right? So um needless to say, we're pretty excited. Springball's around the corner here, and uh that's always like dipping your feet back into water a little bit before you hit the ground running in August.

SPEAKER_01 27:17

Yeah, absolutely. Um, I follow everybody that's been on the show um and anything that they got going on. Um, I have been following BW because we you do work with a former uh guest of the show and Steve Thompson, uh who has been on the show, you know. So what's it like working with Steve? Because we're he's a big fan of the show. We're big fans of Steve here.

Spring Goals And BW’s 8–2 Season Foundations

SPEAKER_00 27:38

Steve's great. Uh he's uh he's an alum of the College of Worcester, just like myself. Um he is uh he's a hoot, man. You know, it's funny. He is uh he's great on the golf course, right? Like I actually had a chance to go out and and golf with some alums and uh to see him work a room, right? And I don't even just mean like, you know, from uh from a philanthropy standpoint, right? But just being able to like chop it up with with anyone, right? From all backgrounds, angles. You know, I don't know if he had like a dossier uh of all their backgrounds or something, right? He had done some some some intel on him at a time or something, right? But it's like his mind's a steel trap, you know, and he'll tell you, oh, he's some slappy who just can shoot the ball well enough to go to a school like Worcester or something. But you know, I I think he does his social uh IQ is is through the roof, you know. Um he can really relate well to people, and I'm sure that's why he was probably a hell of a good time on this podcast, because you get him out to the restaurant or something, and uh you start having a few pops or something, right? Like he's an all-time great guest, whether you're in person or on the pod, right?

SPEAKER_01 28:38

Yeah, he was he was great to have on. I mean, I I knew him briefly. I know he was out at uh Bethany for a little bit when I was there. Um, so got to got to see him there. Um, he's obviously worked closely with uh guy you know too as well, and the wonderful manager of this podcast here in Johnny Fitti Falcone. Um so you know, we we know Steve a lot. Loved having him on. Um one of the one of the few guests uh in that time when we had him on because we were really getting into some some deeper people. Uh it was just a guy like the the whole show. I I don't think there was many edits that I had to do to the show. It was like, oh man, this is like sitting down at the bar with my buddies and just shooting the shit with them. And it was great to have him on uh for sure. Um, and we love Steve. We love seeing the success at uh at BW for him too as well. Um, but I mentioned him, um the the craziness of the manager here at Johnny Fiddy Falcone. Um you've worked with him. I gotta know what it was like working with Fiddy from your perspective.

SPEAKER_00 29:42

Well, the funny thing is, right, is like I didn't find out till like two, three days ago. This dude went by Jay Fiddy from the city. Like there was uh I started I started peeling back the layers, right? Fiddy's like uh an ogre, right? Ogres have layers. Uh and and you know, the first time I meet the guy, he's wearing this uh blues clues looking rugby sweater, and I'm busting his chops, telling him about, you know, wondering if he found a clue and notebooks and all this other stuff. And you know, then he he's talking to us and he's wearing um he's wearing the ride home ranch uh polo. And I'm like, dude, what do we got going on here? And then so he starts talking to me about that, and then he talks to me about how uh you know he he he's in charge of marketing, all these different things. And now I'm like, all right, man. And then he starts telling me uh he was wearing an Italian flag hat, and I'm like, oh, it's big Italian heritage, right? And he goes, No, but like for real. And then he starts pulling out these like prison tats on his calf and all this other stuff. I'm like, dude, who is this guy, man? Then we come to find out he's been a high school head coach, he's been, you know, up and down the ranks in in admissions and in coaching and all this other stuff. I'm like, and you know, I haven't I have truthfully no idea how old he is. Uh I can't tell if he looks good for his age or or what, you know, it's like I there's more to uh to Falcone than meets the eye, man. Like, um, yeah, yeah, he is a he's a he's an enigma.

Staff Continuity, Defensive Identity, And Offense Metrics

SPEAKER_01 31:07

If you if you try to break down Fitty, you will it decades trying to trying to figure this man out. I've known him since college. We you know, we both were athletes at uh at Bethany College. We both were in a lot of the same classes at uh Bethany. We fell apart once we graduated. We we reconnected in the weirdest way out of college. I was um a car salesman at the time, and he was just in getting service. And I looked and I was like, that's fitty. And I and I went up to him and I just started shooting the shit. And then next thing you know, uh a couple years after that, I started this podcast and he was like, hey man, and he came on as like one of the first guests, and you know, we I mean we've always stayed connected after after that, but the man has more energy than anybody I know. Um absolutely drives my wife crazy um with how much energy he has. Um he's the first person that I talk to in the morning because he I have a text from him from 4:30 in the morning. He's already up, his day has started, and I'm not even awake yet. And I wake up to a text from Pitty. Um, but you know, it you can't you can't nail him down to anything. College coach, you're a high school coach, college coach, uh, tattoos everywhere. You wouldn't know that if you if you just looked at him. Almost 40-year-old uh man, you know, looks pretty good for his age, you know. And and just he goes, whatever he does, he gives it 152%. And that's what you're gonna get out of him, no matter what it is. And I I I love Pitty to death. Um so happy he's come on here and helped out here uh with the with the show when he did to get it off the ground like he has. Um but yeah, I mean, I wish I could bottle some of his energy and sell it as you know, an energy drink, because we oh sure, nobody would have to work ever again out of the show because it would just fly off the shelves if everybody had just a just a smidge of his energy.

SPEAKER_00 33:14

No doubt. Yeah, I mean, like he calls me at like geez, it was probably uh Thursday or Friday, 7.55 in the morning. Like, you know, I'm trying to get out the door, right? And like it's pure chaos at this point. Like, I got trying to get my kids breakfast, the lunch pack, whatever else, right? And he's talking to me about work stuff, and finally I was like, hey, John, I gotta let you go, brother. Like, it is pandemonium over here, and you know, it was like cool, no problem. We pick up on the phone probably 25 minutes later, and it's like we had never left off. It's like he had, if you had told me he had put a pin in it and hadn't said a word in his car and was just waiting, like one of those old like cartoons you see where it's like the moment he opens his mouth again, it all just comes back out. Like that was a hundred percent. We got back on the phone, we hadn't missed a beat. So, yeah, I think that's a pretty accurate assessment there of your boy.

SPEAKER_01 34:02

Yeah, it it he does it with me. Like I said, four 4:30. I could I could you you could literally set a clock to him. I know I get up at 5 a.m. every morning. I know when I wake up, there's gonna be a text message from Johnny, and a lot of it is stuff that's going on. He keeps me organized with the show. If if if he wasn't on here like helping out, like I would be like, I have to record when when do I get when when do I get you know, and it but he gets everybody that's been on the show, Johnny has found. Um, we we we've had four two-time middleweight boxing champion uh Kelly Pavlick on the show. Yeah, he told me because he ran into him in a bar. And he was just like, Hey, I I help out with this podcast. And next thing you know, I'm talking to Kelly Pavlick. Um WBC middleweight champion, right? And I'm talking to the man. Um I always say I'm I'm a slap dick comedian from the middle of Ohio and born and raised in West Virginia, that's still considered an up and cover after doing 13 years of comedy. And I'm talking to Kelly Pavlick on a podcast because Johnny ran into him at a bar. Right. The man isn't afraid to talk to anybody. He'll he he goes on Instagram and just finds people's pages and just starts messaging them about hey, I got I run this podcast. We're looking for guests and just the most random people on the planet come on. And I it I I don't know how he does it. It's like, dude, I don't know how you how you do it one uh with work life, you you're expecting your first child on the way to as well, you know, you everything like that. I mean, I I imagine it's gonna slow down a little bit when the baby comes for sure, uh knowing what um being a dad myself, knowing what it is and that, but yeah, it's just Freddie's awesome. And he he's he's the numbers guy too, as well. Like I you can ask him any stat from any era of any sport, and he knows it right off the top of his head.

SPEAKER_00 36:07

No kidding.

SPEAKER_01 36:08

It it's insane because like when we have like our round tables and our sports round tables, he's just spitting out numbers. It's like, where'd you come up with that number? And he's like, I just know the information. I try to fact check him, I try to call him on his BS. He's right every time.

SPEAKER_00 36:23

He does come in. He he will come in the office talking about different trivia questions. Like he was out here talking about which quarterbacks had been in five Super Bowls. There's only a certain number of them. Um, he could come up with another one, too. Like, he just you know, and it's not like this was uh an established bit, you know, it's just out of nowhere. He's like, Hey, I bet you kidding. It's like, dude, what are you talking to Webster right now? Like, what do we got going on here, man?

SPEAKER_01 36:46

Like a wealth of knowledge, it would anything. He's the numbers guy. And everybody that comes onto our route tables when he says something about numbers, they're all just like, oh, here we go. What do you got for us, buddy? Like, yeah, you're gonna blow our minds with these numbers, and we're just like, he's right. A hundred percent of the time, he's right, and we don't know how he does it, but love him for it. Um, with that being said, with BW, uh I know we're getting down uh into the spring season and that, and then we're gonna be looking for um new. So, why should students choose BW first and foremost? You know, whether they're athletes, musicians, or just a regular student, you know, why is BW so special to you guys?

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SPEAKER_00 37:27

Yeah, I don't know. I think the the the big thing I would tell you is what was the name of that that sponsor of yours uh to start the show Web Western. Something caught my eye about that because you said it was no BS, right? It was uh for people who like to get their hands dirty. Um and that I think it is BW. I think BW is a is a school of opportunity, right? I think this is for a guy who worked uh or whose parents worked in you know education, you know, local education, and in in manual labor, right? Like this is the type of place they would have worked to send a guy like me to school. Um you know, I joke around, we're in the OAC, um, and this is you know standing for Ohio Athletic Conference. But I said that acronym really should stand for only allowing calluses because if you don't have calluses on your hands, right, this is not a place for you because you gotta work for it, right? Like this is a place you go and pull your sleeves up, and you gotta be willing to get it out of the mud. Um, but it is also a school that's known, and you say this is where excellence meets affordability, right? And you know, the the I always tell I I've done some research, right? So I started to get into the origins of the place. And it was founded by John Baldwin, and it was started uh in part because his mom uh was denied entrance into university. Um, you know, until about early 1800s. It's it's really uncommon uh for women, you know, save for few opportunities to be able to be admitted into school. So he was a pretty successful quarry owner here in Berea, and uh they specialized in sandstone. And he had done well enough, right, that not only from a financial standpoint, but from a quality standpoint, he had brand recognition. Essentially, the sandstone he had uh you know exported was used for grindstones, used in mills, industry, everything like that. And they didn't want it, right, in the steel mills or wherever else. They didn't want the sandstone uh um grindstone unless it came from Berea. It was known as the Berea standard, uh, and that all came from John Walton. It was literally um the the Cleveland standard, the Berea grit is what they called it. Well, I think about how that ties in, right? So what's he do? He goes and establishes his own university um with you know the mind that I guess the idea in mind that regardless of race, religion, credo, background, socioeconomic standing, right? I don't care who your dad is or who he worked for, anything of that nature, this is a place of opportunity for you to come and better your life, right? And so I think that those two things really matter to me because if you are looking for a standard of excellence and an opportunity upward, you find that here, right? And so, you know, I say this isn't for everyone, right? Uh, but it can be for anyone. Um, and what I mean by that is, right, is like there are BW folks and there's folks who are maybe akin or or uh attracted to other institutions for whatever reason, right? But we feel like you know, we have OKGs here, our kind of guys, and it's the type of guy who wants a better way for themselves in the world, but also uh they they appreciate the the grit, right? Like going through things to grow through them. It is less about what I gain from an experience, but also what I become by it. And that's what BW offers you. You know, I think that this isn't just textbook learning here. This isn't just um, you know, a lecture-based uh learning experience, right? Like they get the kids out into internships, uh, they get them out into alumni networking opportunities, they do all these things to get them out. At the end of the day, a degree is nothing but a piece of paper that said I did it, right? It's a receipt certificate of completion. It's what you do with it that matters. And I think that we do a better job than anyone. And truth, I mean, truthfully, regionally we're tops. We have a 97% job placement rate, right? It's like, why do you go to college? Anymore, it's because you know that all the data shows that you have the chance to exponentially increase your earnings over the course of time with a college degree in tow. Well, okay, you can go to school just about anywhere. So it's not just the degree you're after, it's not only the experience, right? But it's connections, it's opportunity, it's the quality of education as well. So we feel like we package that all up into one, you know, neat, you know, experience. And to me, like that's what separates us. You know, the national average for that job placement stat is 85%. Well, we're outperforming the country by 12%. So to me, like you talk about why and and why us. Well, I I would say why anyone else? Because I I think you can't get this anywhere else, you know. So that'd be my take. I mean, you look at it too, you know, it took me 12 minutes to get from campus to downtown Cleveland, right? And still yet you don't deal with any of the the problems in being near a major metro area, you know. We're the top 10 safest campus in all of America, you know. So small school feel, big city backdrop. I mean, I I don't know. I think all those things, and let's be honest, I've said this a million times, so I get really good at it, but uh I'm also passionate about it because I think this is one of the best places I've ever worked amongst you know, uh the the decade in college football I've spent. So that's a big reason why.

SPEAKER_01 42:32

Yeah, that's that's huge. I I I love that for BW and everyone that's there. Um I love a shapeless plug that you just gave to one of the new sponsors too, as well. Like that that's let's talk about that for a minute. And and as you can see, that I'm wearing their logo is a big W. You know what I mean? Um and yeah, no, I this was just being back to to them and kind of tying it into that, you know. It's why I was excited that they wanted to come on uh with Web Western. Um my my father was a steel mill worker from the time he was 18. He just recently retired um a steel mill worker. My grandfather was a steel mill worker. So have that in uh my background and anybody that's you know not afraid of that hard work, I I want to align myself with them in any way that I can because I I I lived it growing up and uh I got a college education because my dad said he wasn't gonna have me be the third generation Bonaventura in the steel mills. Um because he kind of saw what was happening with the steel mills, uh obviously, um, with a lot of them being uh shut down right now and everything like that. But we're not here to talk about that. But you know, it's it's he just he wanted, I guess, better for me. And but those people that aren't afraid to roll their sleeves up and get dirty and you know, like you said, have calluses on their hands, you know, like are you even working? And that's what I'm like it's just how I grew up, blue collar, you know. If if if your hands aren't callous, like did you did you really put it in a day's work? Um, my my dad, I mean, he makes fun of me all the time when I talk to him every week because you know, I'm in working customer service and everything like that too, as well. I'm a comedian too, as well. And he was just like, and I tell him, oh man, I had a 12-hour day. He's like, that's cute. I remember my first part-time job, you know what I mean? Like, you know, uh, I get the comedianess obviously, honestly, because that's just how we grew up. If you weren't uh going along with the joke, you were the butt of the joke family growing up that way. So um, but yeah, just I I love that for for that. And you know, a lot of I don't I don't want to say not a lot of people know about BW, but I don't think the right people know about BW. And I'm here to put that on blast and let people know that it's it's a great institution to go go to. I know a lot of people that are there, and you know, align myself with them too as well, especially with with how we grew up and you, Steve, and and Johnny and them all there too, as well. So you can't go wrong uh with that university, in my opinion.

SPEAKER_00 45:08

But no, I agree, man. I agree. I'm glad to hear. I think, like you said, man, anyone, anyone and everyone will tell you that what makes any place special is the people, right? But um, I think that hopefully this pod, right, gives you a living, breathing testament of that.

SPEAKER_01 45:24

Yeah, I yeah, I hope so too, as well. Uh for your guys' uh sake, and I hope it helps you out too as well. But Ethan, we are running down near the end of the episode. I do need to get this last segment in here because if I don't, as you know, the wonderful manager of the podcast, Johnny Fittipalconi, uh won't let me hear the end of it. Uh, and that is the fast 55. Five random questions from the wonderful manager of the podcast, Johnny Fittipalcone. These are for the new listeners out there, these are kind of rapid fire, uh, but you can elaborate if you uh need to. And um, I gotta tell you, you can most of these have nothing to do with what we've been talking about for the better part of 45 minutes here.

SPEAKER_00 46:02

So I can't wait. I can't wait.

SPEAKER_01 46:05

You're ready. Here we go. Question number one: what's a cooler nickname for a starting five basketball team?

SPEAKER_00 46:16

A cooler nickname, like I'm coming up with one.

SPEAKER_01 46:19

Apparently, I that's it. He ended the question there. Normally we have options. He ended the question there.

SPEAKER_00 46:25

Oh man, I think of like I love WWE wrestling, so I think I'd I'd think something of like you know, the fearsome five or something. You know, like you'd have to have something like that. What was Triple H and uh and and Batista and all those guys? They were the evolution, maybe something along those lines too. Once you get really rolling and notorious.

SPEAKER_01 46:45

Question. Oh, okay. I um I I missed the the part of the question there. Um, he you came up with one. Um let's go back to that one. Cooler nickname for starting five basketball team. The Thunder from Down Under or the Wrecking Crew.

SPEAKER_00 47:04

Ooh. Ooh. This has to be for like some intramural basketball team he's participating in. Let's go Thunder from Down Under.

SPEAKER_01 47:12

Gotcha. Yeah, I did. I completely missed that part of the question until I started to read down more. Yeah. He sends these to me day of when we're recording. I don't get to see these and prep myself for these until we we know we're recording. So this is this is we're we're reading these for the first time together. Right on. Question number two What's harder? Hitting a home run in baseball or scoring a goal in hockey.

SPEAKER_00 47:37

Oh, well, normally I'd say baseball. Uh, hockey presupposes that you actually have to be able to skate. You could stand up in the in the box, and who knows, if you get enough swings and cuts at it, you might just accidentally connect with one. I don't think you will, but even just being able to support yourself, it's like swimming, right? You know this. Swimming, I think it's like, well, you can't just go in there and not do anything because you'll drown and die. So I think it's got to be hockey, probably.

SPEAKER_01 48:01

I would agree with that. I'm a huge hockey fan. Big baseball fan, bigger, bigger hockey fan. Hockey is just that those athletes are just unreal. That is an athlete. A hockey player. That's an athlete.

SPEAKER_00 48:11

Yeah. Question number one. Big game tomorrow. Big game.

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SPEAKER_01 48:15

I can't wait. I can't wait for that game. I'm setting an alarm because it's at 8 a.m. I'm setting an alarm to wake up to watch this game. Uh righty. Question number three here. Would you rather eat a grapefruit or a bag of a bag of cherries? Cherries all day, not even close. Yeah, I'm not a big grapefruit guy myself either. Uh, question number four Are sticky notes overrated or underrated?

SPEAKER_00 48:41

Underrated. Underrated. I've got about million sticky notes. I could use them as office decor.

SPEAKER_01 48:48

Tells it me all the time. She's like, look at your desk. It's like, yeah, this is organization for me. It's organized chaos. I know exactly where don't touch anyone. Don't don't touch them. I know exactly where it is and what I need to do. And last but not least, question five. Uh, what was your favorite CD growing up?

SPEAKER_00 49:03

Oh, country grammar Nelly.

SPEAKER_01 49:05

Oh, was not expecting that. Not gonna lie to you here, but that's a that's a great one uh for that one to end that one. And that was the fast 55. I gotta say, Ethan, he took it a little bit easy. That first one, I mean, I I I screwed that up a thousand percent. That was on me, but um yeah, he normally has like weird fighting questions, I'll say. Um, if you listen to the last episode, um, which was the round table, uh, we we started off with uh would you rather fight 50 Emperor Penguins or one coyote in a racquetball court? That's normally the questions we get with the Fast 55. And it's yeah, he comes up with the the most random ones. And for the new listeners out there, the way we came up with this segment is Johnny normally would just send me these questions text message-wise, like just randomly throughout the day. And it was just the thoughts that went through his mind is this like, all right, you're in a racquetball court, it's you, Connor McGregor, Batman, you've got a road flare, a boxing glove, and something and a and a and a bow staff, who comes out alive? Like that, those were kind of like the questions that would roll through his head. So I was like, what a fun way to kind of end the episode. What if we just rapid-fired these questions at people?

SPEAKER_00 50:28

So I loved it. I'm telling you, that's it. That's a great way to go.

SPEAKER_01 50:32

That that is, and I gotta tell you, Ethan, I do give every guest this uh opportunity at the end of every show. Um, if there's anything else that you want to get out there that we didn't get put into the show for whether it's for BW, uh anything else that you got going on in your personal life, or even if it's just a great message that you want to give out, uh I'm gonna give you about a minute and the floor is yours.

SPEAKER_00 50:51

Oh man. Uh at the top form. Nah, man, I'm just gonna tell you, I appreciate the opportunity to be on the show. Uh, you know, for all of your guests and for all of the folks uh listening, uh, you know, I I I think that uh this is a special place to be that BNBW. And um we uh we we love to get anyone and everyone out for a game if you're looking uh for a place to call home for the next four years and you know make your way out in the world, not to mention be a part of a program, something bigger than yourself, right? Uh you talk about Jim Trestle as a notorious alum, Anthony Kendall playing in the NFL for the Cleveland Browns. I mean, you know, I think that there is uh like we talked about Fitty has uh layers, right? BW's got a lot of layers too, man. And I think that uh when you look at who you are and what you want to be in this world, uh BW can help you not only uh find that, but shape that along the way. And um I welcome any conversation for anyone looking for a place to call home, you know, whether it's your siblings, children, relatives, whoever, you know, find a way to get in contact with me, myself, Steve Thompson, Fitty, and you know, we'd happy to tell you the spread the gospel of all things, yellow jacket, man.

SPEAKER_01 52:01

Absolutely. Um looking for big things from you coming this next upcoming 2026 season out of the football program. I do follow them. I'm gonna follow them even closer now that you're on the show. Uh, we appreciate you coming on the show, Ethan. And um with that being said, that is actually going to do it for this week's episode of the Ride Home Rants Podcast. I want to thank my guest again, Ethan Nichols, for joining the show. Um, and as always, if you enjoyed the show, be a friend. Tell a friend. If you didn't, tell them anyways, they might like it just because you didn't. That's gonna do it for me, and I will see y'all next week.