Q&A with PantherTalk’s Ben Moore: New LBs Coach P.J. Volker

February 9, 2017 KSU Owl

photo taken from Volker’s Twitter.

Kennesaw State now has its third linebackers coach in as many years. P.J. Volker has come over from Georgia State, who cleared their whole staff when new head coach Shawn Elliott took over.

Ben Moore of PantherTalk, a Georgia State online community, was nice enough to do a little Q&A when he heard Volker had moved across town. (Off topic, but to any GSU fans reading this blog, these two teams play in 2018, so feel free to drop by our message boards any time!)

Now on to the Q&A!

Owl Howl: What are your initial thoughts about Volker joining KSU? How did he become available?

Moore: He’s a steal for KSU. I honestly thought he’d land a little sooner but with so little coaching movement at the FBS level and FCS level he had to wait and evaluate his opportunities. In many cases, schools wait to have position coaches change until after National Signing Day so I was glad to see him stay in Georgia.

Volker was let go with the rest of the GSU staff after head coach Shawn Elliott was hired. Honestly, I was a bit surprised because of how well he recruited for GSU and how strong and deep the linebackers were, but coaches like to have their own guys.

Owl Howl: What are Volker’s strengths?

Moore: All coaches must be able to do three things with some level of competency – recruit, develop and coach on the field. Some can do better in one area or the other but it’s rare to find those who can do all three. PJ is the rarity who can do all three. All his backers love him and fight for him. You’ll quickly see his group, which he calls the “LBeasts” develop and grow into the leaders on the defense. He is a young guy who is very hands on and often spends time after practice working with young guys.

Owl Howl: Which areas did he have the most luck recruiting?

Moore: He has recruited power house programs like Stephenson HS, Mays HS and the Midwest JUCOs. This will absolutely pay off in a big way for KSU’s 2018 and 2019 classes. He also has the knack to find guys who fit the system who may be off the radar. PJ is from the Cincinnati area and has family ties to that area so don’t be surprised if he snatches a kid from that area.

The Owls run a base 4-2-5 so he’s going to land that 6’1 195lbs high school kid who can really run and fly around who can grow into a guy who will be 225 or 230lbs by the time he’s a Junior. Georgia State’s linebacker corps is about a solid and deep a unit as any on the roster and that’s a credit to Volker.

Owl Howl: Who are some successful GSU players past or present that he had a heavy hand in recruiting?

Moore: Going to cheat a little and give you a list of his offers, targets and signees (http://247sports.com/Coach/PJ-Volker-1779) but two guys I want to highlight: Tight End Ari Werts and Linebacker Kaleb Ringer. Werts played at Stephenson High School and had some academic issues early in his prep career and wasn’t able to get them cleared up. Volker convinced GSU to stick with him, allow him to get his work done and get a higher ACT score and he was able to enroll at GSU in January effectively making him a greyshirt. He was a 247Sports Composite three star prospect and is an NFL prospect just two and half years later.

As for Ringer, he was a 247Sports Composite three star who signed with the University of Michigan but had a knee injury that forced him to redshirt. He transferred down to Butler Community College in Kansas where PJ was the lead recruiter. Kaleb took an official visit to GSU and loved the city of Atlanta and the Panthers landed him. He was the emotional leader of the defense that was one of the nation’s most improved and had a stellar two year career for GSU.

These are the type of guys you have to recruit in order to not only be successful but are looking to build a championship caliber program. As I said above, KSU is getting a steal of a coach in PJ Volker.

Source: ksuowlhowl.com
Link: Q&A with PantherTalk’s Ben Moore: New LBs Coach P.J. Volker

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