SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ISSUE
Elder Brothers Reunited as Coach and Player
Former ASU quarterback Trey Elder (left) is back on the football team coaching the wide receivers, a group that includes his brother Blake. Photo by Jason GilmerTrey Elder is quite familiar with how well one of his receivers runs routes, because he’s thrown passes to his brother Blake for years in their backyard.
Trey was named the new wide receivers coach at ASU earlier this month, and he’ll coach Blake during his senior year for the Mountaineers.
“I called Blake right after I talked to Coach [Jerry Moore] and asked if we were going to be man enough to do this and he told me to get up here,” said Trey, who takes over for Lance Taylor, who accepted a position with the New York Jets.
Blake is happy to have his brother as his position coach and knows that it will be a good fit.
“We are brothers, but we know how the new relationship works,” said Blake, a 2006 Byrnes (S.C.) High School graduate. “We know how to be brothers and keep that coach-player relationship.”
When Moore was looking for a new receivers coach, he had Trey, who graduated from Byrnes in 2004, in mind. Moore did, though, talk to other coaches about the position before offering the job to Trey.
Did Moore ask Blake about it beforehand?
“Heck no,” he said. “That really didn’t have any bearing on it. I thought about it, there you are coaching your brother, but that won’t be an issue.”
The brothers won’t let it be an issue. Trey has been helping Blake for years, teaching him how to read coverages and other aspects of the game.
As a senior at Byrnes, Trey completed a pass to Blake, then a sophomore, in a game against Boiling Springs. A few years later, the duo hooked up again as Trey was leading the Mountaineers. That day, Blake caught three passes from his brother against Western Carolina.
Trey, the winner of South Carolina’s Mr. Football award as a senior, had a job as an assistant coach at Byrnes but left his high school alma mater when this opportunity came.
“It’s always been my goal to coach in college,” Trey said. “I eventually want to be a coordinator and head coach, and I can’t think of a better place to do it than here. I love this place.”
Moore is also glad that Trey is back in Boone, as the coach likes having alumni on the coaching staff, which currently boasts five ASU graduates.
“I think it’s important. I don’t base every hiring on that,” Moore said. “I think it helps to have people who’ve walked across that stage and have an affection for Appalachian that’s a little deeper than just coaching here.”
Trey has that affection, as he played quarterback there. He spent much of his college career backing up quarterbacks Richie Williams and Armanti Edwards, but he was 4-0 as a starter in 2007 as the Mountaineers won a third straight national title.
Trey, who was a student assistant coach in 2008, played in the national semifinals against Furman in 2005 when Williams was injured and led the Mountaineers to a 29-23 come-from-behind victory.
Blake, a walk-on his freshman season, started for the Mountaineers last season and has caught 42 passes for 311 yards in his career and one touchdown.
The brothers have been working together for a few weeks and are ready for another successful season in the mountains.
“I don’t want him to take it easy on me,” Blake said. “I want him to coach me just as hard as everyone else, if not harder.
“Blake and I have always had a great relationship, a best friend-type of relationship,” Trey said. “We’ve always not been afraid to call each other out about things.”
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