Beyond the Game Plan: Dave Huxtable

By Chad Wylie, Special Contributor

RALEIGH, N.C. - When I first met Dave Huxtable at his home in Raleigh, he was wearing a sweaty tank top and gym shorts. He apologized for his appearance, saying he had just finished a morning workout at the house.

I was welcomed through the backyard gate and ushered around his backyard, past a pool where his grandchildren splashed and giggled, the radio playing softly in the background. I was introduced to his wife, Vicki, and his dog. During our conversation on the patio, his son-in-law, Philip, came back from a jog around the neighborhood.

The life of a college football coach has taken Huxtable to 11 collegiate programs located in nine different states. But in Raleigh, surrounded by his family and those he loves the most, Huxtable seems entirely at peace.

"I'm living my dream right now coaching at North Carolina State University," Huxtable said. "I'm coaching in a great place with great people. I'm living in a beautiful part of the country, living the dream every day."

Huxtable's nationwide relationship with football started in his hometown, Elgin, Illinois, where he was born and raised. While playing football, basketball and baseball during middle school and high school, Huxtable naturally gravitated toward football.

"When I was growing up, my favorite sport was always the one that was in season," Huxtable said. "But there was always something special about football that I loved more. How competitive it is, the physical elements and the strategy attracted me to it."

Upon graduation from Eastern Illinois University, Huxtable was hired as the defensive coordinator at East Aurora High School. Three years later, in 1982, he took a graduate assistant job at Iowa State, and his college coaching career began.

Through his journey, Huxtable has made stops at some of the nation's top programs, coaching linebackers at Oklahoma State, North Carolina, Central Florida, Wisconsin and Pittsburgh. His one season coaching linebackers at Wisconsin in 2011 culminated in a Rose Bowl appearance, and he coordinated several nationally ranked defenses at Pittsburgh and UCF.

While his four decades of experience have helped him hone his abilities as a defensive strategist and coach, Huxtable cites the personal relationships as the most rewarding part of his job.

"As a coach you wear many hats," Huxtable said. "There is a percent of our job that deals with X's and O's, but I never lose the human side of it. They are young men and I am their coach, their mentor, and while I'm teaching them the game of football, I hope I'm also teaching them things that they can use in their lives as well."

Quincy Monk and David Thornton, two NFL draft picks Huxtable coached at North Carolina, have made surprise visits to see their old coach. Robert Jones, a Super Bowl winning linebacker who Huxtable coached at East Carolina, recognized the impact he had on his career, and now his son, Levi, is playing for Huxtable at NC State.

"It's just so nice to hear from them, about their families and where they are in life after football," Huxtable said. "Knowing that maybe you had a little part to play in their life as a player and in their life after football is a really neat thing for me."

That culture is what drew Huxtable to Raleigh and has kept him with the Wolfpack.

"Our players are very close with each other," Huxtable said. "It's a family atmosphere and we talk about family a lot. Coaches have players over to their houses for cookouts, our families come have dinner with players in the dining hall. The culture that has been built here is a really cool thing."

As Huxtable sits on his patio, watching his wife and grandkids, it is easy to see that family is always present in his mind. He understands the sacrifices his wife, son Jake and daughter Shea, have made, and the support they have been for him to live his dream coaching. Reflecting on his travels as a coach, Huxtable keeps his priorities in perspective.

"My family is always, along with God, the most important thing in my life," Huxtable said. "During football season, that demands a lot of my time, but I find time during the day to FaceTime my grandkids and call my son. Every day we talk, I make that a priority to be sure we do that every day."

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