Propst keeps popping up

By Andy Brown

Published: November 1, 2007

It seems everywhere you turn there he is.
The man whose mug was made famous thanks to MTV’s “Two-A-Days” now has his face plastered on the pages of newspapers ranging from The Birmingham News to USA Today, and yes, even the weekend edition of the Eufaula Tribune.
He is of course, Rush Propst.
So why is his face gracing the pages of so many papers? Well, On Tuesday, the Hoover head coach tendered his resignation to the Hoover school board under an agreement approved unanimously by the Hoover school board that will allow the Propst to coach the Bucs through the playoffs.
Following the conclusion of the Bucs’ playoff run, Propst, who spent three years coaching at Eufaula in the mid-1990s, will be transferred to an administrative assistant job until his resignation takes effect on Aug. 31. His duties will be determined by Superintendent Andy Craig and his pay will remain at $100,678.
Under the agreement, the school board is also required to pay the coach a $120,000 annuity by Aug. 31 and provide for the transfer of one year of service from the Georgia Retirement System to the Alabama Retirement System. The value of that transfer is stated to be about $21,000.
For more on what led to Propst being ousted by the Hoover school system check out USA Today or The Birmingham News.

A different view of the coach

In talking with a handful of people who knew Propst during his time in the Bluff City, I learned a few things.
One, even then, as the coach of a team that posted just one winning season in three years, Propst was a big personality.
“When I watched Two-A-Days I saw a lot of similarities in the way he did things (at Hoover and Eufaula),” Tom Clements, a three-year starter for Propst at quarterback, said. “He was just as big a character and personality then.”
Two, despite how’s he’s perceived by those outside the football world, he still commands a great deal of respect and loyalty from many of his former players.
“I think he’s a great man,” David Hill, a three-year starter at wide receiver for Propst, said. “I still have a lot of respect for him, and in some ways I owe some of the successes I have had in life to the things he taught me while I played for him.”
And finally, no one is as good or bad as they seem.
For an outsider, Propst is easy to dislike. From the “ding” comment on “Two-A-Days” to allegations of cheating to win games, it’s easy to make the coach into a monster.
But talk with his former players and coaches and even members of the media that covered him and his teams and you’ll see that while he certainly had some flaws – and don’t we all – he could also be likeable.
“We would spend an hour or so in his office after the games talking about what happened,” Jack Smith, former managing editor of the Eufaula Tribune, said. “Win or lose, he was always the same to me and always treated me with respect.”

Clements remembers encounter with Propst

Lakeside offensive coordinator and former Eufaula standout Tom Clements remembers well one of his first encounters with Rush Propst.
It was 1994, Clements’ sophomore year and Propst first year at the helm of the Eufaula program.
Propst called Clements, the team’s quarterback, along with wide receivers and fellow sophomores David Hill and Yeasive Ware into his office.
“He told us that everyone was saying Eufaula couldn’t throw the ball, and that we were going to be the group that proved Eufaula could throw the ball,” Clements said.
Over the next three seasons, we passed for 4,286 yards.
“Everyone said we couldn’t do it, but he believed we could and he made us believe we could,” Clements said.
Propst also helped turn around a program that had fallen on hard times. Clements’ freshman year the Tigers posted a 3-7 record.
After a 3-7 season and a 5-5 season, Propst led the Tigers to a 10-2 season and the second round of the playoffs.
“He helped bring it back,” Clements said. “Before he came here we weren’t exactly tearing it up with success, but that was the group that kind of got things back on track.”