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2013 FURMAN PALADINS FOOTBALL HEAD COACH BRUCE FOWLER el was fueled by the fact that he was among the smaller players at Mariemont High near Cincinnati but nonetheless earned all-conference honors in his senior season. It heightened when Fowler found an inspiring support cast at Furman. "Nobody played smarter and nobody worked harder. He was a great role model for the other players. He's still a hard worker who pays great attention to detail, and in doing that he sets a great example for the staff." Dick Sheridan (on Bruce Fowler) Sensing that Fowler's enthusiasm might be contagious, Baker encouraged him. Secondary coach Bobby Johnson "was a tremendous encouragement from the first day," and Fowler recalls that then-offensive coordinator) Sheridan seemed to go out his way to offer encouragement. It took Fowler by surprise that those coaches would invest precious time on a walk-on who was unlikely to be in uniform on game day. "I had a lot of encouragement," says Fowler, who had chosen Furman primarily for its academics. Johnson says Fowler's fortitude and work ethic commanded his attention. "He was not real big and not real fast, but he was a determined athlete," Johnson recalls. "He put effort into learning technique and tried to do exactly what the coaches told him to do. When coaches see that, it gets their attention. He got our attention because he earned it by the way he played." Sheridan remembers Fowler as a player with a strong work ethic "and great attention to detail. "Nobody played smarter and nobody worked harder. He was a great role model for the other players," Sheridan says. "He's still a hard worker who pays great attention to detail, and in doing that he sets a great example for the staff." Johnson saw the same diligence a few years later, after then-coach Jimmy Satterfield hired Fowler as a wide receivers coach. "You could tell that he put everything he had into coaching his players. He was very thorough; he didn't leave anything to chance, and prepared his players for all the scenarios they might see on game day." "When I had the opportunity to hire him as my defensive coordinator, I didn't hesitate. We won some big games there, and Bruce was a big part of it." Sorrells, the son of a successful Tennessee high school coach, says Fowler's walk-on routine made scholarship players take notice. "He was a gritty player, consistently trying to overachieve," Sorrells recalls. "Everybody loved his intensity. He'd come to practice tremendously prepared, and go as hard as he could go. He earned playing time not because of his talent, but because he had all the intangibles that make a good player." The same traits, Sorrells believes, continue to inspire those around him. "He's basically the same now as a coach – he's reliable, consistent, very aggressive, and always prepared," Sorrells says. "He talks to players about dealing with the things they can control – preparation and effort. When a team buys into that, you have a chance to win some games." Paladin Club director Ken Pettus, a linebacker coach in '77, says Fowler got attention because "he was such a fierce competitor, and so smart" as a player. The same traits underscore his coaching routine. Pettus often watches practice sessions, which he says are marked by efficient time management and a business approach. "He brings that Dick Sheridan/Bobby Johnson intensity," says Pettus, who coached under Sheridan at Furman and North Carolina State. "Our players practice extremely hard, play extremely hard, and study extremely hard. Bruce Fowler demands that they do, and sets the example. He practices as hard as any coach on the staff." In addition to the Furman coaching circles, Fowler was blessed to have served under an outstanding high school coach, Jack King. Shortly after earning a Furman degree in the spring of '81, Fowler joined the staff at Wren High, where King quickly became "an incredibly positive influence" for the next three years. When a grad-assistant spot opened on the Furman staff in '84, Sheridan turned to Fowler. It gave him the opportunity to earn a Master's degree, and to join a staff Furman 35 Paladins that was deep in coaching talent. In addition to Sheridan, whose .744 winning percentage is the highest in school history, it included four assistants (Jimmy Satterfield, Ted Cain, Johnson and Robbie Caldwell) who later became Division I head coaches. Fowler was part of 20 wins and a Division I-AA runner-up finish in his two grad-assistant seasons, and was promoted to full-time assistant in 1986 as Satterfield's receivers coach. He switched to the defensive side when Johnson left the staff for one year in '93, and was promoted to defensive coordinator by Johnson in '99 – the start of a three-year run that produced 30 wins, two Southern Conference championships, and a 2001 national runner-up finish. Johnson hired Fowler as his defensive coordinator at Vanderbilt, where they were part of an historic revival in that program. Fowler returned to Furman prior to the 2011 season, his first as a head coach on any level. In his debut, the team won six games, including surprise verdicts over Wofford and Appalachian State. "There are a lot of adjustments," Fowler says to the head coaching role, "but it's been a lot easier (making them) here, at a place where I'm so familiar with the people and the program." It is a place where Fowler's imprint was immediate. "He has a passion for football, and it shows," says former All-America linebacker Kadarron Anderson, whose senior year was marked by Fowler's arrival. "He's very intense. You could tell right away that he meant business. He's exactly what Furman needs."