Pile driver

Safety Willie Pile leads the Virginia Tech defense

No. 4 Virginia Tech is holding opponents to a national-low 7.8 points per game, a statistic that has a lot to do with the prolific, efficient tackling of fifth-year senior Willie Pile. The 6-foot-3, 205-pound free safety was second on the team with 94 hits last year, and currently paces the Hokies in total tackles (35) and forced fumbles (two). Better known as "Coach Pile" to his teammates, the loquacious New York native (his mother settled in the Alexandria, Va., area when Willie was a seventh-grader) is all-business on the field, the classroom and even during his free time.

Kelley King: You took snaps at quarterback, receiver and defensive back during your career at West Potomac High in Maryland. Did you drive the team bus, too?

Willie Pile: That's the beauty of high school! The crazy thing was, if your coach needed you to do all of those different things, you had no problem answering that call. I got to Tech thinking it would be cool to line up at quarterback from time to time, but found out pretty quickly that you just can't do that in college. Because you need so much more energy to survive in a Division I game, you need to figure out what your calling is. D-back turned out to be mine.

King: You're involved in a ton of tackles each game -- what do you do before each game to get yourself energized?

Pile: I don't lean on music or any of that stuff. It really comes down to knowing that you are better than the next player, and that's something you take care of in the weight room and on the practice field, long before the game begins. When the defense runs on the field, the thought in my mind is that I want to get off of it as soon as possible.

King: If you had to list Willie Pile's greatest hits, which would they be?

Pile: A few stick out in my mind. One was during last year's Western Michigan game when this receiver was coming in on a slant and I got a real good hit on his midsection. I kind of just stood over him while he was folded over on the ground and rolling around for a while. But my absolute favorite was against Clemson's Woody Dantzler in the 2000 Gator Bowl. Woody was running a draw and looking around as if he was wide open when I came in on him and took him down. I remember him laying there, still for a moment, and then saying "Whew." Just like that --"Whew."

King: Your coaches and teammates all talk about how studious you are, and how you could have gone to Harvard or Stanford with the grades you earned in high school. What do you plan to do with the business-management degree you earned last year?

Pile: My latest idea is that I want to run camps for kids that would combine academics, sports and the social realm. I'm not sure, though; I have a lot of ideas running around my head. My main goal in college was getting a degree that would allow me to be comfortable into old age. And that means running a business during, not after, an NFL career, so that I'm set after my playing days are over. So many guys get into the pros, spend lots of cash and end up scrambling to get some broadcasting job because the money has run out. After my playing days are over I want to be able to return to the business I had already built, sit back in my desk chair and relax a little.

King: There's a word for people like you: multitasker.

Pile: It's true. I can't do anything without analyzing everything that's going on around me. I can't even enjoy a movie without trying to get to the bottom of what's going on and why. It really gets out of control on the field; I've been known to call plays for the offense during games. That's how I earned my nickname, Coach Pile.

King: Tell me about the four P's the Virginia Tech defense discusses before games.

Pile: [Defensive coordinator Bud] Foster came up with the first three P's that all of us need to play with: passion, patience and poise. But I made up the fourth P: performance. Because football games aren't just about going out and making plays, especially in a nationally televised game like the one coming up. When you're on a big stage like that, you are putting on a performance. Think about Michael Jackson: He doesn't just get up there and sing. He interacts with his drummer, does a two-step with his guitarist, and just gets everyone into it and involved. When we fly around the ball and have fun with our teammates, we improve the experience for everyone watching the game.

King: Last question: Can Virginia Tech beat Miami?

Pile: I can't say anything bad about Miami -- I have nothing but respect for the Hurricanes. They are so well coached, so good at recruiting and so all-around skilled that they have raised the profile of the entire conference. I can't even remember the last time they lost. But Virginia Tech has a lot going for it too this year. We'll come to play.

Sports Illustrated writer-reporter Kelley King covers college football for the magazine and is a regular contributor to CNNSI.com. She will chat with a different player each Tuesday during the season.

 

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