BY JEREMY CURTIS
Tribune Correspondent

    MORGANTOWN — At West Virginia University, the Nehlen name is synonymous with Mountaineer football. At different points in time, a member of the Nehlen family has either been the head coach of WVU, a player on the team or a member of the football staff.
Don Nehlen started the family affair back in 1980, when he took over as head coach of the Mountaineers.
Don, a Mansfield, Ohio native, came to WVU from Michigan, where he served as an assistant coach under legendary Wolverine coach Bo Schembechler. He replaced WVU head coach Frank Cignetti, who went 17-27, in four years with the Mountaineers.
Don said he was tired of moving around for different coaching positions.
Along with Michigan, he served as an assistant at the University of Cincinnati and Bowling Green.
He said West Virginia Gov. John D. Rockefeller IV told him WVU had football coaches who were successful, but would leave for other programs.
“I came here to build a program. I didn’t come here to win a couple of games and leave when I got the chance.”
And build a program he certainly did.
After 21 seasons at WVU, Don compiled a 149-43-4 record and he is still the winningest coach in WVU football history. He retired as the 17th winningest college football coach of all-time and was inducted into the college football Hall of Fame.
“I think the game that turned the program completely around was when we went to Norman, Oklahoma,” Don said.
WVU beat the No. 9-ranked Oklahoma Sooners, 41-27, in the 1982 season-opener.
In 1984, WVU got another landmark victory, this time against perennial power Penn State. The Mountaineers won the game 17-14, in Morgantown. “That was a great moment in Mountaineer football,” said Don.
In 1988, Don led WVU to an 11-0 undefeated regular season and a berth in the national championship game, an accomplishment the team had never been able to reach.
WVU won its final regular season game, in 1988, against Syracuse, in Morgantown. A sold-out Mountaineer field of more than 65,000 fans saw WVU beat the Orangeman, 31-9, earning a shot at the national championship.
“In 1988, when we went undefeated, we went in the locker room and the stands were completely packed. They never left,” Don said. “We went back out on the field and took a victory lap. It was an unbelievable scene.”
Don was named national coach of the year in 1988.
The Mountaineers, however, lost the national championship game to Notre Dame, 34-21, in the Fiesta Bowl, in Tempe, Ariz.
WVU had another shot at the national championship during the 1993 season. The Mountaineers again finished the regular season 11-0 and were Big East conference champions. Nehlen earned national coach of the year honors a second time, but his team lost 41-7, to Florida, in the Sugar Bowl.
Don Nehlen Drive, a road in Morgantown near Milan Puskar Stadium, is appropriately named after the former coach. Don is responsible for developing the “Flying WV” logo, the current helmet design, and elevating the team to national prominence.
Don said he and his staff ran a clean program and were instrumental in getting the Caperton Indoor Practice Facility built, which is adjacent to Milan Puskar Stadium.
“The fact that we did it right, built facilities and made them a winner — that’s what I’d like to be remembered by.”
Don acknowledged he coached many great players in his 21 years at WVU, but said Hostetler was one of the better players he’d ever had. “He certainly had it.”
Hostetler was a quarterback for WVU during the 1982 and 1983 seasons. He played in 22 games for the Mountaineers and passed
 for 4,261 yards and 26 touchdowns, in his career at WVU.
In the 1982 win against Oklahoma, Hostetler threw for 321 yards and four touchdowns.
The team went 18-6 with Hostetler starting at quarterback and made it to the Gator and Hall of Fame bowls.
After his college career was over, Hostetler went on to play in the NFL for 15 years. He was the quarterback for the New York Giants team that won Super Bowl XXV, defeating the Buffalo Bills, 20-19.
Hostetler would eventually join the Nehlen family, when he married Nehlen’s daughter, Vicki. Both families still live in Morgantown and in 2006 and 2007, Jeff’s son, Justin, played safety for WVU. Justin is sill a student at the University.
Second- and third-generation Nehlens, Dan Nehlen, Don’s son, joined the WVU football staff in 1981 as a student manager and has been a part of the program ever since. In 1986, he became the assistant equipment manager and in 1988, was promoted to full-time equipment manager.
“I came here when my family did,” said Dan. “How things changed and grew were pretty amazing.”
Don said Dan treats the players well and the equipment is always clean, neat and ready to go.
“Danny loves his job. He does a great job with the equipment. That’s a thankless job,” said Don.
Dan mentioned the Nokia Sugar Bowl win against Georgia and the Tostitos Fiesta Bowl win against Oklahoma as memorable moments with the team. “Those are all games you won’t forget about.”
Though Dan never played football, his son, Ryan does, and this year, joined the Mountaineers as a walk-on receiver.
“I would’ve never thought 20 years ago I would’ve had a son on the field,” said his father.
Ryan, a 6-foot-3, 170-pound player from University High School, in Morgantown, grew up around Mountaineer football and said he never thought of playing anywhere else.
“Growing up, I’ve always wanted to play here. It was always my dream to play here.”
Ryan said current WVU head coach Bill Stewart went to his high school and sat him down to talk about him playing for the Mountaineers.
“We had a good hour conversation about coming here,” he said.
People ask him about dealing with the pressure of having the Nehlen name, but it’s something he loves. “Everybody just kind of expects you to do something.”
Ryan, who is an exercise physiology major, will take a red shirt this year and save a year of eligibility. He was a two-sport athlete for UHS, playing basketball and football. He earned class AAA first-team honors as a receiver, his senior year.
He said he was undecided whether he was gong to pursue playing college football or basketball.
“Before football season started last year, I was pretty happy with AAU basketball. It was kind of 50-50.”
Nehlen said he had a good football season his senior year and a shoulder injury made him miss much of basketball season. At that point, he decided on playing college football. He had surgery on his shoulder earlier this year and has fully recovered.
Ryan said he plans on contributing to the team any way he can, but wants to help the team as a receiver. He said his strengths as a pass-catcher include his hands, jumping ability and route running.
“Ryan is a really sharp, young kid. I think he’s got a chance to be a really good football player because he works at it,” said Don. “Ryan is going to catch the ball as good as anybody they have.”
Current WVU receivers Alric Arnett, Wes Lyons and Tito Gonzales helped Ryan adjust to college football.
“They do a great job of making sure you’re doing the right things and going to class,” he said.
Shawn Foreman, a former standout Mountaineer receiver who played for Don Nehlen, is Ryan’s all-time favorite WVU player. Ryan said Foreman could catch anything around him and he’d love to be compared to him someday.
Ryan said he loves having his father around the team. “He’s at every practice. I can’t slack off. He gives me some advice at home.”
Whether or not another Nehlen will be a part of Mountaineer football remains to be seen.
“I guess I’ve got to have a boy. I’ll definitely persuade him to come here,” said Ryan.
Doing well in school and contributing on the football field are Ryan’s two ultimate goals. His father and grandfather have experienced national championship games and Ryan hopes to have the same opportunity.
“I would love to win a national championship,” he said.