FSU's Sons of the Sixties: A Case for the Defense by John Crowe & Dale McCullers

Author:John Crowe & Dale McCullers
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atlantic Publishing Group, Inc.
Published: 2019-01-23T15:43:18+00:00

Coach Gary Wyant - Defensive Backs 1966 - 1969

Chapter 16

Gary Wyant - “Daddy Rat”

John Crowe

Coach Wyant can best be described as a perfectionist. He was willing to work long hours to make sure every detail was covered inside and out on every job or task he was given. He required total dedication from himself and held others to the same high standard. That was certainly his persona when he was the defensive back coach at Florida State University, coaching a group of undersized young men from 1967 to 1969. Not everyone could meet his standards, but those who did became a solid unit and team. Because of our size and our hustle — and the toughness that Coach Wyant developed in each of us — one Director of Sports Publicity named us the “Rat Pack.” He once said, “Look at them out there, running around like a bunch of wild mice chasing after cheese.” So we were known as the “Rat Pack” and even had our own logo, shirt, and jacket. Coach Wyant was affectionately known as “Daddy Rat.”

The Rat Pack was always prepared, and while sometimes we would get outplayed, it was usually because of the opponents’ skills and not lack of execution on our part. We wore out the projector watching films on our opponents. In 1967 through 1969, the Seminoles intercepted 63 passes, an incredible number that averaged out to over two picks per game. In 1968, the Seminoles led the nation with 25 intercept ions.

Like the defensive players who have made a Case for the Defense, Coach Wyant was also a Son of the Sixties and came from parents of the Greatest Gener ation.

Gary Wyant was born in 1940, the only child of Dorothy Grace and Woodrow Wilson Wyant. His parents met in a poor rural farming community in Kansas, the same town they grew up in. Woodrow finished high school, and after marriage, decided to leave the farm. He initially worked for the Santa Fe Railroad before beginning training as a chiropractor. The family initially lived in Medicine Lodge, Kansas. Coach Wyant remembers moving many times as his dad looked for the ideal place to open his practice. One of those moves was to Oregon, and they spent some time traveling in the northwestern United States. Oregon law required Woodrow to take additional training before he could get a license to practice, so after much consideration, the family returned to Wichita, Kansas where he opened an office in their home. This would be the final move; Coach Wyant attended school in Wichita and developed his passion to c oach.

Once his family settled in Wichita, Coach Wyant became active in sports, excelling in football, basketball, baseball, and track. In middle school, he played basketball and ran track but focused on football and baseball in high school. He attended Wichita East High, a very large school that had over 3,600 students. He played quarterback on the football team and all the infield positions in baseball, but preferred first base because of his admiration for Stan “The Man” Musial.

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