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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 4 51 fensive coordinator, stomped toward the bench. He lowered his shimmering bald head, crouched his com- pact, well-toned body and had his deep brown eyes por- ing right into McCollum's. And let it rip. Something along the lines of, "Hey, it's time to go, you need to step up," McCollum said. Only with more forceful language and a spitfire in- tensity that can intimidate some. But not McCollum, who uses Holt's direct, fiery ap- proach to fuel his own force and performance. McCollum appreciates every word that spills from Holt's mouth, even if they aren't exactly flowery and sugar-coated. All are well-intentioned, and that's what matters most: With every fiber of his being, Nick Holt wants to pull out every bit of effort, every bit of pas- sion, every bit of potential from his players. "He gets in your face about stuff," McCollum said, relaying the story as an example of how Holt always seems to bring more out of players than they think they can give. "Once he does that, you wake up and you know that you have to get something done, you're doing this right or the way he wants it done. So you have to switch gears and do it. He just drives you to do better. "He's always on the go. There's no relaxing with him. The only time you relax is when the game is over and you win. You get that W, you relax, and then the next day, it's back at it." That's what Purdue's linebackers and defensive players can expect. Holt finished his WKU career being carried off the field on players' shoulders after a bowl victory — he was the interim head coach for the game after Jeff Brohm left to take Purdue's head coaching job — and then followed Brohm to West Lafayette. Holt was named the co-defensive coordinator, play-caller, and linebackers coach. He'd hoped to get hired as the Hill- toppers' head coach — he's been a head coach before, spending two seasons at Idaho — but when WKU went with Mike Stanford, Holt seized the next-best opportu- nity, his first gig in the Big Ten after previous experi- ence as a defensive coordinator in the Pac-12 at USC and Washington. At those stops, he was charged with rebuilding a de- fense, the same challenge he has at Purdue. But for the ultimate competitor, a guy who goes even as far as calling himself "a sore loser," this seemed to be the perfect fit. It's another chance to affect young men's lives while awaking what Holt called a sleeping giant of a program. Holt is eager to use innate leadership skills to in- spire hard-working, passionate young men to expend their energy and revive a turnaround. It's just how he's built. "You're going to see a guy who is running around and coaching with a sense of urgency and being en- thusiastic and having fun and be teaching," Holt said. "But by the same token, I think you've got to try to make it fun for the kids. They've got to feel you. They've got to feel your energy and your passion. The game should be played with some passion, some enthusiasm. If not, don't play it. If we're not enthusiastic as coaches, they're sure as heck not going to be as players." Passionate may be the word most often used to de- scribe Holt. Three former Western Kentucky captains who played for him — McCollum, linebacker Drew Davis and safe- ty Marcus Ward — and Brohm all used some version of the word, typically when referencing Holt's best trait. Ward said passion "bleeds through" Holt. Davis called Holt "fiery," saying he "coaches with a lot of passion" because he loves the game. McCollum said Holt's passion translates into Holt having to call games from the sideline. "He's so pumped and intense, he can't be in the box," McCollum said. "He can't be tamed like that. He has to be out loose. He has to be down there running, telling you exactly instead of somebody else telling you. He wants to know how much it means (to players)." Holt's passion manifests in more ways than strictly a potentially menacing intensity. The veteran coach also is passionate about learn- ing, about teaching, about leadership, about helping players maximize talent and about developing strategy to put them in the best positions to do that. Maybe that's why Nick Holt's collection of books is so extensive. He has heaps of them on two bookcases flanking the fireplace at his house back in Kentucky, more packed