Lawson focused on final season at Rye Cove

CLINCHPORT — Burning couches after big wins has become tradition for fans of the West Virginia football program. Ethan Lawson burned one in anticipation of playing for the Mountaineers. When the Rye Cove senior committed to West Virginia on June 2, Lawson also released a video showing him burning a couch, a tweet that drew plenty of attention in the social media world. "We found a couch at the dump, took it to my house and burned it," Lawson said. "That is pretty much what it was. We were like, 'Hey, we are just going to burn a couch like the West Virginia people do' and it went viral. That was never the intentions to go viral. It was by complete accident." Lawson received plenty of feedback, including from the WVU coaching staff, along with Rye Cove head coach Gary Collier, who saw the video prior to it being released. "I wish he would have stayed in the frame a little bit longer, but he complained how hot the fire was," Collier said. "It was pretty cool. Just kind of down his alley too. It was a good time. I think the people at West Virginia loved it. They loved what he done." With that decision made, the 6-foot-6, 310-pound senior was able to turn his attention to his final season playing for his beloved Rye Cove, something he has done by spending much of his life in the weight room since January. "I am just hoping to get better than I was last year and be ready to play at the next level and see what it is going to be like, but I am worried about Rye Cove now more than anything." Lawson said. "I wouldn't want to play anywhere else. We have the coaches, we have the players. Everybody knows me, I know everybody, it has been great. I have loved it." Collier, who arrived at Rye Cove as Lawson began the eighth grade, has recognized Lawson as a key cog in the Eagles' turnaround from shutting down its season mid-year in 2021 to Class 1 state runners-up last season. "When he was an eighth grader he was jumping up and down like he won the lottery in the weight room because he benched 200 (pounds). It is like a 100 pounds a year since then, he is at 470 or something now," Collier said. "He has just been hard working. He has got it, he loves it here and we love having him here. "That frame, you can't coach that 6-7, 320 pounds, but what a blessing to have him. What a great kid all around, great family. This whole recruiting process has been good for Rye Cove, it has been for me, it has been good for everybody. He has handled that really well." Lawson, who bench presses 475 pounds and box squats 600, had long dreamed of playing at the next level, even writing his goal on a board in his weight room at home. "I have wanted to be a college football player since I was tiny. I just kind of woke up and said, 'I want to this, it is my dream'," said Lawson, who wasn't "tiny" for very long. "I have been big my entire life. I was a big kid, I was the biggest kid in all my grades. I have always been a big tall kid. I have replaced some of the fat with muscle, but that is kind of what happened." That size, combined with his elite ability, drew plenty of interest from college coaches, with Lawson becoming what is believed to be the first Division I football signee from Rye Cove. "These coaches that have been here have just been incredible," Collier said. "I am sitting in the office getting calls from Georgia and Alabama. They didn't offer, but they invited him to their camps. He went to those camps and he got 23 or so D-1 offers, and they come here and loved him. "They would come here and want him to come visit and he would be at another place and they would go get him and bring him from the other place. It was a great experience for everybody. He has handled it so well and it is well deserved too." Lawson's college choice came down to West Virginia and Virginia Tech, but his final decision made happy men of WVU head coach Rich Rodriguez and offensive line coach Rick Trickett. "West Virginia was just a better fit for me in general. I love Coach Trickett, I love Rich Rod, I love all of them and it was a perfect decision for me," Lawson said. "It is the only show in the state, them and Marshall, Huntington has Marshall and the rest of the state is West Virginia." Collier wouldn't be surprised if Lawson plays sooner rather than later in Morgantown, but college football can wait. There is still business to complete at Rye Cove. "With the new college football rules where is no redshirting kind of stuff, he may be playing next fall," Collier said. "I look forward to that. We will go up there and help him burn a few couches and look forward to that too. He has got a job that is unfinished here too." Even with 12 seniors gone from last year's state runner-up team, Lawson thinks the Eagles still have the pieces to soar to the top of Class 1 in Virginia. That is the plan. "It is district, region, state. That is how we are looking at it right now." said Lawson, who's Eagles open the season on Aug. 22 against Lord Botetourt at Emory & Henry. "We win district, win region, we get to state and we just do what we did last year, except we are going to win."