Emory, Virginia, may not be the first place one might think to compare to Hawai'i, but the Appalachian Mountain town has a spirit of aloha reflected in coach Curt Newsome's football program at Emory & Henry.

"We felt like with the people there, it was like being in Hawai'i," said Craig Stutzmann.

Stutzmann is in his first season as wide receivers coach and passing game coordinator at Texas State. San Marcos, Texas, is part of a coaching journey that has seen the former University of Hawai'i receiver return to his alma mater on the island of Oahu; coach on the Palouse at Washington State; and help transition Utah Tech to Div. I competition. 

Along the way, Stutzmann spent two years as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Emory & Henry working alongside Newsome. Through all his travels, his time coaching the Wasps has had a lasting impression on Stutzmann. 

"Emory, Virginia, to this day, has such a special place in our heart," he said. 

Stutzmann landed at Emory & Henry in 2014, the same year Newsome began as head coach. 

Newsome worked with two true legends in Virginia — Mickey Matthews at James Madison and Frank Beamer at Virginia Tech — before returning to his alma mater. 

Newsome had just concluded his second tour with James Madison at the completion of the 2013 season, and reached out to Justin Rascati. Rascati quarterbacked JMU to the NCAA national championship in 2004. 

Rascati was offered the role of passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Div. I Tennessee-Martin the same offseason, a job he held for two seasons before graduating to offensive coordinator at Tennessee Tech. 

Rascati's since become an assistant offensive line coach for the NFL's Minnesota Vikings. While Rascati didn't coach at Emory & Henry, he played a key role in growing Wasps football's influence when he reached out to Stutzmann, who had been a colleague at Weber State. 

The time it takes to play two quarters of football was all Stutzmann said he needed to know Emory & Henry was the place for him. 

"I could tell in 30 minutes [of his first telephone conversation with Newsome] it was going to be a great fit," Stutzmann said. "The thing he sold me on, when we first talked on the phone, was he said, 'I'm a Div. I football coach. I'm going to run it like a Div. I program.'" 

And, as a result, Stutzmann said: "I learned a lot from him."

A product of the Run and Shoot offense as a receiver at Hawai'i, Stutzmann built a wealth of pass-oriented knowledge playing for June Jones and later coaching with Mouse Davis. Working with Newsome, who Stutzmann hails as "an offensive line guru," the young coach added perspective on overseeing the trenches with his insights on attacking the perimeters. 

Stutzmann, meanwhile, checked the boxes of what Newsome described as the qualities Emory & Henry value as a program. 

"Gets along with other coaches, and not afraid of work," Newsome said. "You spend so much time together as a staff, I think personalities are important." 

Newsome credits Matthews and Beamer both for helping to shape this philosophy. Newsome coached the offensive line at Virginia Tech from 2006 through 2010 and interior lineman in 2011 and 2012. 

During that stretch, the Hokies won three Atlantic Coast Conference championships and appeared in Bowl Championship Series games four times.  

Newsome's first tenure with Matthews at James Madison spanned from 1999 through 2005 and peaked with the Dukes' 2004 national championship.  

"Mickey got me into the college business. I owe everything to him. He's a special guy in the way he treats people," Newsome said. "Mickey did it the right way. He cared about his coaches. He always talked about loyalty and was always loyal to his assistants." 

Stutzmann described Newsome's philosophy, taken from Matthews, as "genuine." 

"He is who he is," Stutzmann said. "He does what he believes in, and he has fun with it. …It gave me the confidence to be like, 'Alright, I’m from Hawaii, I’m traveling all cross the country, I’m bringing my culture, my heritage with me. I’m going to assimilate with the surroundings around me but I’m going to be who I am.' 

"When you’re genuine in that way, people respect that," he added.

Respect has translated into influence, as Newsome's imprint can be seen this football season in south Texas, Utah and Minnesota, at the home of the reigning Super Bowl champions in Kansas City, and at Hawai'i. 

UH kicked off its second campaign under the guidance of Timmy Chang, the one-time NCAA career passing yardage leader and another former offensive coordinator working with Newsome at Emory & Henry. 

"I got to Emory & Henry by way of Craig Stutzmann," said Chang. 

In much the same way Rascati connected Stutzmann with Newsome, Stutzmann paid it forward upon joining the staff at the University of Hawai'i in 2016. 

Chang was coming off a 2015 season as offensive coordinator at Jackson State in which the Tigers struggled to a 3-8 record and head coach Harold Jackson was fired midway through. Chang sought another opportunity at his coaching future, which came via his playing past. 

Stutzmann was a primary target for Chang when the latter was beginning his march toward the passing record of 17,072 yards, hauling in 682 yards with five touchdowns off of Chang passes in 2000. The two were also alumni of Saint Louis School, a Honolulu-based high school that produces top-flight college prospects every year. 

"Coach Newsome was like, 'Hey, you've got any recommendations?'" Stutzmann recounts. "I called [Chang] up...I said, 'I was coaching at this Div. III program, Emory & Henry College, I've been there for two years, and offensively we've got this thing set. The coach is an amazing person, and this place is awesome.'" 

Chang, initially uncertain about his next career move, made the trip to Emory at Stutzmann's urging for a visit — a recruiting trip, of sorts. 

Chang was sold, and so was Newsome. 

"It was a very easy transition," Newsome said. "They had similar ideas. [Chang] was more run-and-shoot, Craig was more [run-pass option] but [Chang] adjusted to what we were doing, and did a great job with it." 

Chang oversaw an offense in 2016 that put up 463.5 yards and 33 points per game, in line with the Wasps' averages a season prior when Stutzmann coordinated the offense.

Quarterbacking Emory & Henry both seasons was Kevin Saxton, who passed for 69 touchdowns in his time as a Wasp and rushed for another five. Since his standout career at Emory & Henry, Saxton has spread the Newsome coaching tree further into the NFL as an assistant with the Kansas City Chiefs. 

As one door closes another one opens! Extremely grateful and excited for this next chapter God has planned for me! Let’s get to work #ChiefsKigndom pic.twitter.com/7Pku10V5fC

— Kevin Saxton II (@kevinsaxton_3) March 17, 2023

Players like Saxton likewise contributed to the lasting impression Emory & Henry's had on Chang. 

"Those guys played purely out of their love for the game," Chang said. It was a group Chang described as influenced him in his coaching approach with, "the work they put in, the ways they got themselves ready to play."

Observers can see that influence in Chang's current Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors team. 

"This is a program built on hard work," UH linebacker Logan Taylor said. "Coach Chang, he had to work for what he has. His confidence, his belief in what he has...that trickles down to us. I cannot speak highly enough about this coaching staff." 

Ready to run through a wall!

? @CoachTimmyChang #BRADDAHHOOD x #GoBows pic.twitter.com/zJ4D2wn53K

— Hawaii Football (@HawaiiFootball) August 28, 2023

Chang's first season at Hawai'i presented its share of challenges, a result of mass transfers before the former Rainbow Warrior quarterback was introduced as head coach. Rebuilding with wholesale changes to the roster, UH lost its first three games to Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky and Michigan by a combined 131 points. 

But as the season progressed, the Rainbow Warriors made clear strides. They took Mountain West Conference-contending stalwart San Diego State to the wire in a 16-14 decision; they dropped a 41-34 shootout to defending league champion Utah State. 

In back-to-back weeks against programs to which, like Emory & Henry, Chang had direct ties — Nevada and Colorado State — UH scored a 31-16 win over the Wolf Pack and were within a four-point margin on the road against Jay Norvell and the Rams. 

Chang spent five seasons at Nevada as wide receivers and tight ends coach, working with then-Pack and current Colorado State head coach Norvell. 

"If coach Norvell doesn’t come calling at the Div. I level," Chang said, "I’d still be there [at Emory & Henry]."  

Year 2 for Chang back at UH opened with the Rainbow Warriors taking Vanderbilt to the limit in a 35-28 thriller Week 0; a reversal of about 50 points from just a year earlier, pointing to the continued progress at Hawai'i under Chang's direction. 

Newsome said he keeps up with the Rainbow Warriors' progress — albeit mostly on Sunday mornings due to UH's frequent midnight Eastern Time kickoffs. 

Even if UH plays a bulk of its games after Newsome's bedtime, by the coach's admission, Chang knows well that the Emory & Henry coach is in his corner — and that of his family, a recurring theme for those who came through the Emory & Henry program. 

Stutzmann said that while joining the Wasps in 2014 was easy for him, his wife, Briana, faced an adjustment coming from Utah. 

"When she first came out, it was a little bit hard for her," Stutzmann said. "But coach Newsome’s wife Melinda took [Briana] under her wing."

Chang described a similar connection with Melinda, whom he said is text-messaging pals with himself and his children. 

"She taught my wife [Sherry] a lot about ...how to recruit and treat players," Chang said. 

And Melinda was part of Timmy and Sherry's wedding, which was held at the chapel at Emory & Henry — "and the reception was in my living," Newsome pointed out. 

While Newsome's impact has spread throughout football — with Chang and Saxton, and Stutzman and his brother Billy Ray, the current passing game coordinator at Utah Tech  — his own program has also experienced growth. 

On Sept. 2, Emory & Henry opens its third season at the Div. II level and its second as a member of the South Atlantic Conference. The Wasps feature a veteran lineup with preseason All-SAC selections Ricky Dodson on the line, Kyle Short at quarterback, Tmahdae Penn at wide receiver and Justin Hill at running back. 

The four lead a Wasps offense that continues "evolving," as Newsome described, from the concepts that Stutzmann and Chang helped put in place. 

Emory & Henry is coming off a 5-6 finish in its debut SAC season, which included taking reigning and eventual repeat league champion Newberry to double overtime and knocking off a Wingate team that qualified for the Div. II Playoffs. 

The Wasps get the chance to show their championship potential in 2023 early, drawing Newberry in Week 3. 

Should it play out, Emory & Henry competing for the top of the SAC shouldn't catch anyone off-guard. 

"When you hire a guy like Curt Newsome, you know you're going to get the best of the best," Stutzmann said. "Coach Newsome is the kind of guy [who] can carry that program...When they're going up a level and having success, that doesn't surprise me. He's going to win the conference soon." 

It's a proposition no more surprising than Emory, Virginia, being compared to Hawai'i.