Things are settling down after the recent coaching shake up at Vermilion Catholic and most of the pieces are now in place after the recent hiring of University Wisconsin graduate Russell Kuhns to take the reins of the defense.

Kuhns, a native of Bellvue, Ohio, brings passion and experience to the job, said VC head coach Roch Charpentier.

“He’s a good guy. He’s going to come in and work hard for us and work well with the kids,” he said of his new hire. “He’s a guy that the kids will respond to.”

Charpentier should know, as Kuhns was his strength and conditioning coach at Henderson State in Arkansas, where Charpentier finished his collegiate career.

“That’s where I got to know what kind of kind of character he has,” he said. “He’s a guy that’s willing to work to get done whatever needs to get done.

“He wants the best for the kids and he wants to win.”

Kuhns, 32, was also the linebackers coach at Henderson State. A former linebacker and fullback at Wisconsin, Kuhns will teach American History and Civics at VC in addition to his defensive coordinator duties.

He said he is fired up and ready for some football.

Though he has not yet been in town a full week, Kuhns said he is impressed with the stable of young men at his disposal on VC’s defense.

“I haven’t got to meet all the kids yet,” he said. “But, they’re some extraordinary athletes... There’s some good football players down here. I’m really excited.”

Kuhns, majored in at Wisconsin, receiving his Bachelor’s Degree in 2002. He played linebacker and fullback for the Badgers, finishing his career at the Alamo Bowl as a senior.

He went on to get his Master’s Degree in Kinesiology at Bowling Green in Kentucky.

Kuhns said his defensive philosophy, though, has developed recently while working under Henderson State defensive coordinator Carey Baker.

“(Baker) is a real good guy to learn from,” he said. “I’ve basically taken what he does and taken what they’ve run here (VC) in the past and tried to blend it together and make it as easy for the kids as I possibly can to just try and win some football games.

“I can draw as much stuff on a board as I want. But, what the kids understand is what’s going to work.”

Kuhns said Baker’s attention to detail rubbed off on him, as well as his leadership.

“He’s a great person to be around and to learn from, both as a person and a coach,” he said.

In the same vein, Kuhns credited his high school coach at Bellview High School, Ed Nasonti, with showing, not only how to be a football player, but also a man. He said he wants to do the same for the players under his command.

“He’s like a father figure to me,” said Kuhns of Nasonti. “I would never have achieved everything that I have achieved if it wasn’t for him. It’s invaluable, what he taught me.

“I’d like to pass that along and be a great mentor to these kids and try to show them how to live life and be a great man and be the best they can be.”

Kuhns has now moved into a residence in Abbeville. He said he has been to south Louisiana before to visit with LSU offensive coordinator Greg Studrawa, under whom he worked as a graduate assistant at Bowling Green, but that this is his first extended stay in the area.

“Coach Stud is a great man,” he said. “He’s really the one who gave me a shot to get into coaching.

“He’s going to be a head coach somewhere someday.”

When asked, Kuhns said that he, too, aspires to get a head coaching position one day. Whether that happens, he said, is not up to him.

“That’s the probably the ultimate goal for any coach,” he said. “But, I just want to learn as much as I can along the way. If opportunities happen then they happen. If they don’t, they don’t,” he said. “I’m down here because of an opportunity. You’ve just got to have faith in God and trust he’ll lead you in the right direction.”