Middle Tennessee State University Athletics
Special bonds helping Render reach goals
8/8/2018 4:00:00 PM | Football
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. – The bonds between players and their coaches can oftentimes be strong, like a brotherhood or a father-figure relationship.
For example, future NBA Hall of Famer Tim Duncan has been on record saying longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was more of a father figure than a coach, that his teachings about life have far outweighed anything he could ever teach Duncan on a basketball court.
Likewise, countless stories can be found involving athletes forming brotherhoods with teammates that last a lifetime. Sometimes, they're even stronger bonds than the ones between actual siblings.
In Tyshun Render's case, similar relationships are helping him fulfill his ultimate goals.
Middle Tennessee's redshirt junior defensive end came to Murfreesboro in 2015 as a tall, lanky, tight end-defensive end combo player from Newnan, Georgia.
He didn't say much as he walked onto campus. He's still rather quiet, really, but that's ok – he has a teammate who does plenty of talking.
"I'm not the vocal guy. Malik [Manciel] is our hype guy," Render said, giving a laugh.
While weighing just 220 pounds coming out of Westlake High School – usually far too small for a defensive lineman – Render was dead set on being a defensive end for the Blue Raiders.
"Everybody's dream in college is to catch a touchdown, of course," he said. "But, there's something about the dark side. I'd rather hit somebody than get hit any day."
His determination despite his size caught the eye of defensive line coach Tommy West, who was at the time in his second year with Middle Tennessee.
The coach didn't know he was about to become an instrumental part of Render's life.
West has a long history of coaching football. His almost 40-year career includes head-coaching gigs at Chattanooga, Clemson and Memphis and 10 other assistant-coaching jobs.
Along the way, West has developed countless relationships with incredible players, including new NFL Hall of Famers Brian Dawkins and Terrell Owens. Dawkins even gave West a shout out during his recent hall of fame speech, thanking him for what he did for his career.
A similar relationship developed with West and Render.
They connected immediately, mostly because of Render's high character and work ethic he distributed even as a freshman going through a redshirt year.
Now, their relationship has developed into the strongest of bonds.
"Man, he's like a father figure to me," Render said. "I don't really talk to my folks back at the house, because I don't want to put my worries up here with them down there, and I don't want to bring their worries up here. He's like my backbone here.
"He would never tell me anything wrong. I trust Coach West with everything."
Alongside Manciel, a defensive tackle, Render ruled the defensive scout team for the Blue Raiders while waiting for his chance to hit the actual playing field the next season.
The linemen were instantly inseparable both on and off the field.
"Malik's been my guy since we came in," Render said. "We treated scout team like it was game day every day freshman year. That's translated over to now.
"That's a special bond between me and him. That's my guy. We aren't even roommates, but you would think we are. We're never apart."
With his coach's help and his brother by his side, Render starting making strides as a defensive end in his redshirt year. Then, as a redshirt freshman, he was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team in 2016, and last season started in four games, including MT's Raycom Media Camellia Bowl victory.
This season, West and the coaching staff are expecting even more.
"I'm really proud of Tyshun," West said. "He's had great growth from his first year until now and has really turned into a good end for us, and he's a great person, too.
"He was really more of a tight end when he first got here, a tall, lean, athletic guy. But, he's learned to really play defensive end, and I think this will be a big year. He's playing at a pretty good level right now."
Render may have found the secret ingredient to making 2018 a career year: eating greens.
His problem in the past has been keeping his weight up through the season. With a new diet, he currently sits around 235 pounds and wants to reach between 245 and 250 once the season starts.
"It's a big priority," Render said. "We have to hold weight, because with the schedule we have, you have to bring it.
"Putting the right stuff on my plate has really helped. Malik has me eating salads this year, and I've never really eaten salads before."
The new eating strategy appears to be working so far, as Render is inching closer to the weight he wants to play at this season.
Should he prove his coach's prediction right by having a big year, Render could help Middle Tennessee's defense improve even more over its 35th-place finish nationally in total defense in 2017.
"We set big goals," Render said. "We want to be the best defensive line in the conference.
"We just have to stand behind Coach West. He would never tell us anything wrong."
If he reaches those goals, Render will have special bonds with a teammate and coach to thank.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
For example, future NBA Hall of Famer Tim Duncan has been on record saying longtime San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was more of a father figure than a coach, that his teachings about life have far outweighed anything he could ever teach Duncan on a basketball court.
Likewise, countless stories can be found involving athletes forming brotherhoods with teammates that last a lifetime. Sometimes, they're even stronger bonds than the ones between actual siblings.
In Tyshun Render's case, similar relationships are helping him fulfill his ultimate goals.
Middle Tennessee's redshirt junior defensive end came to Murfreesboro in 2015 as a tall, lanky, tight end-defensive end combo player from Newnan, Georgia.
He didn't say much as he walked onto campus. He's still rather quiet, really, but that's ok – he has a teammate who does plenty of talking.
"I'm not the vocal guy. Malik [Manciel] is our hype guy," Render said, giving a laugh.
While weighing just 220 pounds coming out of Westlake High School – usually far too small for a defensive lineman – Render was dead set on being a defensive end for the Blue Raiders.
"Everybody's dream in college is to catch a touchdown, of course," he said. "But, there's something about the dark side. I'd rather hit somebody than get hit any day."
His determination despite his size caught the eye of defensive line coach Tommy West, who was at the time in his second year with Middle Tennessee.
The coach didn't know he was about to become an instrumental part of Render's life.
West has a long history of coaching football. His almost 40-year career includes head-coaching gigs at Chattanooga, Clemson and Memphis and 10 other assistant-coaching jobs.
Along the way, West has developed countless relationships with incredible players, including new NFL Hall of Famers Brian Dawkins and Terrell Owens. Dawkins even gave West a shout out during his recent hall of fame speech, thanking him for what he did for his career.
A similar relationship developed with West and Render.
They connected immediately, mostly because of Render's high character and work ethic he distributed even as a freshman going through a redshirt year.
Now, their relationship has developed into the strongest of bonds.
"Man, he's like a father figure to me," Render said. "I don't really talk to my folks back at the house, because I don't want to put my worries up here with them down there, and I don't want to bring their worries up here. He's like my backbone here.
"He would never tell me anything wrong. I trust Coach West with everything."
Alongside Manciel, a defensive tackle, Render ruled the defensive scout team for the Blue Raiders while waiting for his chance to hit the actual playing field the next season.
The linemen were instantly inseparable both on and off the field.
"Malik's been my guy since we came in," Render said. "We treated scout team like it was game day every day freshman year. That's translated over to now.
"That's a special bond between me and him. That's my guy. We aren't even roommates, but you would think we are. We're never apart."
With his coach's help and his brother by his side, Render starting making strides as a defensive end in his redshirt year. Then, as a redshirt freshman, he was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman team in 2016, and last season started in four games, including MT's Raycom Media Camellia Bowl victory.
This season, West and the coaching staff are expecting even more.
"I'm really proud of Tyshun," West said. "He's had great growth from his first year until now and has really turned into a good end for us, and he's a great person, too.
"He was really more of a tight end when he first got here, a tall, lean, athletic guy. But, he's learned to really play defensive end, and I think this will be a big year. He's playing at a pretty good level right now."
Render may have found the secret ingredient to making 2018 a career year: eating greens.
His problem in the past has been keeping his weight up through the season. With a new diet, he currently sits around 235 pounds and wants to reach between 245 and 250 once the season starts.
"It's a big priority," Render said. "We have to hold weight, because with the schedule we have, you have to bring it.
"Putting the right stuff on my plate has really helped. Malik has me eating salads this year, and I've never really eaten salads before."
The new eating strategy appears to be working so far, as Render is inching closer to the weight he wants to play at this season.
Should he prove his coach's prediction right by having a big year, Render could help Middle Tennessee's defense improve even more over its 35th-place finish nationally in total defense in 2017.
"We set big goals," Render said. "We want to be the best defensive line in the conference.
"We just have to stand behind Coach West. He would never tell us anything wrong."
If he reaches those goals, Render will have special bonds with a teammate and coach to thank.
Josh Vardaman is the staff writer for goblueraiders.com. Follow him on Twitter @J_Vardaman and also follow @MTAthletics for more on the Blue Raiders.
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