Catchup up With: Rich Nichols

Barry Faulkner

Rich Nichols, who left Corona del Mar High as football royalty,

learned soon enough the plight of a pigskin peasant at Southern Methodist

University.

But, after enduring injuries, oppressive heat, losing seasons and a

turnover in coaches that rendered him a virtual depth-chart outcast, the

former Sea King standout wound up getting all he wanted out of his

collegiate experience.

“I had some fun, but looking back, it was more of a character building

thing,” said Nichols, who returned to Newport Beach after graduating in

May with a mechanical engineering degree. He now works for an

Irvine-based environmental engineering firm.

“In general, I liked the school. I made a lot of friends and I got to

see some different places traveling with the team, including two trips to

Hawaii and another to New Orleans.”

He also wound up starting his junior and senior seasons at center and

offensive guard, overcoming what he termed prejudicial treatment from

coaches who replaced those who had recruited him, after his freshman

year.

“SMU is having a pretty bad year again this year (3-6 through Nov. 17)

and they just fired the coaches,” Nichols said. “I was kind of happy

about that.”

There was, initially, little joy on the football field for Nichols,

who, woefully undersized at 220 pounds, suffered a knee injury early in

his inaugural two-a-days.

“I was out there with a lot of 300-pounders and some guy rolled on my

leg,” Nichols recalled. “But, I think getting hurt was actually a

blessing in disguise, because I was able to sit around all year and eat

pizza to gain some weight.”

More sitting followed the next two seasons, as he played only on

special teams.

The new coaching regime, eager to promote its own recruits, barely

acknowledged his presence, Nichols said.

“There were some blowout games where everyone got in the game but me.

I guess you could say me and the line coach didn’t see eye to eye.”

But, entering his junior campaign, Nichols said he developed a sense

of urgency and bulked up to 275 pounds.

“I basically figured this was my once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do

well,” Nichols said. “I really started dedicating myself, because I

wanted to prove those coaches wrong.”

Nichols’ hard work paid off as he beat out the center who had started

in front of him the previous two seasons. But, when that player’s move to

guard went poorly, the coaches flip-flopped the two players, forcing

Nichols to learn a new position at midseason.

Nichols returned to center his senior season, a 3-9 campaign during

which he played through a pair of torn knee ligaments.

“When the season was over, I had surgery on my knee and I had really

lost my will to play,” he said. “I hung it up and I have no regrets.”

He holds many more fond memories of his prep playing days, when he was

a three-year varsity starter who earned All-CIF laurels as a senior.

That senior season of 1995, Nichols was the middle man on a vaunted

five-man blocking unit labled the Five Crowns. He also earned first-team

All-Sea View League and All-Newport-Mesa District recognition while

helping the Sea Kings come up just 2 yards short of a CIF Southern

Section Division V semifinal victory over Servite (they fumbled at the

Friars’ 2 marching toward a go-ahead TD in the closing minutes). CdM

finished 9-4 that fall, a record bettered only by back-to-back section

championship teams of 1988-89 in the school’s 40 varsity seasons.

Nichols capped a solid prep shot put career by reaching the CIF State

preliminaries the spring of ‘96, before heading off to Dallas to test his

mettle with the Mustangs.

Since returning to Newport, Nichols has reconnected with several of

his former high school teammates and friends, including fellow Five Crown

Tim Goode, with whom he rooms in a place near the beach.

He also enjoys spending time with his family and is looking forward to

a bright career as an engineer.

“I’m ready for another challenge,” he said.