CSUN Assistant, No Baby, Teaches His ‘Black Shirts’ the Run-and-Shout Offense

It’s mid-afternoon on a warm fall weekday and Mark Lovett bounds onto the Cal State Northridge football practice field.

The sun’s reflection dances off the red and white checks of Lovett’s crazily patterned sunglasses as he prepares for another day of coaching the Northridge wide receivers. As he sprints toward the northeast end of the field, he throws shoulders back, thrusts his chest out, and screams: “OK, baaay- beees. It’s time to go to work.”

Coach Bob Burt smiles and shakes his head. How was he to know the man he hired as an assistant would be a cross between Louis Gossett Jr. in “An Officer And a Gentleman” and Eddie Murphy in “Saturday Night Live”?

Lovett can joust and jest with the best of them. That’s part of the reason Burt has given the former El Camino Real High player the responsibility of coaching the Northridge scout team--a group of third- and fourth-stringers--against the front-line special teams.

Lovett lovingly refers to the crew of castoffs as “the black shirts” because of the mesh jerseys they wear over practice gear.

He’s not as nice when they don’t hustle.

“Come on, baaay- beees, 11 on 9 and you’re telling me we can’t block the kick?” he shrieks.

Lovett was a scout player himself for one season at Arizona State. He ended up starting at fullback for three seasons. His college coach was Frank Kush, a legendary grouch.

“The team’s rallying point--the one thing we all had in common--was that we hated the coach,” Lovett said.

He did, however, pick up one trait from Kush.

“A lot of coaches don’t yell, but I let every player on the field know who has screwed up,” Lovett said. “No one likes to be embarrassed like that, so hopefully they don’t make the same mistake twice.”

Lovett had little sympathy for his receivers who dropped passes--even during a one-handed catching drill.

“Rookie, huh?” Lovett said in mock disgust. “Must be a free agent. You just can’t catch ever since you signed that fat contract.” Head down, the receiver trotted to the end of the line amid some giggling.

Then another was dropped. “I know what your problem is,” Lovett smirked. “Too much looooove! You come here and you can’t take it.

“Hey, the old coach knows what’s happening.”

The player smiled and flipped Lovett the ball. But he didn’t drop another pass.