“Jeremy is that way with everybody. I give a lot of credit to his mom for his upbringing,” says Topper head coach David Elson, who also served as Chandler’s position coach the last three years. “She’s a wonderful lady and she raised him that way.
“At the same time, I think the program that he came from also played a part in the way that he carries himself. Ben Davis High School is a tradition-rich program, they compete for championships every year. Those coaches instilled a lot of discipline and respect for authority in him.”
“I have seen a fair amount of individuals who have Jeremy’s demeanor over the years, but he is an exceptional kid,” says WKU defensive backs coach Mike Dietzel. “He comes from a great program in high school, which gave him a good foundation. The respect for elders and coaches he shows was ingrained in him by both his coaches and his family.”
Coaches aren’t the only ones who respect Chandler. His teammates thought enough of him to name him one of the Toppers’ four captains for the 2003 season.
“The biggest thing to me is discipline, paying attention to details both on the field and off the field,” Chandler says about how he earned the honor. “If you do that, you become accountable and coaches can trust you. Coaches notice and you earn their respect. Then, they can use you as a model for other guys on the team. When your teammate sees you doing what the coach asked for, he can now come to you instead of the coach — it’s always easier for a player to relate to another teammate.
“Being a captain hasn’t changed me, but it did scare me a little bit. I don’t think I have a lot of room for error. But, I have accepted the challenge of being a leader and I think my teammates appreciate it.
“It feels like it’s a part of me. I didn’t have to learn it, it is just natural.”
“Leaders can be made, but some of them I believe are born and he was born that way,” Elson says. “He just works harder than everybody. I think that, more than anything, is the key — you always talk about how a leader has to lead by example first, and he does that. He has a great work ethic.
“Off the field, I think he has a strong faith in God, and the guys respect him for that. He doesn’t try to force it on people, but he’s not afraid to let you know that’s what he believes in.”
Growing up in Indianapolis, he dreamed of playing basketball — much like every other Indiana school boy. In fact, it was the sport he focused on as a youth, even making the Ben Davis varsity team as a sophomore. But he suffered a groin injury that season and decided he would be better off letting it heal so that he could participate in track.
“I was playing basketball because everybody else played it. My coach told me he thought it would be the worst mistake I could make, that a lot of people would like to be in my shoes,” Chandler says. “But I was confident in my decision. After competing in track that season, my coach told me he thought I could play football with the way I ran.
“My mom was scared to death when I told her I was going to play. She wasn’t even a fan of football at the time. But now that she has seen that I can hang with the big boys, she’s a football junkie.”
Chandler played well for having so little experience, earning all-state, all-conference, all-metro and all-city honors his senior year after posting 57 tackles and seven interceptions. He was recruited by several Gateway Conference schools, but chose to join Western’s program and winning tradition.
“The biggest difference between Western Kentucky and the other schools recruiting me was my visit,” Chandler recalls. “When I came here, I thought that the coaching staff and players were more genuine. It felt like family.
“At the time, I didn’t know that coach Elson was going to be a mirror image of my high school coach. That he was intense, was going to push me and not let me settle for something that wasn’t my best. But I heard that he might be like that, so it helped with the decision.”
Chandler, a 5-foot-9, 160-pound cornerback, made the travelling squad as a freshman, ending up seeing action in 12 of the Hilltoppers’ 13 games. He posted 23 tackles (19 unassisted), including four in Western’s NCAA Division I-AA playoff win over Florida A&M. As a sophomore, Chandler made 29 stops, starting two of the Toppers’ 12 contests. Against Northern Iowa he was pushed into a starting role and responded with a career-best 13 tackles and a pass defensed with the Gateway Football Conference championship on the line.
“Coach Elson didn’t tell me that I was going to start, he told me that I might be able to play,” says Chandler. “I was prepared to accept the role of backup knowing that I was coming in behind Mel Mitchell — I had checked and found that he was an all-Ohio Valley Conference cornerback.”
After his sophomore year, the Hilltoppers lost all four starting members of the defensive secondary to graduation and the NFL Draft. Elson was not afraid to tell anyone who would listen that the Hilltoppers could win a championship with Chandler and Carl Birts manning the corners.
“He came in here as a true freshman and was competing for a starting job,” he says. “He turned heads right off the bat with his technique and the way he played. If you make plays in practice, you deserve to play and deserve to get noticed.
“We had said all along that those two were backing up two guys that were really great players. But we got to see them every day in practice and knew that when the time came the ability was there.”
Chandler responded with an all-conference season. He led the league with five interceptions and added 72 tackles with six passes defensed. Oh, and Western claimed both the Gateway and NCAA Division I-AA championships.
“The national championship was amazing, especially because we thought the 2000 team should have won it and last year it just seemed to happen. I don’t want to say there was magic in the air, but we created it and took it ourselves.”
“I think a lot of people expected the kind of season Jeremy had because of how hard he works every day,” says Elson. “We’ve had three different strength coaches and every one of them has said he is their number one guy. I was very proud to see him have that success — when you work with a guy on a daily basis and know he can do it and then see him accomplish it, that was a lot of fun.”
“Jeremy has a great passion for the game and a great work ethic,” Dietzel says. “He will be the first guy to show up to practice to work on something, because it means so much to him to play well. He is willing to do the extra things that others might not.
“Jeremy has great speed and quickness — a cornerback with both attributes is able to put himself in a great position, a lot of times those abilities allow him to overcome any height or weight disadvantages.”
So far this fall, Chandler has posted 29 tackles, four passes broken up and is tied for the team lead with two interceptions. He, along with 24 other seniors, will be playing their final regular-season game today at L.T. Smith Stadium/Jimmy Feix Field when the Hilltoppers play host to No. 6 Northern Iowa. The class has helped WKU go 37-12 (75.5%) since the beginning of the 2000 season, claiming the OVC title that year in addition to last year’s accomplishments.
“First and foremost, I want to win with it being our last regular-season game here,” says Chandler. “Senior Day makes you see how fast time goes by. I remember (former head) coach (Jack) Harbaugh used to say, ‘Before you know it, you’re going to be a senior.’ You didn’t think four years would pass that fast.
“It’s also a wrap up of a successful time at Western. There have been a lot of highs, fortunately, since I’ve been here. I am appreciative of the group of guys that came in together.”
Chandler hopes to continue playing football after his career if the opportunity presents itself. But more importantly to him, he will remain in school in order to become the first member of his family to earn a degree from a four-year institution. Chandler is expected to earn his degree in May 2005 in communications.
While going though his final year as a traditional student, as opposed to being a student-athlete, Chandler also looks forward to continue spending time with his 19-month-old daughter, Zaniah. She currently resides with her mother in Smith’s Grove. He might also continue in his role of campus barber, as many of his teammates currently look to Chandler for haircuts even though he isn’t licensed professionally.
Much as he respects his coaches and teammates, Chandler is respectful of the opportunity to play football at Western Kentucky University.
“Football just kind of snuck up on me. I don’t know if it was my destiny, but I was fortunate to play my junior and senior years in high school and earn a scholarship to college.”
