McConaughey perfect for role in Marshall movie, coaches say

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Comments0
• Email
• Print
• Subscribe

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Former Marshall football coach Jack Lengyel wanted to get one thing straight about the choice of "sexiest man alive" Matthew McConaughey to portray him in an upcoming movie.

"I've never looked like Matthew McConaughey -- before or after," Lengyel said.

To pad his argument, Lengyel said he won first place in an "ugliest man on campus" contest while attending Akron University in the 1950s.

He donned a black derby hat and a white physician's jacket, "and then I curled up my lip and stuck my tongue out. It's a true story," Lengyel said recently. "I've been taking so much heat on Matthew, I decided to come out with that story to counterbalance it."

McConaughey will play Lengyel in "We Are Marshall" about the aftermath of the worst disaster in U.S. sports history.

Lengyel was hired in March 1971, four months after the team's chartered jet crashed into a hill short of Tri-State Airport in rain and fog, killing 75 people, including 36 football players.

Lengyel oversaw a patchwork quilt of players. There were three dozen walk-ons -- former servicemen, a soccer player, basketball players and transfer students -- who joined the few returnees who weren't on the plane and a group of freshmen who weren't allowed to play the previous fall due to NCAA restrictions.

Lengyel and McConaughey spoke by telephone at length about the film recently, and the pair had breakfast together Saturday before attending a Marshall spring football practice in Huntington.

During their recent talk, Lengyel raised concerns about preserving the historical accuracy of the plane crash. He came away impressed with McConaughey's integrity, insight and sensitivity.

McConaughey, named People Magazine's "sexiest man" in November, asked Lengyel why he took the Marshall job and some of the circumstances surrounding it.

The actor was especially interested in Lengyel's reaction to seeing news of the crash on television when he was coach at Division III Wooster, Ohio.

"Somewhere in there he has recognized that this story is symbolic of faith, commitment and determination," Lengyel said. "He really went out and wanted to do this particular role. I think we have an individual here that will portray it in the proper manner and be true to the documentary information of the particular movie. And I'm looking forward to that."

Lengyel and McConaughey are friends of coach Mack Brown of national champion Texas. McConaughey lives in Austin and often roams the sidelines at Longhorns games.

"Matthew is more than a friend to us. He's like a family member," Brown said Friday in a telephone interview. "He knows all the kids. He laughs and cuts up with them. He's been in the dressing room. He's been at practice. He's had total access.

"I would think that Matt is more than qualified to be a coach."

McConaughey said Saturday he was especially interested in how Lengyel was hired from outside the Marshall program.

"An outsider comes in and sees things different," McConaughey said. "It's a great honor to be stepping into the shoes of someone like Jack Lengyel. It is very inspiring. I am still getting prepared for this role, and I will learn a lot here along the way."

Monday marks the start of production for the movie. On Saturday a block party was held in Huntington, including a news conference at the same theater where Nate Ruffin, one of the Marshall players who wasn't on the plane due to injury, waited for his teammates to return.

They never did.

"The Marshall story touched all of our hearts," Brown said. "It's something you can't even imagine."

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press

This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email
• Subscribe
• Print
• Comments0