Billy Napier sat in the parking lot of South Carolina State’s Oliver C. Dawson Stadium in his beat-up blue Honda Accord. He still drove an early ’90s model, but even in 2006, it did the job.

On a chilly February day, Napier felt comfortable. Coming off his first season as quarterbacks coach, South Carolina State promoted him to offensive coordinator at just 26 years old. He’d taken the job in Orangeburg in part to be closer to his college girlfriend, Ali, but he had a knack for coaching quarterbacks. In his first year, his QB set the school record for completions in a season.