Inspired Steven Ensminger Jr. joins Assumption High staff as QBs coach

Even when Steven Ensminger Jr. left his most recent coaching position about seven years ago, he never ventured far from the game he loves.

The former West Monroe High School, Auburn and Louisiana Tech quarterback was a regular at LSU, where his father, Steve Ensminger, is preparing for his 10th season on staff and fourth as offensive coordinator.

And Steven's wife, Carley Ann McCord, consistently supported his passion to return to the profession around which he'd spent his whole life.

Now, as he joins a new-look staff at nearby Assumption High School, he credits Carley as his continued inspiration.

"When I got out of coaching after college and got on at CF Industries, I always stayed close to the game," he said. "Coaching was my passion. My wife, Carley, she always wanted me to get back into coaching and to do something that I loved to do because she did what she loved to do. I figured I'm going to finally do it. I'm going to take her advice and do what I love to do."

Steven coached briefly at Covenant Christian and Patterson before transitioning into the chemical field at CF Industries' Nitrogen Complex in Donaldsonville.

He met McCord, a Louisiana sports reporter and Northwestern State and LSU alumna, and the two were married in January of 2018.

Their love for on another and shared passion for sports were always obvious in a relationship that included consistent travels to football, basketball and baseball games and other events around the Southeast.

And Carley was beginning another trip Dec. 28, 2019, to meet Steven at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl national semifinal between LSU and Oklahoma, as she and four others died when their small passenger plane crashed shortly after taking off from Lafayette Regional Airport.

Her impact on so many family, friends and fans remains evident.

And Steven hopes his following her advice and returning to coaching can serve as just one way to honor Carley and her legacy.

"She's the main reason why I'm getting back into this," he said. "She did what she loved, and I want to do what I love. I try to work at least half as hard as she did. If I do that, then I know I can be successful."

Steven was among the first hires for veteran coach Keith Menard, who took the reins of the Mustangs' program about three weeks ago.

The 32-year-old will serve as an assistant quarterbacks coach.

And the his life-long love of the sport, his inspiration from his wife and his mentorship from his father are proving themselves a tremendous foundation as he returns to the profession.

"It's been great," Steven said. "Talking football is what I do when I'm not doing anything else. Me and my dad talk football every day, so to be able to come to work and that be my job now, it's a passion. It's something I've always wanted to do.

"When coach Menard called me, I was excited to hop on board right away. We have a lot of great coaches here. Coach Menard has big plans for this program, and I'm excited to be able to learn from him and other coaches. He has his own playbook, and we bounce ideas off of each other. He's very open to ideas I've learned along the way. I go home every day and call my dad or go see him, and we talk football for hours. I take down notes and bounce them of coach Menard.

"Every day waking up to come to work is exciting."

Menard had spent the past seven years of his 35-year career at Central Lafourche before accepting the Assumption job in late May.

The Mustangs finished the 2019 season with a successful 10-2 record before eight-year coach Anthony Paine resigned this April citing personal reasons after discussions with his family during the coronavirus-forced sports hiatus.

Menard has been impressed with the younger Ensminger's early contributions to the new staff and looks forward to his continued development and impact.

"He's bringing a lot of knowledge about the quarterback position and football, and I know his dad real well," Menard said. "Just seemed like a really good fit for our program.

"I plan on doing the play-calling right now, but who knows down the road that could change. He's coming in to learn how we do things and just try to be the best coach he can do right now. ... He's really focused. His attention to detail is already showing, and it's really making us all sit down. Look, I've been doing this a long time. It's good to get new ideas and feedback. To this point, he's done a great job for us."

Steven had continued to provide private quarterback lessons during his break from coaching high school, and he remained close to his father's and the Tigers' work, including during their record-setting national championship performance this past season.

"I was still going to my dad's office and sitting in on staff meetings with him, talking LSU football with him and what they do," he said. "So, I never got away from it, I've always stayed close to it."

Ensminger Jr. said he aspires to potentially be a high school head coach in Louisiana one day or perhaps a college coach, if that opportunity ever presented itself.

But for now: "I'm going to start right here and see where it takes me. I'm going to take it one step at a time and see where it takes me and just enjoy the ride."

And for those LSU fans who might be wondering what LSU's offense will look like without Joe Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Justin Jefferson and others, Ensminger believes people might be shocked by the 2020 team.

"They have a lot of weapons returning," he said. "They have a lot of weapons at receivers, even young guys coming in. The running backs, the offensive line will be good. Myles (Brennan) is going to shock a lot of people. I've always admired Myles and his abilities, attention to detail and work ethic. He's taken a leadership role and everybody's excited to be back. I think a lot of people will be shocked at just how good they will be."