Tarnue

MORGANTOWN — There aren’t a lot of people around these days who remember Bill Saluga, a comedian out of Youngstown, Ohio, whose schtick was that his name was Raymond J. Johnson Jr. and if anyone called him “Mr. Johnson” or just plain “Johnson” he would pretend to be offended and go off on the following rant:

“NOOO!!! You don’t have to call me Johnson! My name is Raymond J. Johnson Jr. Now you can call me Ray, or you can call me J, or you can call me Johnny, or you can call me Sonny, or you can call me Junie, or you can call me Ray J, or you can call me RJ, or you can call me RJJ, or you can call me RJJ Jr. . . but you don’t have to call me Johnson!”

Maybe it was just a simpler time then, but this was found to be hilarious and caught on nationally — even earning him a spot on one of those Miller Lite Beer commercials that were so clever with Bob Uecker or Rodney Dangerfield or Billy Martin and George Steinbrenner or John Madden or Bubba Smith.

We bring this up today because West Virginia gave the media its first crack at safety Kekoura Tarnue, a native of Monrovia, Liberia, who was unexpectedly granted another year of eligibility to play football for them this season, his second with the Mountaineers, after contributing last year in all 13 games and starting six.

Well, upon being introduced, Greg Hunter of Blue Gold News asked him if he preferred to be called by nickname, which is KK, or by his given name, which set him off on a very “Salugaish” rant of his own.

“For the most part it’s Kekoura, but I try to make it as easy as possible, so I’m just happy if you call me KK because some people don’t really know how to pronounce my name,” he began. “KK or Kekoura, it’s fine, whatever.”

Harder than handling his name is keeping up with his life story and what now figures to be his finest moment.

Kekoura journeyed from Africa to the United States, winding up in Minnesota, where at about 14 — which is old for someone to pick up American football — he began playing the game. From there he ended up heading to junior college at Rochester Community and Technical College before heading down south to Jacksonville State in Alabama to play for, of all people, Rich Rodriguez.

He would then transfer from there to WVU two years ago, but not like so many kids these days, to get away from his head coach but to get into Power 4 football.

“He had nothing to do with me leaving,” Tarnue said. “To me, he was probably the best coach I’ve played for because I saw how much he pushes you day in and day out and what he gets out of you, making you better not only on the field but off the field.”

He played for Neal Brown through a disappointing season in Morgantown last year and thought his career was over, but when Rodriguez himself “transferred” here, he looked into seeing if he could have another year.

He called and they began looking into it. When he approached Rodriguez with the idea, he was greeted with this comment:

“C’mon, let’s do it.”

“That was pretty much it.”

While four other WVU players have been caught up in a waiver controversy, heading to court in mid-August with a lawsuit against the NCAA to try and gain their eligibility, Tarnue was waived right on through.

“It’s a weird feeling,” Tarnue says of getting his extra year. “After last year, after the last home game I didn’t know if I was done. Getting that phone call was exciting.”

Now, he is part of a transition on defense from one of the weakest, especially against the pass, to one of the most aggressive.

“The biggest thing is it starts with the defensive coordinator,” he said. “He allowed us to understand the situation we are in and also went over detailed information about the whole week about how we can expect to see. The biggest thing is we are like one unit now. We all communicate.

“It’s not that I’m just showing up on the field to do my job. I’m there to help him out and he is going to help me out. It’s more of an ‘us’ thing than a ‘me’ thing and having guys who are hungry to make plays and hungry to play for each other,” he said, before moving on to the coaching staff.

“They want us to go out there and impose our will and have 11 guys going to the ball no matter where the ball is at. We will have the opportunity to be violent and be physical. This year we are going to be aggressive. I’m not saying last year we weren’t, but this year it’s something I’m excited to see. I’m excited for the fans to see it and for the coaches to see it.”

Tarnue was a cornerback in his first life with Rodriguez and when he came to WVU, but he soon was moved to safety and that seemed to bring the best out in him.

“It’s been a blessing,” he said. “Playing corner and safety two years ago, now knowing what the corner and safety do is kind of like being a football junkie or playbook junkie and having in my head knowing how everything works around me.”

Tarnue’s interest in football was born in Africa.

“In Africa, we used to watch football. Back in Liberia, everyone felt that to play football you got to be this big ol’ dude, be a giant. But once I came here — the reason my family came here was to get a better opportunity, not only for themselves but for me,” he said.

And football was an opportunity.

“I started playing football when I was a sophomore,” Tarnue said. “I played receiver at first; left receiver and went to safety and that wasn’t my cup of tea. It wasn’t being coached the right way so I switched to cornerback and that’s where I could enjoy the game.

“That was how I picked the game up and also my family were huge Vikings fans. At the time it was something I fell in love with and was super into.”

Now he’s playing for a shot in the NFL and if, when the time comes in next year’s draft, they call him Kekoura, they can call him KK, they call him whatever they want, even Johnson. Just call his name.