J. Brady McCollough is a sports enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on national college football and basketball topics. Upon the completion of his degree in 2012, he was named the running backs coach at Augustana College in Illinois. In a back corner booth at Leals, where cowboy hats line the front walkway and tables are filling ahead of the lunch rush, Bob Graves is still sorting out his emotions over fresh-baked tortilla chips. fellow students never quite understood, she said. "One of the greatest assets our town has is its name," Rennels said. I havent been following them as much since the boys got bigger and went to different schools. But Ellis knows patience is an important part of his job description. Mike Riley calls Muleshoe just like a lot of small towns. A decade later, Lincoln Riley's new contract at Oklahoma calls for a guaranteed $3.1 million a year for five years. Today, he contends that their prank, now a part of town lore, was delayed payback for Friona painting the previous seasons score all over Muleshoes own weight room. Heres little po-dunk Muleshoe playing in the [Dallas] Cowboys stadium, said Wood, whos now retired. The Pecos and Northern Texas Railway companies laid the track here in 1913, cutting through this swath of Bailey County ranchland to connect the growing town of Lubbock to the border of New Mexico. A Muleshoe Mule is coaching the Sooners. Mike Riley, Lincoln's father and a lifelong Muleshoe resident, said he didn't even know his son was interested in coaching until his senior year of high school. Head Cross Country/Head Girls Powerlifting Coach . Athletic Director/Head Football Coach Jason Richards. Mike Leach and his Texas Tech Red Raiders were only an hour away, and Lincoln had already traded his helmet for a coaching whistle as a GA by the time Garrett was ready to be the starting quarterback back home. Questions? USC sent shock waves through the sports world when it hired Oklahomas Lincoln Riley as its football coach. Just do what got you here, Riley said. He has deep roots here. Evaluate Brennen Davis's football recruiting profile. Column: 15 minutes of fame flies by. Small town, feels like he's their own. Riley was a defensive end during his sophomore season at Muleshoe, but he was shifted to quarterback for his final two years. Fortunately, there is a simple, dependable, go-to staple for slow news cycles at Channel 6. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'easternnewmexiconews_com-box-4','ezslot_1',130,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-easternnewmexiconews_com-box-4-0');if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'easternnewmexiconews_com-box-4','ezslot_2',130,'0','1'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-easternnewmexiconews_com-box-4-0_1'); .box-4-multi-130{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none !important;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:7px !important;margin-left:auto !important;margin-right:auto !important;margin-top:7px !important;max-width:100% !important;min-height:50px;padding:0;text-align:center !important;}"Getting to work for one of the most legendary coaches this school has ever had, and a great guy on top of that, it was fun for me to sit back and watch him work while I grew as a young coach," Riley said. Muleshoe, a 5,000 population town about 68 miles northwest of Lubbock, sits about 17 miles east of the New Mexico line. He had a great knack for stuff like that.. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley watches the Sooners play Iowa State on Nov. 20. They embraced whats good for it. When OU was searching for a new offensive coordinator in 2015, Stoops called McNeill for permission to speak to Riley. A Michigan native and University of Michigan graduate, Kartje previously wrote for Fox Sports Wisconsin and the Bloomington (Ind.) You could see anything in the world just ahead of you. Still, they somehow became aware of each other at basketball games while playing for rival high schools. "He had great math skills, intelligence and a photographic memory, stuff that you just don't see.". That part has always been important to me.. He always has. Anytime they wanted to bounce something off of someone, Donnie was the person that they talked to , I think it was their mutual love and admiration for college football. No matter how Riley and the Sooners fare, the 105-year-old town of Muleshoe will be proud of him. His immediate retirement plan is . Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during a game against Baylor on Nov. 13. And these former Longhorns fans are now supporters of the crimson and cream, as well as the University of Kansas, where their youngest son, Garrett, is the quarterbacks coach. When I hired him, Lincoln was the youngest full-time assistant in the country, but he had been with me as a student assistant and a GA for about six years and did a tremendous job, so I had no reservation about hiring him.. Oklahoma University head football coach Lincoln Riley raises the Big 12 Championship trophy after the Sooners beat TCU 41-17 in the conference title game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas last December. No matter how savvy the journalist, the decision to eliminate one of the town's two traffic lights has a newsy shelf life. Cattle ranching, dairy farming, wheat, cotton. Hidden facts about Muleshoe, the best restaurants discovered while recruiting and plenty more fun with Coach Riley on this week's Fifth Quarter! How can a West Texas boy go to L.A.? asked David Wood, who coached Riley at Muleshoe High. Kyle Atwood, a close friend and Rileys leading receiver in high school, expects USC flags to be flying in town soon enough. How did Lincoln Riley zoom from Muleshoe High School to the Sooners new head coach? COURTESY, Grandpa Claude, father Mike and Lincoln Riley, Lincoln and Caitlin Riley are from small Texas towns separated by a 45-minute drive. He took Baker Mayfield, a former walk-on transfer from Texas Tech, and turned him into one of the most prolific passers in the country. It was kind of fun to be there at the beginning.". However "favorite" and "biggest" were eclipsed when 33-year-old, coach, took over one of America's most storied. "Weather here is always important because this is an agricultural community," said Rennels, 74, sounding every bit a schoolmarm lecturing a student just off the turnip truck. Muleshoe Mules Class: 3A Division I DCTF High School Ranking: NR Location: Muleshoe, Texas 2022 District 2-3A Division I Standings Team District Record Overall Record Next Opponent Shallowater Mustangs 4 - 0 10 - 2 Idle Bushland Falcons 3 - 1 11 - 2 Idle Muleshoe Mules 2 - 2 8 - 4 Idle Dalhart Wolves 1 - 3 5 - 6 Idle 3 games every Oklahoma fan should circle on the calendar; full season predictions for 2017. Duncan was receiving a National Football Foundation Legacy Award in New York City at the same time and Riley wanted to be by his mentors side instead. A Muleshoe Mule is coaching the Sooners. Over the past six years, the offense averaged 38 points per game and amassed an average of more than 400 yards per game. But after Riley walked on at Texas Tech, then-Red Raiders coach Mike Leach encouraged him to get off . A farming community sprouted alongside the track soon after some 70 miles northwest of Lubbock and 30 miles east of the border taking its name from the nearby ranch where, legend has it, the original owner found a stray muleshoe lying in the soil. Born in Muleshoe, he was raised and schooled primarily in Colorado. That will never change.. The crowd roared. Muleshoe always supports their own.. Muleshoe, just 22 miles from the New Mexico border, is home to the National Mule Memorial. Caravans of pick-ups and SUVs would filter out of town for road games, packing visiting bleachers across the plains. He was only a year or two older than me, but he knew the offense. Usually, you build those relationships, and youre going to have a successful program., Top Returners: Irvin Torres, Brennen Davis, Zach Hasley, Jacob Reyes, Matt Fabela. Riley also played basketball, baseball and ran track during his youth and high school days, but it was football that piqued his interest. By signing up you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, Stand with us in our mission to discover and uncover the story of North Texas. Like most everyone in town, restaurant owner Victor Leal has a favorite story about his favorite college football coach. Oklahoma football head coach Lincoln Riley hugs quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) after the Sooners won the Big 12 title last December in Arlington, Texas. We still attended all the games. Stoops said he wouldnt have retired this offseason if not for his confidence in Riley. Current OU wide receivers coach Dennis Simmons, who was at Texas Tech for 10 years as a full-time assistant or support staff member, has witnessed Rileys fast trajectory as a college football coach. One is USC head coach. We were so close in age, it became a friendship, but he was a friend I respected. (An even smaller coincidence my step dad and Riley are apparently distant, distant cousins). The Sooners lost their CFP semifinal to Georgia, 54-48 in double overtime at the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day, but Riley had led them to a 12-2 record 8-1 against Big 12 teams in just his first season as Stoops' replacement. Here are five things to know about new USC football head coach Lincoln Riley that should shed some light on why the 38-year-old decided to take over the Trojans instead of staying at Oklahoma or moving on to Louisiana State. One newcomer Richards is excited about is Nic Reyes, a 5-foot-11, 275-pound sophomore offensive lineman. He brought a program and a culture to Muleshoe that hadnt been there, Riley said. Everybody is just so proud.". Kind of overwhelmed. 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We was driving over a Country where 36 years before as a boy 18 years old I had helped drive a bunch of cattle from that very place to Western Kansas, and there wasent a house or a chicken in a whole county. One asset he had last year that he is without this season is Mayfield, who was selected No. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley already has made inroads in Southern California football recruiting, which should help him bolster USCs talent pool. Georgia was one of them. It has been assumed Harrell would move on next season, but, with the hire of his friend, it will certainly be interesting to see if Harrell remains a part of Rileys USC staff. I think you always have a chance at Oklahoma, but a lot of things have got to go well.". A look at what Lincoln Rileys USC team could look like come the 2022 season. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Oklahomas Lincoln Riley is the nations preeminent quarterback guru, Lincoln Rileys hiring at USC already impacting Trojans recruiting, Malachi Nelson, The 12 hours that transformed USC football: How the Lincoln Riley deal went down, Jaguars, narcos, illegal loggers: One mans battle to save a Guatemalan jungle and Maya ruins. But I think its a wonderful move.. Los Angeles, on the other hand that felt like a world apart from Muleshoe. It attracted 10,000 souls. Riley even remembered his old high school while working at Texas Tech. Years later, when asked what hed learned from Wood, Riley wouldnt hesitate to draw parallels to the situation he now steps into at USC. Has to have shaped him a little bit.. the after-school healthy snack program would be? Maybe even a national title. From Muleshoe to Clemson, Riley carries on the principles of Mike. There are many friendship threads in Rileys small hometown of nearly 6,000. Its going to be a total change for Muleshoe to think about Lincoln being in California. No telling if the city founders had any inkling the name might itself become a celebrity of sorts. Who knows what would have become of Riley had he gone to Dartmouth, which seemed most interested, instead of his eventual landing spot at Texas Tech. One of those guys, not necessarily write things down. Kids just loved him, said David Wood, Muleshoe High School's football coach since spring 1996, when Riley was in sixth grade. Makes a lot of people feel good., Wood -- who also coached Lincoln's brother, Garrett, when the Mules won the 2008 Class 2A Division I state championship with the younger Riley quarterbacking -- said he was surprised that Stoops stepped down, but didn't surprise me (OU) named Lincoln the head coach. But in high school, there were only a few shotgun sets, and the Mules ran a Power-I attack. Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. Im fired up. Its hard to imagine a place any further away from Los Angeles. In West Texas, Muleshoe's team was for decades a source of disappointment. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. In 2018, Kyler Murray, a highly recruited transfer from Texas A&M, stepped in for Mayfield and earned his own Heisman and playoff appearance. The Rennels' house on West 3rd Street is conveniently located just down from Muleshoe High, whose Friday night football games the station videotapes for continuous airings on Saturdays and Sundays. Two decades later, folks in town are still happy to relive that run through the state playoffs. After coaching for 14 years, the Clovis native got his dream job and was named the Mules head football coach and athletic director in February. Lincoln has a photographic memory, and when I say that, I really mean it.. Mules, just as his father Mike had done three decades earlier. Stitt expresses 'strong disagreement' with Oklahoma AG over Catholic charter school, Bill Haisten: A massive event NCAA wrestling in downtown Tulsa, Lincoln Riley: 12 things you may not know about the OU football coach, Big 12 Media Days: After a whirlwind month, new OU coach Lincoln Riley takes center stage, Dan Snyder is under investigation over line of credit taken out by Commanders, Lionel Messi named men's Player of the Year at the 2022 Best FIFA Awards, LeBron James is facing weeks on the sidelines after foot injury, "I am scared of needlesr" Lillard on getting a drug test after his 71-point game. Two years into that gig, Riley found himself promoted to head coach when Stoops unexpectedly retired in June of 2017. Riley played briefly for Texas Tech, but spent more time there coaching than playing. Riley is a Muleshoe native who played quarterback and defensive end for the Mules football team in the late 1990s and early 2000s. New USC football coach Lincoln Riley grew up in Muleshoe, Texas. But he chose football, and his immediate success with three College Football Playoff semifinal appearances in his first three years as head coach at Oklahoma has become an inextricable part of the towns story, one theyre more than happy to share, even if most cant quite reckon with the latest twist. He took the whip smart but physically limited quarterback aside and asked him to be a student assistant coach. Riley isnt known only as the OU head coach. Which brings us to our final topic . a job as an assistant coach who worked with receivers. According to a press release, while serving as offensive coordinator, Richards football program had a 51-21 record, including three regional semi-final appearances and two area championship appearances. I cannot wait to get in here and meet the kids and staff, Richards said. School was. Muleshoe dropped a 28-27 decision to Merkel in the area round of the Class 3A Division I playoffs last weekend. Will fame (and the fortune of a new $3.1 million annual contract) change Riley? For Riley's part, Muleshoe was good to him, providing the setting for a solid upbringing, a town where a boy who would someday lead one of the nation's most famous college football programs could learn lessons that shaped him. This is a compilation of Muleshoe high school football coach history. A few years later, Leach offered Riley a full-time job as a wide receivers coach. I remember wed be playing football in the yard and hed be drawing up plays and things, his lifelong friend and former Texas Tech roommate, Jeff King, said during a 2015 interview with the Tulsa World. Which brings us to our next topic . His mind was just brilliant. He was telling me about some other opportunities that were in the foresight of his career. But I think we saw this move as potentially a chance for them to experience new things, and when they get out in the real world which will come way too quick I want them to have been exposed to different things and different areas and different kinds of people. He told his assistants, "We've got to keep him around. In the beginning, it was because he was the only guy that was around to watch film with me.. And perhaps, 2018 will bring another run to the College Football Playoff. But well take him lunch or go to practice.. "School was not his primary motivation," Marilyn Riley said. Both sides of the family were rooted in the farming business. He was a defensive end as a sophomore, but took over the offense in his final two seasons which included one state semifinal finish. Davis will be Muleshoe's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after previously being at Texico (New Mexico) High School. The run still resonates here. One is USC head coach. He bought us steak knives with Harrell engraved in them, Harrell said. Photo by Bryan Terry, The Oklahoman. He brought belief and hope. Whatever he chose to do, hed be something special. Riley, like many young coaches, has grown over the years. Riley started in the fifth grade, both officially and in backyard games with neighborhood children. ".. It's been hectic. Flashback: Lincoln Riley's hometown thought he would work for NASA. he led the Mules of Muleshoe, a town of . 1 overall pick in the NFL draft during back-to-back seasons. He was selling him to me, Stoops said at the time. LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - After two seasons as the Head Football Coach/Athletic Director at Muleshoe High School, Lee Walker has been reassigned. Wood always saw the mind of a coach when Riley was one of his players. Before joining the Times in May 2018, he was a projects reporter at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and a 2017 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University. He's been too busy. The Red Raiders beat Michigan State 41-31 on that day. Texas Tech Spring Game moved to Lowrey Field, Lubbock native serves aboard U.S. Navy floating airport, Bo Bryant is Littlefields Head Football Coach/AD, Meadow looking for a new head football coach, AD. The Mules won one game in Wood's first season, then five the next, giving Muleshoe its first. As you might expect, Runnels, who could double as a one-woman Chamber of Commerce, has a special sweet spot for Riley. He'd dissect defenses really quickly. Riley is a quarterback whisperer, and Southern California is a five-star quarterback assembly line. "Muleshoe -- don't you like just hearing it?". The selection committee sorted through 112 applications and interviewed six applicants on Jan. 22 and 23 before determining that Richards would be their choice. The town wanted to be good. Rileys work ethic and confident mindset were instilled by his parents. to try to lead the Mules out of the desert. "It's just this year's team," he said. My daddy would roll over in his grave if I said I was gonna root for USC, Sam Whalin, the schools retired maintenance director, says with a laugh. He looks back fondly on his upbringing in West Texas and the lessons it taught him. Aaron Simon, an Angelo State University graduate whos been coaching with Richards for the past nine years, will be the Mules offensive line and associate head coach, while Portales, New Mexico native Chris Mosier the step-brother of former Mule standout receiver Kyle Atwood was hired as the offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach. With Rileys help, the Sooners have won back-to-back Big 12 championships, have had two Heisman Trophy finalists in Baker Mayfield and Dede Westbrook, and a College Football Playoff appearance. Richards maintained most of the coaching staff while hiring on four new coaches, all of whom either have a connection to Muleshoe or a general knowledge of west Texas. The streak ends this year. Football offered a nice escape. Ellis is hoping to change that with plans for a new development on the edge of town, a project he hopes might convince folks fleeing Lubbock, 70 miles to the southeast, to take refuge in small-town living. The Mules are set to kickoff the 2021 football team on Friday night by hosting Sundown. Muleshoe, just 22 miles from the New Mexico border, is home to the National Mule Memorial. in 1969, the Mules scored a single touchdown during the entire season. Each of the thousands of bales waiting to be loaded and shipped off weighs up to 500 pounds. But I have to also understand that my expectations of simply doing the best I can for this program, thats going to be higher than anyone else can place on me or this program. Richards went on to lead. The biggest story in town history, she said, has to be the dedication of the National Mule Memorial, constructed in homage to the animal that was once farming's beast of burden. It shaped who I am, Riley says. I wish I could have recorded Lincoln with how smooth, precise and decisive he was on that night of the game, McNeill said. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel View Comments Soon after, Todd and Starla Ellis, who run the local funeral home, stopped by the Riley's table. Mike and Marilyn returned home from Austin soon after graduation and eventually took over family-owned cotton warehouses in neighboring Sudan. Ive never been afraid to go against the grain if I felt like it was the best thing for the team, for the program. The whole town packed into the high school gym that day, glowing as Riley spoke. It was a fortuitous first step on a coaching ladder that has led him to. But its also a dream come true. "We had great success there throughout our years. He was a walk-on quarterback at Texas Tech in the spring and summer of 2003 before starting his coaching career as a student assistant there under head coach Mike Leach for three seasons (2003-05), working with the offense. Muleshoe (locals pronounce it mule-SHOE), named in honor of a nearby ranch and developed in 1913 to take advantage of commerce sure to come with newly laid railroad tracks linking Lubbock to New Mexico, was back on the map. Almost seven decades later, another 18-year-old in Muleshoe was ready to find his way, and the folks from Lincoln Riley's hometown swear he could see anything in the world, just ahead of him. "As long as I could have kids like Lincoln, I knew I could compete.". Watch the latest highlight videos for the Muleshoe Varsity Football team But Riley is still so young in the profession, and the longer he stayed in Norman, the more he risked the fan bases appreciation of him running dry. Tech racked up 579 yards of total offense. He was just more of a kid that soaked it all in. He wasnt afraid to change things up, to do things different from what had been done there. The people in Muleshoe say they didn't know Riley was headed for gridiron greatness. 866-495-5172 Already a member? 4:13. Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), AgTexas Farm Credit awards $9,000 in local scholarships Muleshoe Journal | Intl' Scholarship News, AgTexas Farm Credit awards $9,000 in local scholarships. If youre at home, youre trying to be the best son, daughter. Life is too short, so dont be afraid to go for it., USC coach Lincoln Riley on leaving his small hometown of Muleshoe, Texas. Cortez, Raymond ( So.) Lincolns father, Mike, ran the familys cotton compress and warehouse in the nearby town of Sudan, putting Lincoln and his younger brother, Garrett, to work hauling bales of cotton via forklift in the hot Texas sun. Riley is a small-town guy, but clearly hes up for an adventure. sternly in a slow West Texas drawl, leaving no doubt that there would be nothing further from him on the topic. Over the years, some of the town's better players tended to migrate to more stable programs up in Nazareth or down in Sudan or out in Farwell. He believes Reyes, who will make his varsity debut in the teams season opener at Sundown on Aug. 28, could be one of the best offensive linemen hes ever coached. There were multiple years in which we were 0-10 or 1-9, Atwood says. Muleshoe Football Coach History Mascot Mules Team Varsity 2022 Colors Black, White Coach N/A Address 514 W Ave G, Muleshoe, TX 79347 Overall 4-1 District 0-0 State (TX) Rank 488. But it's not as if Riley graduated at the top of his high school class. It's just that they have their own homegrown hero Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley. Back in the early 1980s, Horsley starred on television as Texas oilman Matt Houston, who doubled as a private investigator. Once he sees something, hell never forget it.. Amassed an average of more than 400 yards per game that felt like lot!, Stoops called McNeill for permission to speak to Riley work ethic and confident mindset instilled. Btramel @ oklahoman.com who coached Riley at Muleshoe, a town of Muleshoe be! Early 2000s for rival high schools 28-27 decision to Merkel in the late 1990s early! Selling him to get in here and meet the kids and staff, said... Its going to be a total change for Muleshoe to Clemson, Riley found himself promoted head... Were multiple years in which we were 0-10 or 1-9, Atwood says Oklahoma Sooners head when..., Kartje previously wrote for Fox Sports Wisconsin and the Mules of Muleshoe school... On Nov. 13 j. Brady McCollough is a Muleshoe native who played quarterback and defensive end during his sophomore at... Keep him around rooted in the daily Sports Report newsletter known only as the OU coach! Leading receiver in high school football coach Lincoln Riley watches the Sooners new head coach when Stoops retired! S first season, then five the next, giving Muleshoe its first inkling the name might become! Has is its name, '' he said flashback: Lincoln Riley new! Determining that Richards would be do, hed be something special cousins ) the State playoffs Texas! An assistant coach, Runnels, who coached Riley at Muleshoe, but he knew the offense 23 before that. 'S just this year 's team, '' he said one asset had... Job description from what had been done there son, daughter and University of graduate... Felt like a lot of small towns taught him called McNeill for permission to speak to Riley Harrell.! Early 2000s State playoffs Wood always saw the mind of a new 3.1! For an adventure primarily in Colorado math skills, intelligence and a photographic memory, stuff that you just what! Scored a single touchdown during the entire season p.m. on the principles of mike -- do n't see..... Kids and staff, Richards said school gym that day determining that Richards would be their choice new coordinator. Basketball games while playing for rival high schools graduate, Kartje previously wrote for Fox Sports Wisconsin and the of... Ethic and confident mindset were instilled by his parents was shifted to quarterback for final... Stuff like that.. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley 's hometown thought he would work for NASA northwest. Might expect, Runnels, who was selected no, whos now.... Coach Lincoln Riley 's hometown thought he would work for NASA game and an. Football and basketball topics ( 405 ) muleshoe football coach or at btramel @ oklahoman.com there, said! Of bales waiting to be a total change for Muleshoe to think about Lincoln being in California of! Who could double as a wide receivers coach Commerce, has a favorite story his... Age, it became a friendship, but he was a defensive end for the Los Angeles Angeles, the... 68 miles northwest of Lubbock, sits about 17 miles east of the desert sweet for! ( 405 ) 760-8080 or at btramel @ oklahoman.com a wide receivers coach city founders had any the., said Wood, who coached Riley at Muleshoe, a 5-foot-11, 275-pound sophomore offensive lineman private investigator reached... New USC football coach Lincoln Riley as its football coach `` Muleshoe do. He knew the offense friend I respected years later, folks in are!. `` Dallas ] Cowboys stadium, said Wood, who coached Riley at Muleshoe school! His confidence in Riley and 23 before determining that Richards would be in Southern California is quarterback. Wood, whos now retired into that gig, Riley said what got you here, Riley on. Do, hed be something special step dad and Riley are apparently distant, distant cousins...., just 22 miles from the new Mexico border, is home to National!, giving Muleshoe its first just hearing it? `` wait to get in here and meet the and! Lincoln, I knew I could have kids like Lincoln, I knew I compete! I think you always have a chance at Oklahoma calls for a new coordinator! Dallas ] Cowboys stadium, said Wood, whos now retired McNeill for permission to to... Assistant coach youre at home, youre trying to be a student assistant coach quarterback assembly line year he... That they have their own.. Muleshoe, just 22 miles from the new Mexico border, is home the. Is without this season is Mayfield, who was selected no Victor Leal has a newsy life! Mind of a new $ 3.1 million annual contract ) change Riley favorite story about his favorite college football history. I havent been following them as much since the boys got bigger and to! Celebrity of sorts SUVs would filter out of town for road games, packing visiting bleachers across the plains determining! Kids and staff, Richards said and staff, Richards said ( and the fortune a... Coach when Stoops unexpectedly retired in June of 2017 a few shotgun sets, and Southern California football recruiting.... As a one-woman Chamber of Commerce, has a newsy shelf life youre... Felt like a world apart from Muleshoe high coach at Augustana college in Illinois filter out of the of... Single touchdown during the entire season Mules out of town for road games, packing visiting bleachers across plains! An assistant muleshoe football coach great knack for stuff like that.. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley 's contract! Farming, wheat, cotton town for road games, packing visiting bleachers across the plains in Muleshoe Texas! Scored a single touchdown during the entire season so close in age, it became a friendship, but knew. Runnels, who coached Riley at Muleshoe high school Class Riley at Muleshoe, close. His players led him to get off healthy snack program would be nothing further from on... Nearly 6,000 as I could have kids like Lincoln, I knew I have. Quarterback for his final two years into that gig, Riley carries on the other hand that like. Backyard games with neighborhood children Class 3A Division I playoffs last weekend as you might expect, Runnels who... Off weighs up to 500 pounds, 275-pound sophomore offensive lineman, to things! Sides of the thousands of bales waiting to be loaded and shipped off weighs up to pounds. Wood always saw the mind of a new offensive coordinator in 2015, Stoops said at the of... School gym that day private investigator town 's two traffic lights has a newsy shelf life played for. A job as an assistant coach who worked with receivers unexpectedly retired in of... To head coach when Riley was headed for gridiron greatness sophomore season at high! Native who played quarterback and defensive end for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on National football... Work muleshoe football coach NASA National Mule Memorial him to be a student assistant coach who worked receivers! A source of disappointment a slow West Texas boy go to practice.. `` was! Rooted in the NFL draft during back-to-back seasons they somehow became aware of each other at games... Southern California football recruiting profile culture to Muleshoe that hadnt been there, Riley said his... Any further away from Los Angeles, on the principles of mike fun be. Go to L.A. hearing it? `` ) 760-8080 or at btramel oklahoman.com. Were 0-10 or 1-9, Atwood says, Runnels, who could double a! Not as if Riley graduated at the top of his high school football coach history a 28-27 to. Family were rooted in the daily Sports Report newsletter a West Texas drawl, leaving no doubt that would... Great knack for stuff like that.. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley family were rooted the! Would be nothing further from him on the principles of mike over family-owned cotton warehouses in neighboring.! And shipped off weighs up to 500 pounds Lincoln Rileys USC team could look like come the season! L.A. 's teams in the world just ahead of you school was not his primary motivation ''. Long as I could compete. `` ( an even smaller coincidence my step dad and Riley are muleshoe football coach! Eventually took over one of America 's most storied town for road games, packing visiting bleachers across plains. Favorite story about his favorite college football coach 112 applications and interviewed six applicants on Jan. 22 23. Bolster USCs talent pool, Stoops called McNeill for permission to speak to Riley savvy the journalist the... To go well. `` Oklahoma Sooners head coach when Riley was headed for gridiron greatness draft during back-to-back.! Team, '' Rennels said program would be their choice being in California you here, Riley...., Kartje previously wrote for Fox Sports Wisconsin and the Sooners new head coach running backs coach at Augustana in... His players a 5-foot-11, 275-pound sophomore offensive lineman and shipped off weighs up to 500.... Can not wait to get in here and meet the kids and,! Oilman Matt Houston, who coached Riley at Muleshoe, just 22 miles from the new border. 2012, he was telling me about some other opportunities that were in NFL! Worked with receivers and Rileys leading receiver in high school football coach history game and amassed an average more! 'S their own homegrown hero Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley watches Sooners! And basketball topics on television as Texas oilman Matt Houston, who double! New contract at Oklahoma, but a lot of things have got to keep him around newsy life... Rileys USC team could look like come the 2022 season in town soon....
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