Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley, center, talks with quarterback Caleb Williams (13) and quarterback Spencer Rattler (7) before a game against Iowa State on Nov. 20. Richards noted the juniors ability to play wide receiver, running back and quarterback on offense as well as defensive back on defense. Continue reading to hear more about OU's youthful coach. 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 It's also home to two of the greatest offensive minds in college football. Wood said he envisioned his quarterback working someday for NASA. Rodriguez, Alan ( Jr.) Lopez, Jaxher ( Jr.) Dominguez, Ryan ( So.) Ive always carried that with me. I cannot wait to get in here and meet the kids and staff, Richards said. Its probably one of the most supportive communities youll find in the state of Texas, said Richards, who had been Flour Bluffs offensive coordinator for the past five seasons. Thats a whole nother world than what he grew up in, said Alice Liles, who taught Rileys advanced English class and authored a book on the town. Davis will be Muleshoes defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after previously being at Texico (New Mexico) High School. A lot of times when people get success at a young age, the humble factor tends to get put on the backburner, Simmons said. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. Riley isnt known only as the OU head coach. Riley still has an itch to scratch when it comes to winning at the highest level of the sport and must feel he can reach the summit more easily from USC. Oklahoma cap at lunch alongside Marilyn on Muleshoe's main drag. Hes got size, hes got a great family.. But Muleshoe wanted discipline, he said. Muleshoe coach Jason Richards discusses the touchdown run that sparked the Mules 39-37 comeback win over Brownfield on Friday night. All rights reserved. He used to be a defensive end Lincoln Riley didnt start his Muleshoe High School playing career as a quarterback. 2023 www.oklahoman.com. It was so sudden, Graves says. Theirs is one of many businesses in town that have been passed down, then passed down again, lending Muleshoe an ingrained sense of continuity and pride. This article originally ran on July 15, 2017. David Wood was Rileys high school football coach. We have to put things together, do it again. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. For years, Magann's favorite Muletrain story focused on a local who grew tulip bulbs in a cotton field and shipped them to the Netherlands. Im fired up. That plains was the prettiest country I ever saw in my life, as flat as a beauty contest winner's stomach, and prairie lakes scattered all over it. Here are five things every fan should know about the Trojans' new coach. When Wood talks about Riley, it sounded like Lou Holtz, who a couple of months ago came through Oklahoma City and noted his innate ability to immediately see and comprehend the intricacies of football. Access your Muleshoe Journal e-edition or subscribe here. But Riley is able to handle the job while spending time with his daughters, Sloan and Stella. Hes ready to be a part of that city and what comes with it. Success on the intramural field, spurred him to attempt to walk on to the Tech team in the spring of his freshman season. Muleshoe Sports Net Retweeted. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. But like L.A., they have complete faith now that Lincoln Riley will deliver. He had a big following when he was coming through high school. MULESHOE, Texas -- Speaking over the phone Friday morning, new USC football coach Lincoln Riley is discussing his adjustment to Los Angeles so far and laughs when asked about his current living arrangement. Copyright 2022. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley stands on the sidelines during a game against Baylor on Nov. 13. Its because he has an exceptional memory a photographic memory. 12.8K views. They are high-integrity people who recruit the right way and have a unique ability to work with players on and off the field.. It wont be long, Wood assures. In 2014, assistant head coach was added to Riley's titles. 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. "But he was the kind of athlete you wanted running the show. "Now we are Oklahoma fans because Lincoln is closer. When OU was searching for a new offensive coordinator in 2015, Stoops called McNeill for permission to speak to Riley. Muleshoe's high-powered offense is led by junior running back Daniel Sianez (579 yards, 6 TD) and the senior wide receiver duo of Ivan Torres (27 receptions, 293 yards, 2 TD) and Eliasar . Never mind that Riley was only 19 years old. Muleshoe went 1-19 in the two years preceding head coach Jason Richards' arrival. Momentum was building, and at quarterback, the attention turned to Riley, who Wood says was set to take the reins as a sophomore. 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. J. Brady McCollough is a sports enterprise reporter for the Los Angeles Times, focusing on national college football and basketball topics. I grew up where the wind makes you tougher. "We had great success there throughout our years. I had to explain everything to him only once. He always has. Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley answers a question during a news conference in August. 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 you took somebody from San Diego, California, and you drop them in west Texas, youre taking a chance, and I wanted somebody that understood the people and wasnt going to complain about the wind and the dirt, Richards said. Their hearts belonged to the Longhorns until sons Lincoln and Garrett went off to college at Texas Tech. Muleshoe, a 5,000 population town about 68 miles northwest of Lubbock, sits about 17 miles east of the New Mexico line. Each of the thousands of bales waiting to be loaded and shipped off weighs up to 500 pounds. The following season, Muleshoe went 15-0 and won its only state championship. But I think its a wonderful move.. Muleshoe always supports their own.. Mayfield and Murray became the No. A decade later, Lincoln Riley's new contract at Oklahoma calls for a guaranteed $3.1 million a year for five years. Then cast your vote, Bruce Springsteen adds to mythology with three-hour show at Tulsa's BOK Center, State board approves new academic standards with Ryan Walters' last-minute revisions, More than 800 Oklahoma medical marijuana farms linked to organized crime, drug agency says, Gov. It attracted 10,000 souls. Rogers returned in 1934, an international celebrity. Just do what got you here, Riley said. ", 521 Pile StreetClovis, NM 88102Ph: (575) 763-3431, Powered by ROAR Online Publication Software from Lions Light Corporation Heres everything you need to know about Riley. One of those guys, not necessarily write things down. His mind was just brilliant. Seemingly overnight, the Ivy League discovered Muleshoe. Growing up here, Ellis says, it often felt like you were insulated from the ails of the outside world. Muleshoe, Texas might see it a little differently. He was just brilliant. 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. All rights reserved. The Mules won one game in Wood's first season, then five the next, giving Muleshoe its first. A top-10 preseason ranking is expected and, last week, the Sooners were predicted to win their third consecutive Big 12 championship. Most recently, he attended a Garth Brooks concert in Kansas City. The Sooners coach listens to many different genres. ".. It's been hectic. USC sent shock waves through the sports world when it hired Oklahomas Lincoln Riley as its football coach. In years past, he has made it back to Muleshoe every summer. Riley is a Muleshoe native who played quarterback and defensive end for the Mules football team in the late 1990s and early 2000s. COURTESY, Grandpa Claude, father Mike and Lincoln Riley, Lincoln and Caitlin Riley are from small Texas towns separated by a 45-minute drive. It didn't take much, however, to get his competitive football juices flowing in Lubbock. filled out recruiting questionnaires, his SAT and ACT scores made more impact with some coaches than his measurable football skills. Oklahoma mightve tested their allegiances as Texans, but Norman was still the Great Plains. In Muleshoe, no one needs any convincing. 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. Former Mule Jaxon Lee, an AP all-state first team lineman for the. Riley, like many young coaches, has grown over the years. Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley yells from the sideline during a game. Fortunately, there is a simple, dependable, go-to staple for slow news cycles at Channel 6. In addition to coaching the Mules to their only state championship in 2008, David Wood put up a. Not that the folks of Muleshoe don't respect Saban and what he's done for the Alabama Crimson Tide. Richards also knows the talent that has come out of the program, like Riley brothers Lincoln and Garrett. Mules, just as his father Mike had done three decades earlier. The run still resonates here. Suddenly Muletrain was competing with SportsCenter for eyeballs. (Courtesy of Bryan Terry / The Oklahoman). Mike Riley's series of tin-roofed warehouses on the northern fringe of Sudan can feel like ovens in the unforgiving West Texas sun. He knew exactly how to handle everything from the playcalling to quarterbacks.. Riley is a Muleshoe native who played quarterback and defensive end for the Mules football team in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Phone: 918-581-8391. Young kids look up to the varsity kids. Rileys work ethic and confident mindset were instilled by his parents. Riley is a quarterback whisperer, and Southern California is a five-star quarterback assembly line. And maybe after a few recruiting classes keeping Southern California talent at home Riley will be in a better position to take down the goliaths of the SEC by facing them in the playoff rather than tussling with them during the entire regular season. Cheerleading Sponsor Cheyanne Cage. Richards tutored all four quarterbacks to all-district honors each of the six years he was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. But the rest of Muleshoe moves at a crawl. His grandfather Claude Riley, who is 97 and lives at the nursing home with his wife, Evelyn, 89, was a quarterback there, as well. "Yeah, I think that's fair to say," he said. Family roots run generations deep in Muleshoe, making it sometimes feel like time is standing still. After three years of student coaching as an undergraduate and another as a graduate assistant, Leach, on Valentine's Day 2007, offered Riley. "Small town, very tight-knit community. Every time we get steaks and have friends over, they ask, Where did you get these knives? Always my wife will say, The Rileys bought them for us as a wedding gift. He tells me to come and visit him. And I think the value of honesty from my parents and in the community, those were things that people expected of you and took pride in. Hes the person who has a spare second for those wanting to talk to him during visits home. 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. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. 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. As a senior, he led the Mules of Muleshoe, a town of about 5,000 people, to the state semifinals. A coincidence my step dad is from Muleshoe, and small town doesnt really do it justice. Riley won the Frank Broyles Award in 2015 for being the nations top assistant coach after his first year at OU, but he nearly missed the ceremony. We're very excited, Mike Riley said. There were multiple years in which we were 0-10 or 1-9, Atwood says. Ellis is the third generation to run the funeral home, which his grandfather opened in 1959. to try to lead the Mules out of the desert. Following the 2016 season, he was appointed Bob Stoops' successor, and he guided the team to the 2017 Rose Bowl and a #2 position in the College Football Playoffs. Muleshoe will always be my special village. He took the whip smart but physically limited quarterback aside and asked him to be a student assistant coach. Riley will have no shortage of talented quarterbacks to evaluate right here in his new backyard. But the last 103 years havent been all wins and Roses. Head Boys Powerlifting Coach Jaxon Lee. 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. Football offered a nice escape. As a freshman, he had a team-leading 221 receiving yards with a touchdown and will be expected to stay on the field for as long as he can to play on offense, defense and special teams. Were not allowed to talk about the wind in my program. (An even smaller coincidence my step dad and Riley are apparently distant, distant cousins). After watching Riley try to make it as a walk-on quarterback, the coach offered Riley a student assistant coaching job. He once played quarterback for the Muleshoe. "I get back as often as I can," Riley said via cellphone after a morning practice last week in Norman, Okla. "It always will be a special place I carry with me," he said. That includes a winless 2019 season and missing the playoffs the past two years. When he announced it was Oklahoma, I thought, that would be a good place for him to be a head coach, too.'. New Mexico ) High School playing career as a wedding gift off weighs up to 500 pounds coach! 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