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. Davis will be Muleshoe's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after previously being at Texico (New Mexico) High School. "But he had a really good memory, was really good at math and he was very competitive. "I guess probably once I started to think about going to college, I enjoyed the game so much in high school that I felt it would be part of my life some way, some how. Despite Muleshoes noted success, the squad hit a rough patch, winning just six games over the past three years. As soon as Bob Stoops handpicked Riley to coach the quarterbacks and run the offense at Oklahoma in 2015, Riley began to prove what he had already shown at East Carolina in Conference USA: The guy knows how to motivate and prepare players at footballs most important position. 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. Muleshoe Journal Correspondent. By June, however, coach Mike Leach had seen enough. Riley caught Wood's eye as a seventh-grader. People know each other. 12 and led the Mules to a state semifinal finish his senior season. My dad worked me enough there throughout the years that he broke me on that, Riley joked during an interview with The Times last week. Herald-Times. He was a defensive end as a sophomore, but took over the offense in his final two seasons which included one state semifinal finish. Once she was his Sunday school teacher. Copyright 2022. Not only did they know him, he would take the time and just visit with those small kids and the junior high kids. She's from Dimmitt, 45 miles away. 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. The two weeks since that decision have been a whirlwind in both Los Angeles and Muleshoe, even if the definition differs in both places. Wood said that Riley got the Mules coaching staff into a meeting with Leach before the 2008 season, and then helped the coaches install the Red Raiders spread offense. It shaped who I am, Riley says. "Now we are Oklahoma fans because Lincoln is closer. Dont change anything.. Oklahoma football head coach Lincoln Riley hugs quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) after the Sooners won the Big 12 title last December in Arlington, Texas. But truth be told, Horsley never really was an integral thread in the town's fabric. But it has come at a price. The only time they were away was when they attended the University of Texas. Its hard to imagine a place any further away from Los Angeles. "We had great success there throughout our years. There were multiple years in which we were 0-10 or 1-9, Atwood says. Garrett Riley, Lincolns brother, said he had a little bit of an instinct that something like that may happen. But even he learned his brother took the USC job via social media. October 1, 2022, 12:22 AM. So how'd he end up as Oklahoma's headcoach? Cortez, Raymond ( So.) "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. One is USC head coach. Maybe even a national title. Hes a great, great dad, Caitlin Riley said. But as he and his wife considered the idea, Riley thought of his daughters. Duncan drew close to Riley and McNeill during the Alamo Bowl and was a mentor to the pair until his death on March 12, 2016. 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. The rapid rise of Lincoln Riley, from small-town quarterback to one of the most promising football minds in America, is rooted deep in this arid soil. A humorist and actor and political pundit and newspaper columnist. 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. His coaching career would soon take off into the stratosphere, leading him to East Carolina, then Oklahoma and now USC, but Riley was already a star in Muleshoe. BREAKING after two seasons Muleshoe has reassigned HFC/AD Lee Walker, Muleshoe is open #txhsfb @dctf. It would be a challenge, Simmons said, but one that the then-26-year-old coach accepted and conquered. I am a Haskell Indian Nations University graduate. Just like he isnt shocked by the anger in Oklahoma. LUBBOCK, Texas (KCBD) - After two seasons as the Head Football Coach/Athletic Director at Muleshoe High School, Lee Walker has been reassigned. "Muleshoe -- don't you like just hearing it?". Yet, with the aplomb of a seasoned coaching veteran, he guided Oklahoma to a Big 12 championship and a spot in the College Football Playoff. The streak ends this year. 877-845-6272. A Muleshoe Mule is coaching the Sooners. Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. In each of his first three seasons at Oklahoma, Riley led the Sooners to a 12-1 regular season, only to lose in the College Football Playoff semifinals to Georgia, Alabama and LSU of the Southeastern Conference. Hal Mumme was the head coach at McMurry University in Abilene, which is about three hours from Muleshoe. Muleshoe, which would become the seat of Bailey County, then was just a few houses, a school and a cemetery. McNeill, who accepted the head coaching position at East Carolina, hired Riley to be his offensive coordinator. He spent a couple of days in Muleshoe and wrote about his drover days. Find content for all Muleshoe Mules' Football teams covered by MaxPreps over the years. Muleshoe Mules Varsity Boys Football Muleshoe, TX FOLLOW TEAM 22-23 V. Football Home Schedule Roster Stats Standings Rankings Photos Videos News More / Muleshoe High School Football Muleshoe Football OVERALL 8-4 0.67 Win % DISTRICT 2-2 3rd in District HOME5-0 AWAY3-3 NEUTRAL0-1 PF318 PA345 STREAK1L Contribute to the Team Complete the Schedule What had been done was history or tradition or how theyd always done it, but it wasnt working. Muleshoe residents gather for a livestock auction featuring sheep, hogs and goats. 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. Los Angeles, on the other hand that felt like a world apart from Muleshoe. Football offered a nice escape. ", Three Oklahoma stars to keep an eye on in 2017 season, Watch for these three Oklahoma players to have breakout seasons in 2017. Muleshoe dropped a 28-27 decision to Merkel in the area round of the Class 3A Division I playoffs last weekend. The idea of moving to Southern California was, he admits, pretty daunting. Find Us . Ellis is the third generation to run the funeral home, which his grandfather opened in 1959. That string of decisions eventually cost Riley any hope he had at playing big-time football. That part has always been important to me.. 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. The work was strenuous enough to teach Lincoln Riley the intended lessons about hard work and responsibility but also to convince him he had no interest in inheriting the family business. Everybody is just so proud.". How did Lincoln Riley zoom from Muleshoe High School to the Sooners new head coach? Wes Wood, the coachs son who led the Mules to a state title as quarterback in 2008, said that season cemented Riley as his childhood hero. There are many friendship threads in Rileys small hometown of nearly 6,000. 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 . During the season, itll be harder because hell be gone before they are awake and theyll be asleep before he gets home. Hes just an athletic big kid. Whatever he chose to do, hed be something special. 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. Playing was fun, but he caught the coaching bug while job shadowing a high school coach in nearby Lubbock. Ask anyone in Muleshoe about Lincoln, whose first name is enough around these parts, and they swell with pride. There was a reason theyd come this far. It's also home to two of the greatest offensive minds in college football. A few years later, Leach offered Riley a full-time job as a wide receivers coach. Sure, maybe they wouldnt have chosen California as their favorite sons next step. That will never change.. Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley already has made inroads in Southern California football recruiting, which should help him bolster USCs talent pool. 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 after-school healthy snack program would be? They are high-integrity people who recruit the right way and have a unique ability to work with players on and off the field.. You can also view his personality page at newsok.com/berrytramel View Comments Hes ready to be a part of that city and what comes with it. Watch film with intensity, remember so much about the film, most kids would not remember. No new houses, he says, have been built in 15 years. Riley was on the football and track teams at Muleshoe (Tex.) Some people dont desire to be a head coach. Riley played quarterback and defensive end for Muleshoe High School before graduating in 2002. 1. While other small Texas towns have faded off the map, the dairy business has kept Muleshoes population hovering steadily around 5,000. I think you always have a chance at Oklahoma, but a lot of things have got to go well.". Mayfield and Murray became the No. DW Rutledge. Volunteer. Success on the intramural field, spurred him to attempt to walk on to the Tech team in the spring of his freshman season. It wasnt until Wood came to town in the spring of 1996 that the teams fortunes started to turn around. And sometimes he'd double back and explain to me what I was missing.". No telling if the city founders had any inkling the name might itself become a celebrity of sorts. If youre at home, youre trying to be the best son, daughter. Momentum was building, and at quarterback, the attention turned to Riley, who Wood says was set to take the reins as a sophomore. 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. It may be a good thing that the show never has had a scripted length. He has deep roots here. He just had a knack for developing plays and running the team the thing I remember most was his ability to understand the game and how its played.. But I don't know that I would've gone this way without having the great experience back home.". Its because he has an exceptional memory a photographic memory. if(typeof ez_ad_units != 'undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[320,50],'easternnewmexiconews_com-box-2','ezslot_3',128,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-easternnewmexiconews_com-box-2-0'); 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. Never really was an integral thread in the spring of his freshman season may be a head.. The anger in Oklahoma spring of 1996 that the teams fortunes started to turn.! Lincoln is closer Caitlin Riley said back and explain to me what I was missing. `` `` Muleshoe do! 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