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. "Surely not an everyday event in these parts.". Even a few weeks ago, he says, if you wouldve told me I was living in L.A., I dont know that I wouldve believed you.. New WIC On Wheels set to travel to Bailey, other counties, Republican candidate for District 19 primary has clear leadership goals. 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. They were married in 2007. "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, 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. He just knew the game. He had a big following when he was coming through high school. Under Walkers leadership, the Mules went 1-19 over the two seasons. quarterback, led the Mules 400 miles to a Class 3A state semifinal game at Texas Stadium in Irving. When Lincoln attended Texas Tech, about 70 miles northwest of their home, the Rileys cheered for the Red Raiders. No telling if the city founders had any inkling the name might itself become a celebrity of sorts. Please subscribe to keep reading. We were on the way to San Antonio and the bowl game and we were obviously thinking we were going to have our normal role at that Alamo Bowl game, said Simmons, who coached wide receivers at the time. Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter. Whatever he chose to do, hed be something special. "Small town, very tight-knit community. "I thought he was more in the realm of NASA or something like that," Wood said. All four quarterbacks are in the top five for passing yards in a season. He joined The Times after six years with the Southern California News Group. Start End Years Coach Name Record; 1996: 2011: 16: David Wood: 139-51-0: Add Team Photo. Its because he has an exceptional memory a photographic memory. Theres an intense sense of pride. He spent a couple of days in Muleshoe and wrote about his drover days. From what I understand, Graves says, he wants to build his own program.. I wish I could have recorded Lincoln with how smooth, precise and decisive he was on that night of the game, McNeill said. Find Us . 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. "He knew where every kid was supposed to be on every play," the coach said. All rights reserved. Riley began his coaching career at Roosevelt High School in Lubbock, Texas as the team's quarterbacks coach and passing game assistant. 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. How the deluge of 1938 changed Los Angeles and its river, The chance of a lifetime: Five friends ski the tallest mountain in Los Angeles. Call. Greatness, yes. The next year he was hired on at Oklahoma as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach under the nationally-renowned Bob Stoops. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Gonzalez, Donavan ( Jr.) Vasquez, Uriel ( Sr.) Morales, Aaron ( So.) But Riley is able to handle the job while spending time with his daughters, Sloan and Stella. "I don't think they would havehad to pay him," his father Mike said. "It's just this year's team," he said. Anyhow, Riley wanted to be a college quarterback, but a shoulder dislocation kept him from reaching that potential. Riley is a small-town guy, but clearly hes up for an adventure. Stoops said he wouldnt have retired this offseason if not for his confidence in Riley. 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. Copyright 2019 KCBD. Of course, it will be up to Riley to decide if he wants a fresh start with the Trojans quarterback room. Call. He's been too busy. If youre at football practice, youre trying to be the best football player you can be, and if youre in the classroom, youre trying to be the best student. The run still resonates here. The Mules only return one all-district player in wide receiver Irvin Torres. The word snake is being used a lot: How new USC football coach Lincoln Riley may have replaced Kevin Durant as Oklahomas public enemy number one. Plus, he has the trust of his predecessor. 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. Young kids look up to the varsity kids. High, a West Texas town of 5,000. Ive always carried that with me. He keeps things pretty close to his sleeve, Garrett says. He doubled that win total in his first . Will fame (and the fortune of a new $3.1 million annual contract) change Riley? the after-school healthy snack program would be? But he happily embraced the familys other enduring legacy in town, as the third of four Rileys to quarterback the Muleshoe Mules. Some were convinced hed leave for Louisiana State. Heres little po-dunk Muleshoe playing in the [Dallas] Cowboys stadium, said Wood, whos now retired. Riley will have no shortage of talented quarterbacks to evaluate right here in his new backyard. Suddenly Muletrain was competing with SportsCenter for eyeballs. "A really exciting time," Rennels called the high-adrenaline week that followed Riley's ascension from offensive coordinator. Overnight, the youngest head coach in major college football hailed from the West Texas speck on the map that fell into Channel 6's market. As a junior in 2000 he helped the Mules reach the state semifinals, where they lost to Forney at the Dallas Cowboys' old home Texas Stadium in Irving. "The value of hard work - I think the community has always been built on that. At the helm of an I-formation, pro-style attack that bears no resemblance to the offense he ran at Oklahoma and will bring to USC, Riley led the Mules to an undefeated regular season in 2000. Conventional wisdom would say that you guys have been smallish-town people. Outside candidates. Ellis, the mayor, says it felt just like the movies. For a small West Texas town obsessed with football, it was unforgettable. "As long as I could have kids like Lincoln, I knew I could compete.". A Muleshoe Mule is coaching the Sooners. The Mules won one game in Woods first season, then five the next, giving Muleshoe its first non-losing season in two decades. Its going to be a total change for Muleshoe to think about Lincoln being in California. No matter how Riley and the Sooners fare, the 105-year-old town of Muleshoe will be proud of him. Atwood, who was one of the four, recalls that the boys were caught as soon as they descended the water tower. Riley is already having huge success recruiting Southern California. She's from Dimmitt, 45 miles away. Oklahoma football head coach Lincoln Riley hugs quarterback Baker Mayfield (6) after the Sooners won the Big 12 title last December in Arlington, Texas. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Mules scored just one touchdown during the entire 1969 season. But it was no mirage. But it's not as if Riley graduated at the top of his high school class. One newcomer Richards is excited about is Nic Reyes, a 5-foot-11, 275-pound sophomore offensive lineman. At USC, expectations are already soaring. 877-845-6272. Mike Riley still works in agriculture; he's run a cotton warehouse for years, which means he's been able to get to Norman for a few games each of the last two years, but when the harvest arrives in November, Saturday's a work day. He wanted to win in the classroom like he won on the field.". Mike and Marilyn Riley have lived in Muleshoe all of their lives. Riley showed the coaches just enough that he was invited to join the team in January. He was all for it.. Evaluate Jason Florez's football recruiting profile. Ellis is the third generation to run the funeral home, which his grandfather opened in 1959. He played out the year on the defensive line instead. While its Richards hope he can turn that around, hes made it a point to implement a program that doesnt discuss wins, but rather make sure the Mules master the things that take no talent., Having a great attitude, having great energy, being where your feet are, doing the best, he explained. A Muleshoe Mule is coaching the Sooners. Getting Darrell Davis, one of Richards high school football coaches, was something both men have been talking about for 15 years and have made happen. 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 . Riley was on the football and track teams at Muleshoe (Tex.) Oklahomas issue during those seasons was its porous defense, but, during the last two years, its offense sputtered (at least living up to its ridiculous standards), as Riley struggled to work his magic on five-star quarterback prospects Spencer Rattler and Caleb Williams Jr. Look, when 10-2 is your down year, youre doing pretty well. Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach saw that same attribute in Riley. Each of the thousands of bales waiting to be loaded and shipped off weighs up to 500 pounds. Head Cross Country/Head Girls Powerlifting Coach . Muleshoe football went from one of the worst programs in the state to one of the best. 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. I would put those at the top of the list.". "He had great math skills, intelligence and a photographic memory, stuff that you just don't see.". In years past, he has made it back to Muleshoe every summer. He brought a program and a culture to Muleshoe that hadnt been there, Riley said. The Muleshoe, Texas, city limit sign is seen in the hometown of new USC coach Lincoln Riley in 2015. "Now we are Oklahoma fans because Lincoln is closer. Donnie always made sure to see them a couple of times a year, said Big 12 associate commissioner John Underwood, a close friend of Duncans. Not only did they know him, he would take the time and just visit with those small kids and the junior high kids. There are high expectations. Davis will be Muleshoe's defensive coordinator and linebackers coach after previously being at Texico (New Mexico) High School. Some people dont desire to be a head coach. Back then, that was unbelievable.. Jalen Hurts could be next for the Sooners. Still, the savvy proprietor of the town's only cable station can't possibly know what stories might fall into her lap for the three times a week Muletrain report on her family-operated Channel 6. Following the 2009 season, he left his position as the Red Raiders wide receivers coach to become offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at East Carolina under head coach Ruffin McNeill. 3 games every Oklahoma fan should circle on the calendar; full season predictions for 2017. Continue reading to hear more about OU's youthful coach. Muleshoe, a 5,000 population town about 68 miles northwest of Lubbock, sits about 17 miles east of the New Mexico line. Some folks waited afterward to get his autograph. After all, Muletrain isn't 60 Minutes. You know everybody. But that's not to say Muleshoe is a one-horse town when it comes to college-football loyalty. There was a reason theyd come this far. That number barely fields a varsity team. Rileys work ethic and confident mindset were instilled by his parents. He felt that it was a good opportunity for him. 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. 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. MULESHOE The Muleshoe football team found itself trailing the visiting Brownfield Cubs 23-12 with 22 seconds remaining in the first half when Mules coach Jason Richards thought about taking a . It will be up to Riley to decide if he wants to build his own program kid was to..... Jalen Hurts could be next for the Red Raiders football went one... Wisdom would say that you just do n't see. `` they descended the water tower conventional wisdom would that. Class 3A state semifinal game at Texas Stadium in Irving opportunity for him of the thousands of waiting. 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