A decade later, Lincoln Riley's new contract at Oklahoma calls for a guaranteed $3.1 million a year for five years. "It was a great place to grow up," Riley said on Wednesday afternoon during a telephone interview with The Eastern New Mexico News. There were multiple years in which we were 0-10 or 1-9, Atwood says. In 1996, David Wood inherited a Muleshoe program that hadn't posted a winning record in 13 years. But it has come at a price. But as the conversation continues, even hes starting to come around to Riley at USC. In years past, he has made it back to Muleshoe every summer. How can a West Texas boy go to L.A.? asked David Wood, who coached Riley at Muleshoe High. quarterback, led the Mules 400 miles to a Class 3A state semifinal game at Texas Stadium in Irving. The run still resonates here. Riley's wife Caitlin is also pure West Texas, even if she's not from Muleshoe. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Mules scored just one touchdown during the entire 1969 season. It's just that they have their own homegrown hero Oklahoma Sooners head coach Lincoln Riley. Deep on the dusty plains of West Texas, where grain silos line the sparse landscape and a dry breeze blows loose tufts of cotton across U.S. Route 84, a stretch of railroad runs along a lonely highway. It would be a challenge, Simmons said, but one that the then-26-year-old coach accepted and conquered. Muleshoe residents gather for a livestock auction featuring sheep, hogs and goats. Muleshoe coach Jason Richards discusses the touchdown run that sparked the Mules 39-37 comeback win over Brownfield on Friday night. While the Sooners did not recruit as much in the Southland in Rileys first five years in Norman, theyve made camp in recent years, pulling commitments in the last year from some of the top offensive talent in the region 2022 five-star Santa Ana Mater Dei running back Raleek Brown, 2023 five-star Los Alamitos quarterback Malachi Nelson (the top quarterback in his class), 2023 five-star Los Alamitos athlete Makai Lemon and 2023 four-star Los Alamitos receiver DeAndre Moore Jr. Those players could switch their commitments to USC soon enough, and there will be more local players and coaches taking immediate notice of Riley putting down roots in Los Angeles to restore the proud tradition of the USC program. he led the Mules of Muleshoe, a town of . Thats what you grew up in, thats what your daughters are used to, Riley says. (An even smaller coincidence my step dad and Riley are apparently distant, distant cousins). to try to lead the Mules out of the desert. Theres no shortage of small-town sleuths here still wondering aloud why Riley up and left the Sooners seemingly overnight. Lincoln has a photographic memory, and when I say that, I really mean it.. Dont change anything.. One is USC head coach. Its something that hes excited about. He's certainly more comfortable in his job than he was a year ago at this time. The news first broke on Twitter by Matt Stepp on December 17 and KCBD Sports confirmed on Christmas Eve. 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. Mike and Marilyn Riley have lived in Muleshoe all of their lives. But by then, the town had already galvanized around its team, and Muleshoe was firmly on the football map. I just knew there were things I wanted to try to do. 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. Greatness, yes. A rocket scientist. But Ellis knows patience is an important part of his job description. Muleshoe went 1-19 in the two years preceding head coach Jason Richards' arrival. Oklahoma mightve tested their allegiances as Texans, but Norman was still the Great Plains. COURTESY/Riley family. Kids just loved him, said David Wood, Muleshoe High School's football coach since spring 1996, when Riley was in sixth grade. Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at (405) 760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. I told someone the other day that Ive always felt a strong sense of anytime I was any part of a team, I didnt want to be the one to let my team down whether as a player or student assistant or (graduate assistant) or coach or coordinator or now as a head coach.. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. Its because he has an exceptional memory a photographic memory. I would put those at the top of the list.". 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. Access your Muleshoe Journal e-edition or subscribe here. Both sides of the family were rooted in the farming business. 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. "Yeah, hotel right now," he says. I think you always have a chance at Oklahoma, but a lot of things have got to go well.". Riley even remembered his old high school while working at Texas Tech. He looks back fondly on his upbringing in West Texas and the lessons it taught him. 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. Lincoln, theyll tell you, couldve been anything. Muleshoe, a 5,000 population town about 68 miles northwest of Lubbock, sits about 17 miles east of the New Mexico line. Things always change year to year in college football and that's one of the things we enjoy. Born in Muleshoe, he was raised and schooled primarily in Colorado. Wood said he envisioned his quarterback working someday for NASA. 12.8K views. A lot of the values I hope I still carry today were carried from my parents and people in that town. Maybe more frequent trips to Los Angeles planted some seeds that Southern California might be a nice place to raise two young daughters, Sloan and Stella, with wife Caitlin, even though its a much different lifestyle than what theyve known in Norman, Okla. That will never change.. 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. Riley was three months shy of his 34th birthday when promoted to replace the retiring Bob Stoops. It was a Sunday afternoon game decided by a Hail Mary on the final play. "It runs how long it needs to," Rennels said. 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 "School was not his primary motivation," Marilyn Riley said. Call. 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. His grandfather Claude Riley, who is 97 and lives at the nursing home with his wife, Evelyn, 89, was a quarterback there, as well. Seems that back when Riley. Head coach Jason Richards hopes that preseason growth can be turned into regular-season success. Marilyn, his mother who grew up on a Muleshoe farm, and his father, Mike, who came from a family that operated cotton gins among other business ventures, graduated from the University of Texas. The streak ends this year. With a coach of Rileys pedigree now leading the Trojans, the Pac-12 is unquestionably now USCs for the taking in the coming years. They were some complex plays as complex as you can be at 11.. But as he and his wife considered the idea, Riley thought of his daughters. That string of decisions eventually cost Riley any hope he had at playing big-time football. ", Riley was named the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma in 2015 after prepping for the position at East Carolina, , his first stop away from Texas Tech, his high school math teacher Debbie Conner told, In Mrs. Conner's honors math class, Riley, routinely dissected problems using shortcuts she never considered and. 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. Weve been busy, but weve enjoyed every day., I cover the University of Oklahoma football and mens basketball teams. 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. Alcohol sales were first allowed in the town just three years ago and to this day some respected folks still remain wary of setting foot inside the bar. Here in Muleshoe, the stunning news of Rileys sudden departure to USC late last month was greeted mostly with sideways glances. Everybody is so supportive. What had been done was history or tradition or how theyd always done it, but it wasnt working. But after Riley walked on at Texas Tech, then-Red Raiders coach Mike Leach encouraged him to get off . Registration is at 7:15 to 8:00 at the football field first session is for incoming . We're very excited, Mike Riley said. Patience is the whole key.. The town would never forget. 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. 2023 www.lubbockonline.com. Stoops said he wouldnt have retired this offseason if not for his confidence in Riley. Will Rogers was a restless 18-year-old in 1898 when he signed on to be a cowboy for the sprawling Mashed O Ranch, which covered parts of Lamb and Bailey counties in the Texas Panhandle. USC coach Lincoln Riley remains a celebrated figure in the Muleshoe High football program. Hes going to play receiver, hes going to play corner, hes going to return kicks for us. In 2017, once Riley took the reins from Stoops, Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy while leading the Sooners to the College Football Playoff semifinals. Hes well-versed on David Woods success with the Mules, which included a 2008 state championship. They say you are raised by a village. "I don't think they would havehad to pay him," his father Mike said. 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. But the worst of times came decades later, just as his oldest son was learning to love football. 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