Fayetteville Football Preview

BULLDOG NATION | 1

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INS IDE BULLDOG NATION

Game photos from 2011 courtesy of Clear Choice Photography. Visit www.ClearChoicePhotos.com for more FHS athletes in action.

4 2011: THE SEASON, THE GAME AND THE PLAY

10 2012 SEASON PREVIEW13 SCHEDULE14 ROSTER16 SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

24 ONE-ON-ONE WITH COACH PATTON

2011: The Season, The Game and The Play

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Fayetteville wasn’t supposed to go all the way in 2011. Sure, the Bulldogs were talented. They had a coach who had won a state championship. They had plenty of expectations for themselves, even if they weren’t as high as their rivals to the north, Bentonville, which returned the core of an undefeated 2010 title team.

“Our goal, as always, was to win a state championship. We feel like, especially with the classification of 7A being (only) 16 teams, we feel like we should be right there for contending for it every year,” Patton said. “But realistically we knew that Bentonville, Har-Ber, North Little Rock – there were going to be some really good teams in the state.”

The Bulldogs didn’t have near the expe-rience or depth they boasts in 2012. In their first conference game of 2011, hosting the mighty Bentonville Tigers, it showed.

“We had nine new starters on offense who had never played under the big bright lights in a meaningful game, and we played like it against them. We played real inexpe-rienced, in fear, and made some mistakes from coaches down to players,” Patton said. “We were looking at the big picture a bit too much at that time.”

The Tigers trounced the Bulldogs by five touchdowns, a 41-6 showing in Fayetteville. Patton knew if was part of the growing pro-cess for a young team.

“We were going to be a little green and take some time to gel. But after about week five or six, you could see the kids playing well and doing some really good things,” Pat-ton said.

Fayetteville bounced back to win four straight, including a narrow road victory at

powerful Fort Smith Southside, before los-ing at Springdale Har-Ber in week nine. The Bulldogs finished the regular season 8-2.

“We thought we could make a run at it. We really did,” Patton said. “Getting the fourth seed was huge for us. It kept us from having to go to Bentonville or North Little Rock, and it gave us a chance to get a little confidence in the playoffs before we played Southside.”

Patton’s squad dispensed of Little Rock Catholic and Conway by 29 and 21 points, respectively, to roll into a rematch with Southside. The Bulldogs escaped by a field goal for a second time in Fort Smith, and Fayetteville found itself one step from win-ning it all.

Standing in the way of Fayetteville’s title hopes was more than a team. The Bulldogs had to beat the streak – 25 games Benton-ville had played without a defeat. And only 10 weeks had passed since the Tigers had embarrassed Fayetteville on its home field.

2011: The Season

BULLDOG NATION | 5

2011: The Season, The Game and The Play

But this was the state championship. All that mattered this time was who could win one game, the last of the season.

“The game plan was quite different the next time around. Defensively we did some different things, and offensively we wanted to play a little more aggressive and not play close to the vest or scared,” Patton said.

The plan was working in the first half, when Fayetteville held the powerful Tiger offense to just one score and matched it with its own touchdown, taking a tie into the locker room by minimizing mistakes.

“Too many times when you watch Benton-ville on tape, you’ll see they had such a great offense that could score a lot of points, but defensively they didn’t do a lot,” Patton said. “They weren’t real aggressive, bringing multiple blitzes or anything like that. They were pretty vanilla, but they were so well-coached and so talented that they could sit back and wait for a

team to get down two or three touchdowns and do something they’re not used to doing, and then fed off turnovers.

“We wanted to keep it close, give ourselves a chance in the fourth quarter and put the pres-sure on them.”

But the next 12 minutes out of half proved detrimental to keeping it close – Bentonville scored twice in the third quarter to go up by 14, and had held Fayetteville to just 13 points in seven quarters to that point between their two matchups.

Patton credits their positive mindset and leadership on the field for turning things around.

“I don’t think there was anybody on our team thinking, ‘Here we go again.’ I really don’t. It’s easy to say that now since we won, but when we got down 21-7, I didn’t hear one per-son, player or coach, trainer or manager, saying ‘Here we go, we’re gonna get beat,’” he said. “I heard Austin Allen say, ‘Hey, let’s just take the ball and go down the field and score this time. Just this time, that’s what we’ve got to do.’

“As a head coach I don’t think I’ve ever felt more confident. “

The Bulldogs completely turn the tables in the fourth, shocking the Tiger faithful with two touchdowns to knot the game at 21-all.

“The play to Brice Gahagans in the fourth quarter that went for about 60 yards really gave us a lot of confidence,” Patton said. “Then the touchdown to Tyler Tuck that tied it up – you could feel the momentum and the pressure completely switch.”

Bentonville got the ball first in overtime and put up another seven points to put Fayetteville back on its heels. The Bulldogs failed to find the end zone on their first three plays of OT, leaving the season hanging in the balance of a 4th and goal from three yards out.

Allen stayed calm. He hit senior Reid Hol-mes for the touchdown, and then FHS huddled up one last time in 2011.

“I still get chills over it,” To score on fourth down, when no one thought we could score right there…

“…and then coming back to get the 2-point conversion was huge, wow. It was a lot of fun,” Allen said.

That’s how fast it all happened. Facing a fourth down with the game on the line, Coach Patton called two plays at once. The Bulldogs were either going to win then or they weren’t going to win at all.

“Earlier in the week when I talked to some of the coaches, and I said, ‘Bentonville is na-tionally ranked, with a 25-game winning – if we’re in a position to play for a win or play for a tie to keep the game going, what do you guys

think?’ Everybody said ‘Coach, we’re in the position, we go for the win. Win or lose, we go for it.’”

They needed to get in the end zone twice in two plays to secure the school’s second championship in six years, so there wasn’t much fanfare for the touchdown that cut the deficit to 28-27. They were only halfway there.

“We told the kids that if we score, we’re going to come right back and run Bozo to win the ball game. ‘Don’t get all emotional or ex-cited – let’s just take care of business,’” Pat-ton said. “We scored to pull within one point and our kids weren’t jumping up or celebrating. They got back in the huddle, called the play, ran it and we won.”

The play, “Bozo,” was the gimmick play that sent senior tight end Tyler Tuck down on all fours before heading to the corner of the end zone. A basic fall-down play, Patton calls it, where the receiver lures the defense in be-fore sneaking behind the coverage unmarked.

“Coach Patton knew he wanted to do, so we ran it and it worked,” Allen said. “Tyler knew he was going to catch it. We’d work on that all year since fall practice, so he knew what to expect and once the corner bit in he knew he’d get it.”

The rest is history, a strong history that Patton is quickly adding to in Fayetteville.

“I was extremely proud of our kids. Proud of our coaches, the school and the city. Ben-tonville, to do what they did on a 7A level and win 25 straight, they should be very proud,” Patton said. “To be able to upset them and beat the giants, on a glorious Saturday after-noon in Little Rock with everybody there, I was just extremely proud.”

“To be able to upset them and beat the giants, on a glorious Saturday afternoon in Little Rock with everybody there, I was just extremely proud.”

-Head Coach Daryl Patton

2011: The Game

2011: The Play

8 | 8 |

BUILDINGA DYNASTYThe new Fayetteville High School has been under construction all summer, and the football field got a makeover in the offseason too.

While artificial turf might not win the Bulldogs any football games in 2012, it’s one reason that shows FHS is constructing a football tradition that’s built to last.

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Fayetteville’s state championship defense started in an unusual place this summer - a baseball field. The reigning 7A State champs were displaced to the outfield grass of Bulldog Field while their Friday night stage across the road was getting a makeover.

Harmon Field got new artificial turf dur-ing the offseason, while the wall wrap on the visitors’ side was reinstalled to include “2011” above “Arkansas State Football Champions.” And that was just light construction compared to the brand new school going up on the south side of campus.

Put it all together and it’s easy to see that Fayetteville is in an enviable position, with state of the art facilities and state of the art accomplishments to go with it. Just since the current FHS seniors were freshmen, the Bull-dogs have brought home state titles in football (‘11), baseball (‘09), girls’ basketball (‘09, ‘11), boys’ basketball (’09) and girls’ soccer (’10), and FHS has finished tops in the state in just

about every other sport at some point in the last decade.

Head football coach Daryl Patton isn’t worried about any of that, and says instead fo-cusing on one play at a time in one practice or one game got the team where it is now.

“I really like the philosophy that we had in the state championship game. Just win the next play,” Patton said. “We have to try to focus on the task at hand. We’re going to try to re-ally focus on the next play, the next drive, that game, every week of the season. Not look at the big picture.”

That attitude kept the chaos of the summer

– like starting the offseason on a diamond in-stead of the gridiron – from affecting his team’s preparation too much for the 2012 season.

“It’s been a little bit crazy,” said senior quarterback Austin Allen. “Coming from work-outs, we used to just come down (out of the fieldhouse) to the field and work on whatever, but we had to go to the baseball field while the baseball team was practicing.”

While Allen has plenty of experience dodging blitzing defenders, avoiding line drives while he’s in the pocket is a completely differ-ent ballgame. Allen already had his own per-sonal distractions to deal with in a July trip to

“We’re not talking playoffs. Not talking state championship. Let’s go out there and play each Friday night and let

the chips fall where they may.” -Head Coach Daryl Patton

after surprise state title run,bulldogs take the field as favorites

BULLDOG NATION | 11

ESPN’s Elite 11 finals, where he earned a spot among the top 25 prep signal-callers in the na-tion after passing for more than 4,000 yards and 46 touchdowns last season.

“Going to California was a fun time for me. I went up against some of the best quarter-backs in the nation and it was great to compete against them,” Allen said. “Definitely a fun sum-mer.”

The easy-going Allen was one of the big-gest reasons Fayetteville shocked the then-un-beaten Bentonville Tigers last December (376 yards passing and four touchdowns), along with defensive stalwarts Brooks Ellis and Alex Brignoni, all of whom verbally committed to the University of Arkansas in May.

“We feel like we’ve got the best linebacker in the nation,” Patton said. “I know that’s saying a lot, but (Ellis) is really that good. Brooks will be our sam linebacker and was the defensive player in the state and the player in the state by a couple of publications last year.”

after surprise state title run,bulldogs take the field as favorites

2012 PREVIEW

Between that trio, a third-year starter at running back in Brice Gahagans and plenty of experience on the offensive and defensive lines, the Bulldogs look a lot less like the un-derdogs that won it all in 2011 and a lot more like the a team everybody’s circling on their schedules for 2012.

Fayetteville returns an entire offensive line of seniors Chase Carney, Tacker Halloran, Jar-ed Thurman, Austin Hubble and junior Joseph Shelby, as well as junior Brayden Cook, who Patton said could’ve started last year if not for an ACL tear.

With senior Cole Harris at wide receiver, the Bulldogs have eight returning starters on offense.

“I think our offensive line depth is a major strength. Quarterback obviously, and running back too,” Patton said. “On defense, our D-line, linebackers and safeties are as good as we’ve ever had.”

Brandyn Young and Taryll Henry return

at defensive end after combining for 17 sacks last season, while Giovanni Negrete, Reece Fitchue and Jordan Williams all played sig-nificant minutes at defensive tackle to give the Bulldogs five experienced senior D- linemen.

Fayetteville boasts a stable of safeties led by the Razorback commit Brignoni and Heath McCracken, whom Patton says should also be playing college football this time next year.

The pressure the Bulldogs get from up front allows them to play a 4-2-5 defense, with an extra defensive back in the pass-heavy 7A-West.

Fayetteville has all the talent and experi-ence this year, much like the Bentonville team it dethroned a year ago.

“We feel like we have all the tools to get back to Little Rock, but we just have to focus on each game and each play,” Allen said.

Patton said potential areas of weakness are tight end and fullback, and a playmaker to replace graduated speedy receiver Brad Culp.

“We’re going to have to matriculate the ball down the field, control possession, and be smart,” Patton said. “I think Jordan Den-nis could be a home run guy, and we’re lack-ing that big-play receiver right now, so he is a big-time addition. He’ll probably be a D-1 kid when he graduates. He’s a great athlete and great receiver.”

Dennis, a junior two-sport athlete, moved to Fayetteville from Springdale in the offsea-son. Dennis, Harris and the other wideouts

may help at cornerback, Patton said, joining a young group that includes Dre Greenlaw and Jake Hornibrook.

The title defense begins Thursday, Aug. 30, when Fayetteville hosts Memphis Univer-sity School, but don’t expect the buzz in the Bulldog locker room to include terms like “re-peat” or “undefeated.”

“We’re not talking playoffs. Not talking state championship. Let’s go out there and play each Friday night and let the chips fall

where they may,” Patton said. “We know we can be a really good football team.

“The bottom line is we want to stay healthy, start gelling and play better at the end of the year and peak at the right time. Give ourselves a chance to win in the play-offs.”

One play at a time worked well for the Bulldogs in 2011. Now they’re working hard to play down the hype and play up to their potential in 2012.

2012 PREVIEW

BULLDOG FOOTBALL

BULLDOG NATION | 13BULLDOG NATION | 13

# NAME GRADE POSITION HT WT1 DRE GREENLAW 10 WR-CB 5’10 1802 JAY AUSTIN 10 QB-WR-CB 5’9 1753 HEATH MCCRACKEN 12 QB/SS 6’1 1903 DEREK BRANDON 10 WR 5’10 1504 CHADD HOLMES 12 WR 6’1 1754 JAMES MCMAHAN 10 K 5’9 1455 ALEX BRIGNONI 12 WR-DB 6’1 1955 DYLAN HARRIS 10 CB 5’9 1605 JM BELL 10 DB 5’9 1506 TRES TUCKER 11 WR-DB 6’1 1856 JACKSON WOODRUFF 11 MGR. 5’9 1457 CLAYTON BELL 11 DB 6’0 1657 ROBERT TOMLINSON 10 DB 5’10 1508 AUSTIN ALLEN 12 QB-P 6’2 2159 MITCH MARSHALL 11 QB 6’0 1709 WILL JONES 10 DB 5’9 15510 JORDAN DENNIS 11 WR-CB 6’1 17511 CARSON BAKER 11 SS 5’10 17511 NICO SUAREZ 10 RB 5’9 16012 RYAN STARR 12 K 6’1 16513 BROOKS ELLIS 12 LB 6’3 22013 STEPHEN WILLIAMS 10 S 6’1 18514 AUSTIN BERRY 12 LB 5’9 17514 JORDAN LANOUE 10 DB 5’5 11015 CJ O’GRADY 10 QB 6’4 19016 BRAYDON COOK 11 RB-LB 5’8 19017 BLAKE POWER 10 WR 6’3 18018 GARRETT WUEHLER 10 QB-WR 5’10 17519 TYLER CALLOWAY 10 WR-FS 6’0 18019 KK SCALES 10 RB 6’1 17520 BLAKE HINDS 10 S 5’9 15021 JAKE HART 10 K-P 5’10 16022 TERRELL TYSON 11 WR-DB 6’1 18522 AUSTIN HUNTER 10 DB 5’9 15023 JORGE GONZALEZ 12 WR-DB 6’0 17523 BRADY WEST 10 RB 5’7 13524 ADAM LIND 11 WR-DB 5’10 165

# NAME GRADE POSITION HT WT24 BUBBA STANLEY 10 DB 6’0 15025 JAKE HORNIBROOK 11 DB 6’0 15025 KYLE FREEMAN 10 RB 5’9 15526 MAX COPPINGER 11 DB 6’0 17526 JUAN LUEVANO 10 K 5’9 15027 RAMSEY JONES 11 WR 5’9 14028 BRICE GAHAGANS 12 RB 5’10 18528 KYLE FREEMAN 10 RB 5’9 16529 COLESON YOUNG 12 DB 5’10 15530 ROB STUTTS 11 WR 5’9 14030 NATHAN WILLIAMS 10 DB 5’9 16031 TROY BOWEN 11 WR 5’7 14032 COLE HARRIS 12 WR-DB 5’10 17533 FORREST CREIGHTON 12 FB 6’2 22534 TARYLL HENRY 12 TE-DE 6’1 21534 ROBERTO SOLIS 10 FB 6’0 18535 STEVEN ZAMORA 10 LB 6’0 18536 BRANDON BUYCE 11 RB-LB 6’0 18536 JAKE TRONZANO 10 DB 5’9 16537 NIC YOCUM 11 WR 5’10 15038 NATHAN ORTIZ 12 TE 6’0 18538 JACOB WIEBE 10 LB 5’10 17039 NATHANIEL KISOR 11 DE 6’0 18539 JESUS TORRES 10 FB 5’10 18540 ALEX GASPAR 11 WR 5’10 15540 ALEX WILLIAMS 10 S 6’1 18041 JASE RAPERT 11 QB 5’10 18542 MILES TALIFERRO 10 WS-LB 5’10 17543 TOMMY COKER 11 LB 5’10 18043 JORDAN DAVIS 10 LB 5’9 17544 AARON JORDAN 12 TE 6’0 21044 BRANDON SWAIN 10 DB 5’9 15045 MATTHEW ELLIOTT 11 WR 5’9 15545 JACOB HAMPTON 10 LB 5’10 17547 SETH FINLEY 11 FB-LB 5’11 17548 SPENCER KASS 11 FB 5’11 19048 ALEX COBB 10 WR 5’9 160

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VARSITY ROSTER

# NAME GRADE POSITION HT WT49 BRANDYN YOUNG 12 DE 6’0 22549 BRANDON NEWBERRY 10 WR 5’9 17550 QUINCY ROWE 11 OL-DE 6’0 23051 ARTURO REYES 10 DL 5’9 20052 REESE FITCHUE 12 DL 6’0 24553 GERMAN MARTINEZ 11 DE 5’10 18553 CARVER CALLISON 10 OL 6’0 19054 DEMANI CARTER 10 OL-DE 5’11 22555 SAM SCALISE 11 OL-DL 5’10 24557 COY LOBAUGH 10 OL-DL 5’10 23558 JOSEPH SHELBY 11 OL 6’0 21558 TAYLOR BEAM 10 OL 5’10 19059 JARED THURMAN 12 OL-DL 5’11 28060 PARKER WIMBERLY 11 DE 6’0 16560 JON WILITS 10 OL 5’10 19061 NICK CORNELL 12 OL 6’3 27561 JARROD HOWARD 10 OL 6’0 19062 CHRIS HUMPHREY 10 OL-DL 5’10 24563 ZACK AKERS 11 OL-DL 5’11 21064 HARRISON SCHAEFER 10 OL-DL 6’2 23064 COY LOBAUGH 10 OL-DL 6’0 24065 JOSH BIRD 12 OL 5’10 23065 CHRISTIAN RYMEL 10 OL 5’9 20066 JACK ARMSTRONG 11 OL 5’10 25566 VINCENT CHANG 10 OL 5’10 20067 SAM THRELKELD 10 OL-DL 6’0 22068 TACKER HALLORAN 12 OL 5’10 25569 AUSTIN HUBBLE 12 OL 5’9 23570 JAY PATEL 12 OL 6’0 22570 SAM THOMAS 10 OL 6’0 22071 SHIFAT RAIYAN 11 DE 6’0 18572 JACKSON MCNEAL 10 OL-DL 6’1 23073 BROCK STOCKLAND 10 DE 6’2 18574 CHASE CARNEY 12 OL 6’4 25074 ANTONIO LOPEZ 10 DL 5’9 24075 JESUS GUADELOUPE 10 OL-DL 5’10 24075 SAMMY TURNER 10 DL 6’0 300

# NAME GRADE POSITION HT WT76 JORDAN WILLIAMS 12 OL-DE 6’3 25076 CHRIS MCGAUGHEY 10 DL 6’0 18577 JACKSON MITCHELL 10 OL-DL 6’3 22078 JACKSON PRASISKA 12 OL 6’0 22578 JOSEPH BURNS 10 DL 5’9 18579 GIOVANNI NEGRETE 12 DL 5’10 26579 COLE SEWELL 10 OL 6’0 18580 ALEK BURT 12 TE 5’10 22580 ROBBIE YOUNCE 10 DB 6’0 16581 KING MATTINGLY 10 TE 6’3 22082 HARRISON SMITH 10 WR 6’0 18084 CARL CARTER 10 DB 6’0 16584 ENOCH FLEMING 10 WR 5’10 16085 HAYDEN DOWN 11 TE 6’1 20085 EVAN SMITH 10 WR 5’10 15086 XANDER ABEL 11 WR 5’10 15586 SEBASTION PINA 10 WR 5’9 15087 CHAZ LUCKE 10 DB 5’10 16587 LUCAS STARR 12 TE 6’2 20588 COLLINS KNIGHT 12 OL-TE 5’11 20088 HAYDEN WILSON 10 WR 5’10 16089 CHASE TURNBULL 11 TE-DE 6’1 20589 TANNER THURMAN 10 WR 5’9 16590 TRAY LAMAR 12 TE 5’10 18590 SHANE YANG 10 DL 5’10 20091 RIDLEY WEEKS 10 LB 6’0 17092 KAI HALE 11 DE 6’2 20592 HAYDEN LUCAS 10 DL 6’0 19093 COOPER SONE 10 DE 6’0 19094 CORDARIUS CAMPBELL 12 DL 6’0 23095 NICK BIRD 10 LB 6’0 17596 AARON KILDOW 11 LB 6’2 17596 DANIEL ORTIZ 10 DL 5’10 18096 TEVEA SMITH 10 DL 5’9 18098 DALTON MCDANIEL 10 DL 5’10 19099 EUGENE HENNESEY 10 DL 6’0 200

BULLDOG NATION | 15

BULLDOG FOOTBALL

16 |

ALEKBURT

CORDARIUSCAMPBELL

CHASECARNEY

NICKCORNELL

Position: Tight End

Favorite Restaurant:Green Submarine

Favorite Athlete:Jared from Subway

Favorite Movie: AnchormanFavorite Musician: Ben Rector

Position: Defensive Line

Favorite Restaurant:Mexico Viejo

Favorite Athlete: Drew Brees

Favorite Movie: The Dark KnightFavorite Musician: Lecrae

Position: Offensive Tackle

Favorite Restaurant:Outback Steakhouse

Favorite Athlete: LeBron James

Favorite Movie: TakenFavorite Musician: Lil Wayne


Favorite Restaurant:Tim’s Pizza

Favorite Athlete: Tom Brady

Favorite Movie: GladiatorFavorite Musician: Lil Wayne

AUSTINBERRY

JOSHBIRD

ALEXBRIGNONI

AUSTINALLEN

Position: Quarterback, Punter

Also Plays: Baseball

Favorite Restaurant:Buffalo Wild Wings

Favorite Athlete: Drew Brees

Favorite Movies: Batman Begins and The Dark Knight

Position: Linebacker

Favorite Restaurant:Hunan Manor

Favorite Athlete:Maurice Jones-Drew

Favorite Movies: All the Batman movies

Favorite Musician: Tech N9ne

Position: Offensive Line

Also Plays: Hockey, Wrestling

Favorite Restaurant: Chick-fil-A

Favorite Athlete: Steve Yzerman

Favorite Movie: MiracleFavorite Musician: Eminem

Position: Safety

Also Plays: Baseball

Favorite Restaurant: Jason’s Deli

Favorite Athlete: Tim Tebow

Favorite Movie: The NotebookFavorite Musician: Drake

SENIOR SPOTLIGHTSENIOR SPOTLIGHT

BULLDOG NATION | 17

BULLDOG NATION | 19

COLEHARRIS

AUSTINHUBBLE

CHADDHOLMES

TARYLLHENRY

Position: Wide Receiver

Favorite Restaurant: Shogun

Favorite Athlete: Darren McFadden

Favorite Movie: The Longest YardFavorite Musician: Lil Wayne

Position: Defensive End

Favorite Restaurant:Buffalo Wild Wings

Favorite Movie: High SchoolFavorite Musician: Wiz Khalifa

Position: Wide Receiver

Favorite Restaurant:Herman’s Ribhouse

Favorite Athlete: Wes Welker

Favorite Movie: Ace Ventura: When Nature CallsFavorite Musician: Boston

Position: Center

Also Plays: Wrestling

Favorite Restaurant:Whole Hog BBQ

Favorite Athlete: Henry Cejudo

Favorite Movie: Iron Man 2Favorite Musician: George Strait

CLASS OF 2013

REECEFITCHUE

TAYLORHALLORAN

BRICEGAHAGANS

BROOKSELLIS

Position: Defensive Tackle

Also Plays: Track & Field

Favorite Restaurant: Sassy’s BBQ

Favorite Athlete: Felix Jones

Favorite Movie: StepbrothersFavorite Musician: Blake Shelton

Position: Running Back

Also Plays: Track & Field

Favorite Restaurant: Subway

Favorite Athlete: Adrian Peterson

Favorite Movie: The Dark Knight Rises

Favorite Musician: Kendrick Lamar

Position: Offensive Guard

Favorite Restaurant: La Huerta

Favorite Athlete: Peyton Hillis

Favorite Movie: Stepbrothers

Favorite Musician: Lil Wayne, Drake


Favorite Restaurant: Golden Corral

Favorite Athlete:Rob Gronkowski

Favorite Movie: Never Back Down

20 |

HEATHMcCRACKEN

TREYLAMAR

COLLINSKNIGHT

AARONJORDAN

Position: Tight End

Favorite Restaurant:Burger Life

Favorite Athlete: Kevin Love

Favorite Movie: Pursuit of Happyness

Favorite Musician: Foo Fighters

Position: Tight End


Favorite Restaurant: Foghorn’s


Favorite Movie: The Blind SideFavorite Music: Hip Hop


Favorite Restaurant:Doe’s Eat Place

Favorite Athlete: Tiger Woods

Favorite Movie: The Dark Knight Rises

Favorite Music: Country

Position: Tight End

Favorite Restaurant:Wasabi

Favorite Movie: Gridiron Gang

SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

LUCASSTARR

JAYPATEL

JACKSONPRASISKA

GIOVANNINEGRETE


Also Plays: Discus

Favorite Restaurant: La Hacienda

Favorite Athlete: Randy Moss

Favorite Movie: Fast and FuriousFavorite Musician: Kid Cudi


Favorite Restaurant: Doe’s Eat Place

Favorite Athlete: Tiger Woods

Favorite Movie: Children of the Corn

Favorite Musician: The Offspring

Position: Tight End

Favorite Restaurant: Mojito’s

Favorite Athlete: LeBron James

Favorite Movie: Fast FiveFavorite Musician: Lil Wayne

Position: Defensive Tackle


BULLDOG NATION | 21

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BULLDOG NATION | 23

RYANSTARR

JORDANWILLIAMS

BRANDYNYOUNG

Position: Kicker

Also Plays: Soccer, Track & Field

Favorite Restaurant:Doe’s Eat Place

Favorite Athlete: Lionel Messi

Favorite Movie: StepbrothersFavorite Musician: NEEDTOBREATHE

Position: Offensive Guard

Favorite Restaurant:Green Submarine

Favorite Athlete: Jared from Subway

Favorite Movie: Beauty and the Beast

Favorite Musician: Journey


Favorite Restaurant: Wes’s BBQ

Favorite Athlete: Randy Moss

Favorite Movie: Prometheus

Favorite Musician: Lil Wayne


Favorite Restaurant: IHOP


Favorite Movie: Chariots of Fire

Favorite Musician: Chris Rice

JAREDTHURMAN

COLESONYOUNGPosition: Cornerback

Also Plays: Soccer, Track & Field

Favorite Restaurant: Firehouse

Favorite Athlete: Lionel Messi

Favorite Movie: StepbrothersFavorite Music: Country

CLASS OF 2013

Batman Series18%

Sports Movies14%

Other14%

Something with Will Ferrell

18%

24 |

DARYLPATTON

10th Year as Fayetteville Head Coach21st Year Coaching Football

Where are you from originally?I’m originally from Bryant. That’s

where I was raised and went to school, and then I went to Missouri State, South Missouri State back in the day, and played football there. I got married and moved to UCA and finished up my playing ca-reer there, then got my first job back in Bryant as offensive coordinator. I stayed in that position for two years, four years as junior high head coach, then got the head job at Bryant in 1998 for five years. I’ve been up here for going on 10 years.

Do you have any kids?I have a daughter who is 22 and just

graduated from UCA. I’m very proud of her. She was the captain of the UCA dance squad. Then my son will be a ju-nior this year at Northeastern State in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, where he’s a kick-er and plays football over there.

What professional or college coaches do you admire?

Starting out I spent a lot of time with (University of Arizona coach) Rich Rodri-guez when he was at Tulane, before he went to West Virginia. A lot of the offen-sive philosophy I have stems from him. Another guy I talked to quite a bit was (Washington State coach) Mike Leach, when he was at Kentucky under Coach Hal Mumme. When I first got the job at Bryant they were a dead T offense. I wanted to be up tempo, no huddle, spread, throw the ball around, so those were the guys I talked to and tried to imi-tate.

Now looking around, I love (Notre Dame coach) Brian Kelly and his orga-nizational skills. (Texas coach) Mack Brown, I love his down to earth personal-ity. Coach Bobby Petrino, when he was at Arkansas, gave us unlimited access,

and I really appreciated that. There are some unbelievable coaches over at the U of A, and to be able to send the staff over and spend time with them and learn football has been phenomenal.

What are some of your mantras or philosophies that your kids can prob-ably quote from memory?

Compete and play hard, I say that a thousand times a day. “Don’t tell me how rocky the sea is, just bring the darn ship in.” No excuses.

How many hours a week do you spend thinking about football?

I’ve slowed down a little bit, but in 2008 or 2009, Coach (Dick) Johnson asked me to do a work schedule, and fig-ure out how many days I work on football. I wrote down how many days and hours I was up here working on football, and it was 285 days, and the average work day was 11 hours a day.

But it’s a hobby – it’s not a job. This is what I love. It’s not something where I dread coming to work. I love being around the kids and my best friends, the coaches. My hobby is Bulldog football.

It’s changed over the last couple years, and I’ve tried to do more at the house instead of being in my office all the time, but still there’s not a better place than where I can sit and think and see the field.

What other hobbies do you have outside of football?

I used to play a lot of softball com-petitively, and I played a lot of basketball in men’s league over the years. When I got old and fat and hurt my knees all that kind of changed. But there’s not a lot of time. With football, because of the nature of the beast and the other good teams, you’re pretty much working year round. Football is pretty much my hobby.

ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE COACH

BULLDOG NATION | 25

What pro sports teams or athletes do you root for?

I love the teams that have an Arkan-sas connection. If there are former play-ers that have moved on – Darren McFad-den, when I worked the Houston Nutt camps years ago, I got to know Darren pretty well, and Peyton Hillis and Fe-lix Jones – every year they were on my teams at camp.

Michael Briesel is a former Purple’Dog, and he was a Houston Texan for years and now is an Oakland Raider. I pull for those guys. As bad as it hurts to say, I’m probably a fan of the Raiders right now with him and McFadden.

And I’m a Dallas Cowboys guy – kind of a closet Cowboys guy. I love the team and the facility and I’ve gone to numer-ous games, but when they’re down, I jump off quick.

What are your favorite TV shows and movies?

Everybody that knows me knows I love Two and a Half Men and Big Bang Theory. I love some of those silly sit-coms. Another show I’ve been watching that’s really funny is Duck Dynasty, kind of like Swamp People. Those are fun to watch.

As far as movies, anything sports-re-lated. Remember the Titans, Friday Night Lights, Radio, those kinds of things I en-joy watching.

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Patton Works Each Year

672Minutes of Game Clock Fayetteville Played Last Year, Including Playoffs

2,080Hours the Average

Person Works Each Year

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26 |

What are your favorite places to eat around town?

All of them. I love Herman’s, and you can walk in there and just smell the histo-ry, and the food’s awesome. Mermaid’s, they do a lot of catering for football and I love eating there. Those are my two fa-vorites. Feltner Brothers, Powerhouse, those are good too.

If you could have any job in sports anywhere, what would it be?

I would be lying if I said I wouldn’t love to be a college coach one day. I want my high school assistant coaches to want to be high school head coaches. I want them to have the drive to reach for the stars, and I want to be the same type of person who’s always trying to learn and improve and climb the ladder as well.

I’ve got a great job, one that people would kill for. I don’t have one eye on this job and one eye on another or anything – I love where I am. But if the opportunity ever arose in the future where I could get

to the collegiate level, I’d love the oppor-tunity before I retire to at least give it a try.

If you could start a football team with any player past or present, who would you start with?

If I were starting a pro team right now, I think you’ve got to go with Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees. That’s an easy answer, and everybody will probably say the same thing, but they’re playing at such a high level at the quarterback position through their leadership and ac-curacy, just dissecting defenses – they’re like surgeons. I think if you’re starting a pro team it’s one of those two.

The guy I most admire and respect in college, and I’d say this even if I weren’t from Arkansas, is Tyler Wilson. The guy got beat up last year. He was like John Wayne. He’d get knocked down, pick himself up and knock the dirt off and say, “Here we go again, partner.” He was the toughest kid I’ve ever seen.

At the high school level, and I don’t know if it’s because I’m a former quar-terback, but you’ve got to have a trigger-man to be successful doing what we do. Here at Fayetteville we have some fan-tastic quarterbacks. Woody Wilson, Dal-las McCutchen, Blake McDonald, several others.

But the last two quarterbacks I’ve had have been phenomenal quarterbacks and athletes, and they have the same mom and dad, Brandon and Austin (Al-len). Brandon was such a tough competi-tor, serious at all times. You knew when you went into a game on Friday night, when things went bad he was gonna find a way to get it done. He could make all the throws.

But I love the guy I have right now in Austin Allen. To do what he did last year as a first year starter… He’s not as seri-ous as Brandon on the field, you’ll see him laugh a little bit, but he’s an extreme competitor and when bombs are going off you’ll never see him get rattled.

ONE-ON-ONE WITH THE COACH

Fayetteville Football Preview

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