Plankton
Well-Known Member
- Messages
- 12,258
- Reaction score
- 18,650
http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2017/07/11/...otential-first-round-oklahoma-state-les-miles
Two decades ago, Les Miles had a stroke of luck so fortuitous that it might only happen once in a coach’s career: The top quarterback recruit in the state, and one of the best in the country, lived just a few houses down the street.
Back then, Miles was an up-and-coming offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. His kids grew up idolizing their neighbor, while dad wooed him on behalf of the Cowboys. NCAA rules permitted coaches to make home visits once a week, so, once a week, Miles would take a walk down his Stillwater, Okla., block. Miles grabbed the pad of paper next to the Hollidays’ telephone and, over meatballs, drew up plays—a lot of pass plays—that he just knew would light up OSU’s Lewis Field. The quarterback’s dad still remembers the optimism that flew around their kitchen table (We’ll lead the nation in scoring!).
All of them believed it. As a junior at Stillwater High, the kid had set a state record with 35 touchdown passes, this in an era before high school football was an aerial show. In the fall of 1997, during his senior year, a USA Today recruiting column described him as “the unbelievable quarterback out of Stillwater, Okla.” He could sling it 75 yards without a lot of strain, and two decades later, Miles still recalls his neighbor’s natural touch as a passer. “Boy,” Miles says wistfully, “he could really whistle it.”
But they never got the chance to run those plays they’d drawn up together. In early 1998, Miles accepted a job as the tight ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys. And that summer, the quarterback broke hearts in Stillwater when he walked away from football to chase a different sports dream. High school careers, in all too many cases, are in no way predictive of future success. But this quarterback? Even now, Miles is convinced of what he saw.
“I think he’d be playing in the NFL today,” Miles says. “I think he’d still be playing.”
Two decades ago, Les Miles had a stroke of luck so fortuitous that it might only happen once in a coach’s career: The top quarterback recruit in the state, and one of the best in the country, lived just a few houses down the street.
Back then, Miles was an up-and-coming offensive coordinator at Oklahoma State. His kids grew up idolizing their neighbor, while dad wooed him on behalf of the Cowboys. NCAA rules permitted coaches to make home visits once a week, so, once a week, Miles would take a walk down his Stillwater, Okla., block. Miles grabbed the pad of paper next to the Hollidays’ telephone and, over meatballs, drew up plays—a lot of pass plays—that he just knew would light up OSU’s Lewis Field. The quarterback’s dad still remembers the optimism that flew around their kitchen table (We’ll lead the nation in scoring!).
All of them believed it. As a junior at Stillwater High, the kid had set a state record with 35 touchdown passes, this in an era before high school football was an aerial show. In the fall of 1997, during his senior year, a USA Today recruiting column described him as “the unbelievable quarterback out of Stillwater, Okla.” He could sling it 75 yards without a lot of strain, and two decades later, Miles still recalls his neighbor’s natural touch as a passer. “Boy,” Miles says wistfully, “he could really whistle it.”
But they never got the chance to run those plays they’d drawn up together. In early 1998, Miles accepted a job as the tight ends coach for the Dallas Cowboys. And that summer, the quarterback broke hearts in Stillwater when he walked away from football to chase a different sports dream. High school careers, in all too many cases, are in no way predictive of future success. But this quarterback? Even now, Miles is convinced of what he saw.
“I think he’d be playing in the NFL today,” Miles says. “I think he’d still be playing.”
