Through the years, you have coached some serious star players: Tim Couch at Kentucky and Michael Crabtree at Texas Tech come to mind. Do you have a favorite?
The guy that came literally from nowhere and has accomplished the most is Wes Welker, who was undersized and slow. He refused the opportunity to walk on at Oklahoma, was offered the opportunity to walk on at Oklahoma State – he had no scholarship offers – and we signed him several weeks after signing day. We thought he’d be a great program guy, would work real hard and be reliable.
When did you realize Welker would much be much more than that?
I remember that first day: There were some great college recruits – they’d been all-conference, all-state – and then you got this short guy that’s just got this look in his eye, and he’s not afraid of anything. Some of them were very unsure of themselves, because this is big-time college football. Not Wes Welker. He reminded me of a chicken on “Foghorn Leghorn.” You’d say, “What time is it?” And he’d build a grandfather clock. He started virtually every college game that he played, he left there the all-time leading receiver in the history of Texas Tech. He didn’t get drafted, bounced around to a couple of teams, and he’s been an All-Pro with the New England Patriots – and he is still slow.
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