Keep Your Pads Down!

Former High School Quarterback Alex Ruiz tells his story of a promising young quarterback whose life was abruptly changed due to a traumatic leg injury during his junior season. Alex recalls the mental and emotional anguish he experienced during the aftermath of his injury and how he has managed to remain positive and hopeful since then. Alex credits his friends, his head football coach, and an unlikely friendship with two NFL players for helping through that difficult time of his life and shares his own advice and insight for those currently in the midst of their own personal trials.

Calgary Stampeders Defensive Line Coach Corey Mace joins KYPD for Episode 98 to talk about the Stampeders defensive line philosophy and his favorite block destruction and pass rush drills. Specifically, Coach talks about drills that work on defeating reach blocks and double teams, and drills that teach the long arm and the counters off of it in pass rush.

San Antonio Johnson High School Head Coach and Athletic Coordinator Mark Soto joins KYPD to do a DEEP dive on inside linebacker play in the 3-4. Coach Soto goes through his coaching progression for keys, footwork, and fits and shows clips of how his guys fit up zone, counter and power, and dart. He then touches on pass drops and finishes up with some fire zone blitzes that were very effective for the Jaguars this past season.

Katy High School Defensive Ends Coach A.J. Blum joins KYPD to talk about his "Slam, Chop, Chop" drill and how he coaches get off with his defensive ends. We also talk about Coach's journey through the coaching ranks that includes stops at Spring Westfield High School and the University of Houston where he coached one of the most dominant interior defensive lineman in all of college football in Ed Oliver in both high school and college.

In our first installment of our "4th and 1: Stories of Adversity and Redemption," we are joined by Al Robertson, whose family was featured on A&E's hit T.V. show "Duck Dynasty." Al talks about his life growing up which included some dark days with his dad and running away from home as a teenager before finally coming to his senses and returning home. Al talks about the lessons he learned from those dark days and how they shaped him into the man he is today. We wrap up our conversation by talking about Duck Dynasty's impact on the Robertson family, his wildly popular podcast "Unashamed," and his two favorite football teams--the LSU Tigers and the Dallas Cowboys.

Friend of the show, Coach Peter Noonan, joins us for episode #94 to discuss topics relevant to today's coach. We discuss breaking into coaching, networking, using social media to your advantage, and that sometimes ominous language in every coaches' contract, "other duties assigned." Coach Noonan is the host of the "Hanging with Coach Noonan" podcast, runs two twitter chats, and has great insight when it comes to giving advice to other coaches.

Denton Ryan Defensive Coordinator and Defensive Line Coach Aaron De La Torre, joins us for episode #93! The Raiders are fresh off of a 16-0 run and 5A DI State Championship and boast one of the top defensive lines in the nation. Coach De La breaks down his coaching progression for his defensive line that he first developed as a coach at Stephen F. Austin. We also discuss Coach De La's playing career which included staring for years for the SFA Lumberjacks, free agent deals with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys, and a season in NFL Europe with the Scottish Claymores. To see the full video of our conversation today, check out the link in today's show notes!

In Episode #92 we welcome Stephen F. Austin Defensive Tackles Coach JaMarkus McFarland! The former Sooner talks recruiting, the Lumberjacks unforgettable 2020 season and the program's recent move to the Western Athletic Conference. We also get into Coach's favorite twists and movements and the different alignments and techniques the 'Jacks employ to defend the run out of their 4 down front.

Legendary Texas High School football coach Cornel Thompson joins us for episode #91 to discuss things he's learned in 50 years of coaching football. We talk about the Mustangs 50 defense that they've been running since the 70's, their weight program, nose guards, and some of Coach T's game day superstitions. Coach Thompson has led the West Orange Stark program since 2011, and in that time has compiled a record of 119-18 with four straight state championship appearances from 2014-2017, and back-to-back 4A DII state titles in 2015 and 2016.

Ouachita Baptist Defensive Line Coach Kane Bryen joins us for Episode #90 to discuss the importance of emphasizing pursuit and what he and the rest of the defensive staff have done to make the Tiger defenses one of the stingiest defenses in the country over the last few years. We also get into how coach breaks down opposing offensive lines and QB's to decide the best way to attack in the passing game. We also get into the quirks and side benefits of being out on the road recruiting and which coach Coach Bryen would like to have dinner with.