Tx Panhandle represented in College Football National Championship

AMARILLO, Texas (KFDA) - Today, the TCU Horned Frogs will compete against the defending national champions, the Georgia Bulldogs.

TCU’s roster will include two area players, former Tascosa Rebel Major Everhart and former Amarillo High Sandie Luke Laminack.

Another big part of that roster is Muleshoe native Garrett Riley. Coach Riley is the team’s Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach. His brother Lincoln Riley fell short of the college playoffs this year with his team USC.

Despite missing the playoffs, the USC coach can hang his hat on his quarterback Caleb Williams winning the Heisman award for this season.

We spoke with Coach Lincoln Riley this weekend as he shared a message for his brother before the big game.

“Just keep doing what they’ve done. I mean, they’re at that point for a reason. You know, they played very well together as a team, and they’ve got some really good players and some really good coaches. That team has really meshed well together and and they found a way to win multiple times different ways throughout the season,” said Riley.

He continued, saying the team has done the work to get to the game, so now it’s time to embrace the moment.

“So, I think when you get to a moment like that, and we’ve all been lucky, we’ve been in some pretty big games, the teams that typically play the best, they stick to what helped them get there. And so it’ll be a fun moment. You gotta go embrace it. You gotta go enjoy it. And I know that’ll be their attitude on game day,” said Riley.

Coach Riley also shared what it was like being able to share the Heisman Ceremony with his brother.

“It was a little surreal, honestly, that Garrett and I are both at the at the Heisman and our quarterbacks are, you know, end up being the top two guys for the award...That was a very special, you know, it’s very unique. I doubt that’s ever happened in college football history,” said Riley.

Coach Riley also addressed the passing of football legend Mike Leach and his impact on Riley.

“He made a huge impact. I mean, you could make a very, very obvious point that we wouldn’t have had the chances without Mike, and he gave me a chance as a young player, and then as a young coach that maybe not a lot of people would have. That opened up doors for my career, and then certainly Garrett’s career...” said Riley. “It was fun to be a part of that. And we certainly learned a lot... It kind of put us in positions where we were able to grow and have a lot of responsibility at a young age, and that it made a difference for us.”

He continued, saying many people who came up under Leach have had success due to his investment.

“It kind of in a way seems fitting, you know, that so many people that came up under him have been able to have some success,” said Riley.

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