The Speakers
Speaker 1: Cliff Watkins- Glen Rose High School
Offense- "Weekly Practice Schedule & QB Run Game
Former Tarleton standout quarterback and head football coach at Glen Rose Cliff Watkins. Coach Watkins has an impressive 88-26 overall record and is very well known for his fast paced Offensive Style. Coach took over in Glen rose in 2016 and has amassed an record of 67-21. His Glen Rose Tiger team went all the way to the State Semifinals this past season before losing a heartbreaker to the eventual State Champions.
His Glen Rose offensive has School records in almost every category. Numerous QBs who have passed for over 2,00 and 3,000 plus yards in a season. in 2018 Weston Halcom rushed for 2,002 yards in a season which shows the balance of Coach Watkins offense.
Watkins, a Breckenridge native, helped Tarleton to the 2003 NCAA Division II playoffs, earning all-conference, all-region and honorable-mention All-America honors. He was later receivers coach at Stephenville, where he was on staff for the 2012 3A Division I state championship.
Watkins had stops at Cisco, Midland Lee and Eastland. Watkins was 21-5 at Eastland as Head Coach before taking the Job at Glen Rose.
Speaker 2: Kodi Crane- Caddo Mills
DEFENSE- Defending the RPO
Kodi Crane, who was a head coach at Gonzales and Groesbeck in South Texas, and now head football coach and athletic director of the Caddo Mills Foxes. Crane is 39-9 as Head Coach of the Foxes and coming off a 11-1 season in 2022!
Crane previously coached as an assistant at San Angelo Central, is originally from Portales, N.M. and comes from a family of coaches.
His dad was a football coach and athletic director before he retired, and brother is the Head Coach for San Angelo Central. I have two uncles that were coaches as well.
Speaker 3: Kyle Hardin- Crandall
OFFENSE- Pirate RPO & PAP
Coach Kyle Hardin is the Head Coach of the Crandall High School and is coming off a 9-3 campaign in 2022! Coach Hardin has been around the game of football and groomed to be a top-tier head coach by his father, legendary head coach Kiff Hardin.
In 2019 Coach Hardin was the Offensive Coordinator at McKinney North High School where he led the offense that scored 59 points per game to finish as the most prolific scoring unit in Class 5A,
Under Hardin’s direction, North averaged an eye-popping 40 points or more per game in all seven of his seasons as play caller — highlighted by last season’s squad, which statistically was the most prolific offense in McKinney ISD history. During his tenure, Hardin’s offense also spun out the most prolific rushing and passing seasons ever in MISD.
Speaker 4 Ellis Miller- Eaton
DEFENSE- "Multiple Coverages from Multiple Fronts"
18th Year in Coaching
6th Year as the Head Coach of the Eaton Eagles
V. R. Eaton High School 2015-Present
Coaching Assignments – Defensive Coordinator from 2015-2016; Named Head Coach in 2017
Achievements
37-29 Record as Head Coach of the Eagles
3 Playoff Appearances
o 2017 – Bi-District Champs, Area Finalists
o 2020 – Bi-District Champs, Area Champs, Regional Semifinalists
o 2021 – Playoffs
10 All-State Players
10 Division 1 Football Players
57 Players in 6 years have gone on to play football in college
Top defense in points allowed in district in 2018, 2019, 2020 and second in 2021
Southlake Carroll 2014-2015
Coaching Assignments – Linebackers Coach
Achievements
13-1 Record
Carroll Staff was named Coaching Staff of the Year for District 7-AAAAAA
Carroll ISD won the UIL Lone star Cup
Finished 13-1 with the top defense in the metroplex
Northwest High School 2009-2014
Coaching Assignments – Varsity Defensive Backs; Varsity Running Backs; Head Track
Achievements
Defense was 1st in the district in yards allowed in 2012 and 3rd in the DFW metroplex
Made the playoffs in football 3 out of the last 4 years with back to back 8-3 Records
Secondary was 7th in the state in interceptions in 2012 and 6th in 2013
Had 2 separate players tie for second in the state in interceptions in back to back years
Head Coach was named District Coach of the Year for 4-AAAAA
Track team was district runner up in 4-AAAAA up and third place in Area 2-AAAAA in 2013
Track team was district champions in 4-AAAAA in 2014
Voted into 2 committees; Epic committee and Inspired teaching committee for excellent work in the
classroom
Bronte High School 2007-2009
Coaching Duties – Defensive Coordinator; Assistant Basketball; Assistant Track
Achievements
8-3 Record (4-1 District) Bi-District Finalist in 2009
Held opponents to 208 yards per game which was second in the district
Coached Big Country Defensive MVP, and an All-State Linebacker in 2009
District Champions in Basketball 2007-2008 and 2008-2009
100 % Passing rate on 8th grade math TAKS scores
San Saba High School 2005-2007
Coaching Assignment – Assistant Football; Assistant Basketball; Assistant Track; Assistant Powerlifting
Speaker 5: Jason Hickey- TASO
"TASO RULES CHANGES AND EMPHASIS for 2023"
Speaker 6: Sammy Burnett- Brownwood
OFFENSE- "Inside Zone & Gap Schemes"
Sammy Burnett is in his 30 th year in the coaching profession. In those thirty years he has had stops in Kemp, Brenham, Angleton, Jacksboro, and Van.
In 2010, Coach Burnett began his head coaching career at Honey Grove High School, and then on to Farmersville High School in 2012, and finally at Brownwood
in 2018. In the 13 seasons as Athletic Director and Head Football Coach, Coach Burnett has made twelve playoff appearances and has compiled a 91 and 56 record. In 2016, Coach Burnett was named the Dave Campbell’s Texas High School Football 3A Coach of the Year. The Lions finished the 2022 season with a 10-3 record and an Area Champions.
Speaker 7: Danny Russell- Garland High
DEFENSE- "Dictating to the Offense"
Coach Russell is excited to be beginning his sixth year as head coach and 24th total at GHS. He returned after being the head coach at Wichita Falls for three years where he led them to deep playoff runs in back to back years. Prior to that he was the defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach at GHS from 2001--2012 A lifelong Owl he is a 1984 graduate of GHS. While there he was selected to the All-Metroplex and All-District teams in both football and baseball. He attended Panola College and the University of North Texas on baseball scholarships and captured All-Conference honors at both stops. He was the secondary coach for the 1999 state championship team and also helped coach the North all-stars to victory in the 2001 THSCA All-Star game.
Speaker 8 Zac Harrell- Athens
Offense- "QB Read Run +RPOs"
Coach Zac Harrell comes from a family tree of successful Coaches. His father, Sam Harrell, has spent most of his career coaching football in Ennis, where he won Class 4A state championships in 2000, 2001 and 2004.
Zac Harrell was a senior and starting wide receiver during the 2000 title season. In 2001, his brother, Graham, who went on to be an All-American QB for Texas Tech and spent time in the NFL, is the new Offensive Coordinator at Purdue. Clark quarterbacked for the University of Tulsa and is now the Head Football Coach at New Diana High School.
“Our quarterback almost will never take a snap underneath the center,” he explained. “Our offensive philosophy is that we want to try to spread out the field and get the ball in as many different kids’ hands as possible, trying to best utilize the athletes we have. … We’ll do what gives our kids the best chance to win, and that will look different year to year. But the base philosophy is a spread offense with four, sometimes five wide receivers on the field.”
During his four years total as OC at Van — in two separate coaching stints — the offense averaged more than 40 points a game for a combined 39-11 record. His last two years as OC at Sweetwater, the team had a record of 25-2.
Speaker 9- Clay Martin- Abilene Wylie
DEFENSE- "Bulldog Defense"
Coach Clay Martin is the Head Coach at Abilene Wylie. He worked under the legendary Coach Hugh Sandifer in Abilene Wylie for almost 3 decades before taking the reins in 2020. The Bulldogs are coming off a 2022 Season where they went 10-4 and fell to Argyle in the State Quarterfinals in Class 5A.
He became the defensive coordinator for football in 2000, and helped lead the Bulldogs to four state championship games and one state championship.