 "Photo: Kerry Lentz")
Ron Prince occasionally needed pointers as he ascended through the coaching hierarchy on his way to being named head coach at Kansas State in 2006. The coach he sought advice from is the same one Texas Tech football players call 'Pops' - Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill.
When Prince was an offensive tackle at Appalachian State in 1990-1991, McNeill served as the assistant and linebackers coach, and the two were part of a Southern Conference Championship in 1991.
"We obviously go back quite a way for a lot of moments during my formation as a coach coming up through the ranks," said Prince, whose Wildcats play No. 7 Texas Tech at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Manhattan, Kan. "He was there for me in guidance and counseling. When I need a sounding board to bounce things off of, he is one of the great people in this business. I appreciate all those things, and I know that he'll have his team very well prepared this weekend."
McNeill said its his duty to counsel former players who turn to coaching because he has made his rounds through the coaching circuits with success.
"When Ron called and asked advice, I was able to give him some good things," McNeill said. "I'd say, 'Hey, look, try this way, or in this position, I would try this.' I don't mind, I'll do that for any of the guys."
Those "guys" McNeill refers to are the numerous players he coached who have since fulfilled their own responsibilities on a sideline, however, it does seem to have a hidden meaning, he said.
"I'm proud of all of the ex-players I've been a part of," McNeill said. "I've got two of my guys coaching in the (NFL), and Ron is a head coach, and we've got guys (at Tech) on staff, so I guess I'm getting old."
McNeill, who was offered the defensive coordinator position at Kansas State when Prince was assembling his staff, compared Prince's task of following former Kansas State coach Bill Snyder - the winningest coach in KSU history - to succeeding the likes of Paul "Bear" Bryant, Penn State's Joe Paterno Florida State's Bobby Bowden.
"I think Ron has handled it well," McNeill said.
Prince could use some advice from his former coach considering the Wildcat's defensive struggles lately.
The damage has occurred mostly on the ground, with Louisville racking up 577 total yards - 303 rushing - in a 38-29 loss Sept. 17. Then just last week, the rushing defense showed little improvement, allowing 335 rushing yards in a narrow 45-37 win over Lousiana-Lafayette. If it was not for quarterback Josh Freeman throwing for three touchdowns and running for two, the Wildcats may have lost the game.
Prince said the Ragin Cajuns' veer formation, a powerful running attack, proves difficult to contain, so he expected to give up some yards on the ground. ULL has ranked among the nation's leaders in total rushing offense throughout the past three seasons.
However, the mistakes he saw while watching film resulted from a lack of fundamental discipline, something he has seen in each of the last two games.
"Looking at the number of missed tackles that we had (against ULL), as crazy as it might sound, we actually had fewer missed tackles than we did in the Louisville game," Prince said. "The ones we missed were bad ones, they hurt us in a tremendous way."
When it comes to stopping Tech's offense, which Prince called "one of the best offenses in the history of college football," he said his team will need to be disruptive as much as possible to limit Tech's successful possessions.
Allowing 206.5 yards per game, KSU's rushing defense ranks 104th in the nation, while forcing only four turnovers in four games, which ranks 107th.
"Right now its a defense where we're not getting many turnovers, and we're not applying a lot of pressure on the quarterback," Prince said. "But really we haven't played our very best football yet.
Be the first to comment on this article!