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Four Aztecs coaches share their memories of growing up in the midst of Texas football

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If the movie and subsequent TV series Friday Night Lights is remembered for anything, it is that football in Texas is regarded as religion.

You will get no argument from more than a dozen members of the San Diego State football program with Texas ties.

That extends to four of the team’s coaches — Jeff Horton, Hunkie Cooper, Blane Morgan and Adam Hall — who all grew up and played high school football in the Lone Star State.

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On Saturday, the Aztecs flew to Texas, where they will play Ohio on Wednesday night in the Frisco Bowl.

It will be a nostalgic week for men who may barely remember what they had for breakfast, but vividly recall an obscure second-down play from decades ago.

It is where, Morgan says, “It seemed like every Christmas we got new helmets and shoulder pads. That was just naturally our Christmas gift.”

It is where, Hall says, “you ran the same plays in Pee Wee football that you did when you were a senior in high school.”

Horton confirms that, saying: “I think it’s very unique. In my travels around the country, I don’t think anybody else does it.”

Here’s some memories and observations of Texas football:

Jeff Horton, SDSU offensive coordinator/running backs coach

Texas roots: Horton, 61, was born in Tulsa, Okla. His family moved to Arlington, Texas, 20 miles west of Dallas, when he was in second grade. He lived in the area through high school, where he was a wide receiver and safety for the Texans at Sam Houston High.

“Back when everyone ran the option. There wasn’t a lot of passing going on. It was like playing for Army or Navy.”

He played at Nevada before embarking on a 35-year coaching career that included head coach at his alma mater, UNLV and Minnesota (interim).

How do you know when you’re back home?

“When I hear someone talk and hear the twang I know I’m back in Texas. I pick it back up pretty quickly myself. Start saying fixin’ and y’all and everything else.”

What makes Texas football so special?

“It goes way back before me, obviously, it’s like a religion down there. People breathe it, they live it, they love it. You look at the educational system in Texas and anybody who coaches, they’re full-time teachers at that school. You go around to other states and there might be one coach on campus, maybe two, but not 20. Not the whole staff.

Most indelible memory: “Our junior year (1973) we went all the way to the semifinals in state. We were 13-0 and we lost in the semifinals to a team, John Tyler High School from Tyler, Texas.

“They had a running back by the name of Earl Campbell. I still think I’ve got cleat marks on my chest from him running over the top of me several times.

“We couldn’t stop him. I think we lost 22-7. Third play of the game he went about 80 yards. I’d say he had close to 200, I’m sure.”

Campbell won the 1977 Heisman Trophy at Texas before going on to a Hall of Fame NFL career.

“You knew he was a good player then. You don’t know that he’s going to go on and have a great career like that.”

Hunkie Cooper, SDSU wide receivers coach

Texas roots: Cooper, 49, was born in Palestine, Texas, just more than 100 miles southwest of Dallas. He was a three-sport star at Westwood High, including playing quarterback for the football team.

He would lead Texas’ Navarro Junior College to the 1989 national championship, play six different positions at UNLV and become an Arena Football League legend (2011 Hall of Fame inductee).

How do you know when you’re back home?

“The weather because it will be clear one minute and the next 20 or 30 minutes it will be tornados or it could be flash floods. Anything. ... It’s always good to go back to where your roots are planted, where you got your start. To get back to a slow-paced area. Everything here is a grind. It’s all concrete. You get back there, you smell real firewood, barbeque and just to get back to the things I grew up doing and was around.”

What makes Texas football so special?

“I think it’s the pride. I still know my high school fight song. The old saying is you build every other team through football. If you had 150 or 200 kids in the football program, you got the best basketball players, the best track guys and the best baseball players from the football team.

“There’s so many small towns, and that’s what generates most of the activities there, are the high school sports. It is a lifestyle.

“Friday Night Lights got the publicity going to it. But Texas high school football is a brand and to be a part of it is a honor.”

Putting Palestine (pop. 18,712) on the map: “Now when I say Palestine (pronounced Pal-a-steen), they know Adrian Peterson. That’s my little cousin. My oldest son was Adrian’s quarterback. Adrian’s dad was my best friend and Adrian’s grandmother and my mother grew up two doors from each other in the projects, so we all grew up in that same area.”

Most indelible memory: “My favorite football memory would be, and it’s a bad one, is losing on penetrations. If you tie, you don’t go to overtime. You go to first downs and how many times you penetrated your opponent’s 20.

“It was a 14-14 game. We blocked a field goal and they called us offsides. It was a crock a bull. We ended up losing on penetrations against one of the toughest and hardest-fought football programs.

Blane Morgan, SDSU quarterbacks coach

Texas roots: Morgan, 41, lived in Marshall, Texas, until he was 4, when the family moved to Dallas. He played for his father, Barry, who was head football coach at Trinity Christian Academy, a private school in Addison that won three state titles and one runner-up finish in his four years there.

Morgan played quarterback and defensive back at TCA before moving on to the Air Force Academy, where he played quarterback for the Falcons.

How do you know when you’re back home?

Looking out the airplane window “you see all the plots where they set up shop (for oil drilling) in West Texas and you know you’re getting close.”

What makes Texas football so special?

“Where you live, for the most part, is where you go to school. There’s a sense of the school district you live in, you feel like I’m a part of this community. ... If you were a backup quarterback and got asked to switch a position, you weren’t leaving that school to go to another school. You were switching positions to help the team. You feel that pride.”

Most indelible memory: “I got a chance to play in Tom Landry Stadium (in high school). It was named after the (coaching) legend of Dallas. His daughters went to high school at my high school.

“Growing up in Texas, you’re pretty much obliged to be a Cowboys fan. So to be able to play in Tom Landry Stadium, play under the lights and be able to play both ways.

“As you look back, it’s just nostalgic. You remember the smell of the grill, the smoke and running out on Friday night. The feeling. The butterflies.”

Adam Hall, SDSU strength and conditioning coach

Texas roots: Hall, 37, was born and raised in Austin, Texas, where he played quarterback at Westlake High. He was the backup QB to senior Drew Brees — who led the team to a state title and undefeated season — as a sophomore before moving into the starter’s role the following season. Among the school’s QBs later was Nick Foles.

Hall went to Texas out of high school before transferring to SDSU, where he quarterbacked the Aztecs from 2001-03.

How do you know when you’re back home?

“For me, it’s Texas country music No. 1. I grew up with guys like Pat Green, Cory Morrow, Randy Rogers Band.”

What influence did Brees have on you?

“He was great to look up to because he did everything right. He was the best baseball player, the best basketball player and the best football player. He was a great person. ...

“We used to play pool at my house every Thursday night. Either I still owe him $12 or he still owes me $12. ...

“I think he’s the most mentally tough person I’ve ever been around. In the 1995 quarterfinal, he tore his ACL. He only had two offers out of high school, to Kentucky and Purdue. He was the hardest worker I’ve ever seen in my life. And he still is to this day.”

How did you end up coming to SDSU?

“I’m not saying I was terrible, but I probably got an offer from Texas because they didn’t offer Drew Brees. I’ve got to thank Drew for that scholarship offer.

“I played there, then I transferred and took trips to Clemson, Arizona and here. I chose SDSU because I wanted to play. It wasn’t because they didn’t have good players here. I’m a believer that you’ve got to go to where you believe is the best fit for you. Facilities and all that stuff, that made no difference to me. Because I’d already been at the place with all the best at Texas. So I wasn’t looking for glitz and glamour. I was looking to play football. (Former SDSU wide receiver) J.R. Tolver was my host and the rest is history.”

Most indelible memory: “Every single Friday I would have to go into (Westlake) Coach (Ron) Schroeder’s office. He’d stare at you and you’re nervous as hell sitting across from him, because he commanded that much respect. He would say this: ‘Never throw the ball late over the middle.’

“At that time at Westlake it was a very pressure situation. You felt it was your job to uphold the legacy of that school. You didn’t want to let down your coach or all the players who played before you.”

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kirk.kenney@sduniontribune.com / on Twitter: @sdutkirKDKenney

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