Tag: Football

How A College Head Coach Manages A Program In A Covid-19 World

undertheheadset May 22, 2020

By Jeff Greenberg

Spring camp was rolling along in February. Players were working hard; and they were competing for spots on the depth chart. The progress being made was raising the expectations around the program and spirits were high. Arkansas State Head Coach, Blake Anderson, was loving what he was seeing on the field in all three phases and felt like his team was making the strides needed to give his program a chance to reach their high goals for the 2020 season…

…Then everything came to a screeching halt. Covid-19 hit, and it hit hard. In a matter of 24 hours after spring practice #11, all football operations on campus in Jonesboro were shut down.

Coaching Life Series: A Coaching Change

undertheheadset November 11, 2019

By Jeff Greenberg

In the last week, two FBS head coaches have lost their jobs. Both coaches hadn’t even finished their second season with their respective schools. That’s today’s college football world. No patience. But that’s a discussion for another time.

Once again, the media attention has been on who these programs will hire next. The head coaches that just lost their jobs will get sizeable contract buyouts, so nobody is bothering to talk about them much because with those buyouts, “They should be fine.” In both situations there are anywhere from fifty to sixty other people that have also just had their lives turned upside down as they are now looking for their next coaching position. Nobody ever talks about them. Except for undertheheadset.com. In fact, our season series, “Coaching Life Series: A Coaching Change,” focuses on exactly that. This series tells the stories of football coaches and their families, and what they go through during a coaching change.

Coaching Life Series: A Coaching Change

undertheheadset October 2, 2019

By Jeff Greenberg

Last week the Duke Blue Devils traveled to Blacksburg to take on the Virginia Tech Hokies. They walked away with an impressive win. One of the more exciting plays was a double pass by the Blue Devils with the wide receiver throwing a touchdown pass to the running back in the formation. There was probably no bigger smile on the sidelines at that moment than Duke’s new wide receivers’ coach, Trooper Taylor.

Coaching Life Series: A Coaching Change

undertheheadset September 13, 2019

By Jeff Greenberg

The chatter begins late in the season, and it starts to reach a fever pitch right around the end of November. All of the talking heads, as well as fans, start to bring it up more and more. It even has a name for topic of conversation; the “coaching carousel.”

The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson: “You have room for one more?”

undertheheadset September 9, 2019

By Jeff Greenberg

This past Saturday was a big game for the Arkansas State Red Wolves’ football team. After falling short in week one against SMU, they were looking to even their record and get back to winning. However, it turned into a much bigger game when their head coach, Blake Anderson, surprised them before the game and let them know he was there to coach them once again following his leave of absence after the passing of his wife, Wendy.

The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson: Game 10

undertheheadset November 15, 2018

By Jeff Greenberg

The Arkansas State Red Wolves went on the road to take on Coastal Carolina. Head Coach Blake Anderson and his crew came home with a resounding 44-16 victory. All phases of the game were clicking for the Red Wolves as they put together one of their more complete games of the season. We caught up with Coach Anderson to discuss this win and more in this week’s edition of The 5th Quarter.

The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson: Game 8

undertheheadset October 31, 2018

By Jeff Greenberg

A trip down to Louisiana didn’t go the way Arkansas State wanted in a down-to-the-wire loss to their bitter rival. Head Coach Blake Anderson saw his guys fight back from deficits to take the lead late, but couldn’t finish the deal. Bright spots included the offense showing that it is now running on all cylinders and freshman running back, Marcel Murray, is proving to be a breakout star in the Sun Belt Conference.

The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson: Game 7

undertheheadset October 25, 2018

By Jeff Greenberg

The Arkansas State Red Wolves were in need of a win to turn their season back around after losing to Appalachian State. Head Coach Blake Anderson told his team that the focus needs to be on going 1-0 every week. First up was Georgia State.

The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson: Game 6

undertheheadset October 15, 2018

By Jeff Greenberg

The Arkansas State Red Wolves had a tough game against a strong Appalachian State team last Tuesday. The loss leaves Blake Anderson’s crew at 0-2 in the Sun Belt Conference and their backs against the wall. The Red Wolves can still win their division and earn a possible rematch against the Mountaineers. In this week’s 5th Quarter Coach Anderson discusses the frustrations in last week’s loss and what needs to happen moving forward for his team to get going in the right direction.

The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson: Game 5

undertheheadset October 2, 2018

By Jeff Greenberg

This past Saturday, the Arkansas State Red Wolves began their conference season on the road at Georgia Southern. It was a physical game that went back-and-forth all the way down to the last seconds. In the end, the Red Wolves came up short, 28-21. Head Coach Blake Anderson caught up with us after the game for this week’s installment of “The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson.”

The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson: Game 4

undertheheadset September 24, 2018

By Jeff Greenberg

The Arkansas State Red Wolves completed their non-conference schedule with a hard-fought win at home against UNLV, 27-20. The win leaves the Red Wolves with a 3-1 record heading into conference play for the first time in 23 years. They begin the Sun Belt Conference season this week on the road against Georgia Southern.

The 5th Quarter with Coach Anderson: Game 3

undertheheadset September 17, 2018

By Jeff Greenberg

Arkansas State went on the road to face a tough American Conference foe in Tulsa. The Red Wolves came out of there victorious, ending a ten-year winless drought in out-of-conference road games. Following this big win on the road, here is the next installment of our season series with head coach Blake Anderson.