SLC honor comes from the blind side for Bears’ Smothers
University of Central Arkansas quarterback Wynrick Smothers admitted he didn’t realize Southland Conference Player of the Week citations even existed.
So, when he was named the league’s Offensive Player of the Week honors (rare in any league for a backup player), he was blindsided.
“Someone texted me, ‘Congratulations,’” said the redshirt freshman from Destrahan, La. “I texted back, ‘For what?’ Then, he told me. I actually thought he was joking. I checked it on the computer, and it turned out he wasn’t joking. So, maybe I wasn’t as excited as I should have been. But I was happy to get the award. But that’s in the past now. It’s time to move on.”
Moving on means returning home for tonight’s game against Murray State, which creates an interesting situation. Buster Faulkner, Murray State’s offensive coordinator, was Smothers’ position coach last season as quarterback coach at UCA. Earlier in the year, he joined the staff of his former coach, Chris Hatcher, at Murray State.
“It’s kinda weird but not as weird as it could be because I was on the scout team last year,” Smothers said. “There was a relationship but not as strong as with the other quarterbacks.”
And Smothers, who completed 7 of 7 passes for 46 yards and rushed for two touchdowns against Eastern Illinois last week, has developed as a quarterback since last season.
“My patience has improved,” Smothers said. “I’m better fundamentally. Coach Faulkner was a big part of helping me be a better fundamental player.”
Last week proved to be a big boost in his development as Smothers furnished a key change of pace to starter Nathan Dick.
UCA coach Clint Conque said the use of his quarterbacks depends on situation and how the game goes rather than a strict, two-quarterback situation.
“We like Wynrick in the red zone and third-and-short, but we like him on first-and-10, too,” Conque said.
“It’s kind hard not knowing when you’re might go in, so I have to stay loose on the sideline and I try to pay attention to what is going on,” Smothers said. “When it’s time for me to run a play, I make sure I’m ready to run it to the best of his ability.”
His two touchdowns last week, the first a 19-yard run that got the Bears in gear on the way to a 37-7 victory over Eastern Illinois, were the first of his collegiate career.
“I might have celebrated on that one (the first) more than I usually do, but it gave me more confidence,” Smothers said. “I was very excited but I don’t usually do all that. But I felt really good about myself and I gained a lot of confidence. We were struggling and I think I was able to pick up the offense.”
Conque has praised the great relationship between Smothers and Dick, the junior starter.
“It’s a wonderful type of competition,” he said. “I tell him what I see and he tells me what I should have done when I’m in.”
They like to joke among themselves, calling themselves “Batman and Robin.”
“We’re both kind of goofy, but we’re serious about football,” Smothers said. “We might goof off a bit along the sideline and the coaches know that. We joke a lot with each other. And sometimes, when we come in the huddle, we might make a joke or say something funny. Even though the situation is serious, we want the offense to know that we are calm and we have a coolness to what we need to be doing.”
How has Dick improved?
“Last year, he was jittery and didn’t know where to go with the ball,” Smothers said. “He was unsure of himself and the offense. He’s a completely different player now.”
And quarterback at UCA is a completely different setup.
MURRAY STATE (0-2) at UCA (2-0)
Time: 6 p.m.
Place: First Security Field at Estes Stadium
Coaches: Clint Conque, UCA, 11th season, 75-43; Chris Hatcher, Murray State, 1st season. Former coach at Valdosta State and Georgia Southern, 76-12 overall.
Radio: KKPT (The Point, 94.1 FM) and KUCA (91.3 FM). Also live on ucasports.com
The series: UCA leads 1-0-1, but the two schools have played since 1940.
The keys: For UCA, it will be adapting to the Racers’ pace. “They throw it every down, I mean every down,” UCA coach Clint Conque said. “Every team plays at several different paces. The difference is they (the Racers) play fast, ultra lightning fast. We’ve got to be able to adjust to that and be focused as soon as they line up.”
For the Racers, it’s better execution. The Racers lost their opener 41-10 to Kent State and to Southeast Missouri last week in their conference opener, 30-17. “In the first game, we did not get in position to make plays,” Hatcher said. “In the second game, we got in position to make plays and didn’t do it.”
Notable: Buster Faulkner, Murray State’s offensive coordinator and quarterback coach, was UCA’s quarterback coach last year. Conque’s team’s are 0-6 against Hatcher’s teams, all against Valdosta State.
Ole Miss coach Houston Nutt, Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer and former Pittsburgh coach and ESPN analyst Mike Gottfried have all been head football coaches at Murray State.
Quotable: Coach Conque and I have battled six times and it always seemed like we were fighting for conference championships and postseason berths,” Hatcher said. “He’s got the advantage of an established program and we are trying to build a program. But we know each other well. There won’t be any surprises. I won’t be caught off guard and he won’t be caught off guard. Maybe our players will, but we won’t.”
