00:00And talk about just how impressive it's been with this group that you've had, not only this year, but the
00:05past couple of years of the Jackson Coyvins types that have now made their way up in the ranks.
00:10It's got to be fun for you to see.
00:12Absolutely. Well, first off, Smiley, thank you for having me on in War Eagle.
00:17It's been a blessing to coach all these fine young men and, you know, just as much golf wise, but
00:22just as much off the golf course to, you know, just seeing them grow and mature and become in as
00:27kind of as young men.
00:29And leave as men, you know, when they graduate from college or move on to PGA Tour or whatever it
00:34may be in their lives.
00:35And it's just a blessing, like I said, just to be a small part of their success formula and be
00:40a big part of their life, too.
00:42You know, I was first introduced to you, coach, when you were at UCF and to see all the success
00:49and see those national championship trophies sitting behind you there on the window.
00:53So, yeah, that's that's not too bad.
00:55And like and I'll say that, coach, nothing happens by accident when it comes to ending up with trophies like
01:01that.
01:02And I first experienced just your hard work and how diligent you were as a recruiter back in the day
01:07at UCF.
01:08I still tell people all the time that the coach who recruited me the most with the most, I would
01:15say, consistency.
01:16And whether it was a birthday, whether it was holidays, it was a handwritten letter from coach Kleiner at UCF.
01:23And I can tell you that, coach, UCF was never on my mind when I was at Birmingham, Alabama, looking
01:29at different SEC schools.
01:30But I tell you what, I was pretty close to taking a visit down to UCF just because of the
01:35dang hard work you were putting in just from the recruiting point.
01:37So, like, this is something that has been ingrained from you, like right from the beginning of college golf is
01:43like hard work.
01:44I'm going to recruit the hardest of any of the other coaches and try to build a team that that
01:49you feel like is good enough to be of the best.
01:53Well, I'm grateful for your kind words.
01:55I mean, it means a lot to me.
01:56I just, you know, growing up as a young person in North Carolina and watching my dad go to work
02:01every day and work so hard to give, you know, his sons with my brother and myself a better life
02:06than he ever had was, you know, something that, you know, you grow up as a kid.
02:10You're like, I'll never be like him, you know, as your parents.
02:13But, you know, you look back on it, you learn so much just by watching the the actions and the
02:18drive and the ambitions that your mom and dad have.
02:22And I'm just I'm very, very lucky and blessed to have them as parents.
02:26And I think that instilled the work that I have today.
02:29And I've been doing this on my 26th year as a head coach and in looking back on those UCF
02:35days with fond memories and trying to build a program.
02:37And, you know, obviously coming to the SEC school at Auburn and trying to continue the legacy that Coach Griffin
02:43left and trying to just kind of enhance that and grow young people's lives.
02:47It's funny, Coach. So when I called Auburn and Coach Griffin to tell him that I was committing to LSU
02:52and go to Baton Rouge because it was down between those two schools, I called Coach Griffin.
02:58I'm on the green at regionals in high school.
03:00And I remember calling him and saying, Coach, I'm going to go to LSU.
03:03And he said, well, I got something to tell you, too.
03:05I'm retiring. I was like, well, well, dang.
03:08I mean, I knew you were possibly eventually on your way out, which is a big reason why I wanted
03:15to potentially go to LSU.
03:17If I'd have known you were going to be there, Coach, my recruitment might have looked a little bit different.
03:21You know, my of course, my connections to Auburn with my my wife who cheered there as a head cheerleader,
03:27their homecoming queen.
03:29So there's there was definitely some ties there.
03:31I could have been an Auburn Tiger if I'd have known you were going to be the coach.
03:34So you became smart. You married an Auburn girl.
03:36OK, that's the best decision you've ever made.
03:42Definitely outkick my coverage.
03:45Yeah. And this is a special place, as you know, it's a tight knit community.
03:49It's a great family. And, you know, it's kind of a foodie town.
03:53Oh, yeah. One of the most vibrant cities in the state of Alabama.
03:56And it's been it's been great. You know, raising my daughters here is fantastic for us.
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