Skip To Main Content
Skip To Main Content

Related News

Here Comes the Son: Rhett Rodriguez Poised to Run Father's Offense at ULM

Here Comes the Son: Rhett Rodriguez Poised to Run Father's Offense at ULM

Football Jul 23
By Paul Letlow, ULMWarhawks.com Online Columnist

NEW ORLEANS – Quarterback Rhett Rodriguez entered the transfer portal from Arizona last winter looking for a fresh start when an intriguing possibility began to unfold.

A coaching change at ULM landed family friend Terry Bowden a new job in Monroe, Louisiana. The winless Warhawks were about to revamp the program and Bowden was looking for players – and coaches – to expedite the process.

"I decided I wanted to move on from Arizona and started to reach out to some schools, some schools reached out to me and then I started having some serious conversations with Coach Bowden," Rodriguez told ULMWarhawks.com during Sun Belt Conference Football Media Day. "As that progressed, then it became a possibility that maybe my dad could come as the offensive coordinator."

As Rhett warmed to the idea of heading south, he brought his father Rich Rodriguez into the discussion. They decided to fly to ULM to check it out.

"It was kind of different because of the COVID protocols,'' Rhett said. "We couldn't have an official visit or anything like that. We had to fly in on our own and explore the town on our own. We couldn't really go talk to Coach Bowden, but we flew down and decided this was the place we wanted to be."

ULM made a buzzy hire in Bowden, then kicked it up with the addition of a coordinator and associate head coach known for his racecar offenses. Rodriguez was the head coach at Arizona when Rhett signed there, but their plan to work together didn't materialize as planned.

"My freshman year, I had a chance to be with my dad and that was our plan that we could be together," said Rodriguez, who appeared in 11 games from 2017-20 while accounting for 1,154 yards total offense and four career touchdowns. "That didn't work out and I kind of figured that was the end of it. Now, we're getting the chance to be together and it's all up from here. We're excited and embracing the challenge. It is about building that new culture and embracing the challenge and that's what we're going to do."

Bowden made an unusual move by bringing a new player like Rhett to represent ULM at Sun Belt Conference Football Media Day, but that was by design.

"Rhett represents the transfers, the new guys who are going to come in because we've got to compete with each other," Bowden said. "To rise to the level of performance, you've got to have somebody competing at every position you can. We've told them we're going to bring in some players to compete with them."

Rodriguez, who enrolled at ULM on Jan. 11, 2021, and went through spring practice with the team, is one of the key newcomers on a portal-infused roster still coming together heading into fall camp.

"Going through spring ball, obviously that was mainly the guys on the team the year before," Rodriguez said. "I was happy with the guys we brought back. We've got a lot of talent, but we do have some new guys. This spring was really about implementing the offense, getting everybody on the same page. … As we bring new guys in, it's about catching them up to speed and also making sure everybody is on the same page."

It's doubtful any player ever had more exposure to the pages of Rich Rod's playbook.

"It's pretty much hard wired into my brain," Rhett said. "I knew this system when I was in middle school. I learned this system before I was even in high school. I drove my high school coach crazy telling him about the plays in my dad's offense."

The student also can be a coach who helps others assimilate into the offense at ULM.

"Dad always says you have to keep the offense freshman friendly because when you bring new freshmen in, they have to learn quickly," Rhett said. "But the advantage too with transfer guys and portal guys is they normally have a couple of years under their belt and they're used to having to learn new offenses. The guys we brought in, they've been in the playbook from Day One."

Said Bowden: "That's part of the story this year. How well can we gel together?"

Rhett said his father's offense evolved with every high-profile coaching job. Most recently, Rodriguez was the Ole Miss offensive coordinator in 2019 after stints as head coach at West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona.

"He's a very innovative coach, as everybody knows," Rhett said. "Learning it again was kind of challenging come back from the system I was in the past few years and switching my brain back to the different terminology and new stuff he's put in. But it's always been deep down there. It wasn't hard to pick it back up."

Although he appears to be the presumptive starter heading into August, Rodriguez won't be baited into anointing himself.

"First off, let me say that we have a lot of really good quarterbacks on the team," he interjected quickly during a one-on-one interview. "We've got a lot of talented and smart guys coming back, and hopefully, it's going to be a good competition coming into fall camp."

Rhett's new teammates might wonder how to handle Rich Rodriguez on the practice field, where he can offer verbal barrages more withering than the August heat.

"Some people call it tough love, I like to say passionate," Rhett said. "That's the term I use. But he is very passionate out there on the practice field."

Rhett still remembers the first time he was on the receiving end of a "passionate" reaction from his dad.

"The first time at Arizona when he really got on me and yelled at me, I kind of just smiled at him," Rhett said. "Over the years, I've seen other people get it and it was finally my chance. I was almost kind of excited to get it. I'd been waiting on it."

Back home together, their relationship softens a lot as they have dinner together and play with the family dogs. Rich Rod adores his two teacup Pomeranians, who accompany him when he unwinds on the couch watching TV.

"He's a softie now," Rhett said. "Once we got those puppies, that was a whole new side of him I'd never seen."

ULM football figures to be a heavy underdog in most games next season but there's also a sense of newness and mystery that has stirred locals' imaginations too. Having an offensive guru and his son leading the charge should make it an interesting ride in 2021.

"We're going to be exciting to watch," Rhett said. "The funny thing is, you don't know what to expect. We could throw the ball a bunch, we could run the ball a bunch. It depends on what the defense gives us. Depending on how we're covered, we might have 50 throws, we might have 50 runs. It will be exciting and up-tempo. I love trick plays. Hopefully, we throw some trick plays in there. Either way, it will be fun to watch and we're hoping to do some unconventional things and throw some guys off their tempo."

 
Print Friendly Version