An Interview with Highlands Football Coach Dale Mueller

 

 

INSIDE: Your team finished 15-0 and won its fifth consecutive state championship. What surprised you the most about this season?

 

DALE MUELLER: I really wasn’t surprised, but I was genuinely pleased with how well the team did this season. I knew before the season that we had a great group, and they all came through so well. We ended up setting the state record for points scored in a season and finished third all-time in points scored by any team ever in the United States. We had a great offense but also a great defense that got the ball back in a hurry for our offense. Special teams also had a big role in setting the scoring record. We didn’t set any goals as a team as far as seeing how many points we could score; we just came out and executed.

 

INSIDE: Was this the best Highlands football team ever?

 

DALE MUELLER: I would say that offensively it would be hard to argue that there was a better team than this team. The entire team was excellent. How many times did we gain over 10 yards on a play this season? We were never concerned when we had the ball and it was third down and 10 yards to go for a first down.

 

INSIDE: Were there any games where opponents were better than expected?

 

DALE MUELLER: I thought Covington Catholic played well against us in the first game. I also thought the Elder game was a great game. The environment at the Pit at Elder is amazing. Patrick Towles got hurt on the first series of the game and Donovan McCoy came in at quarterback and led us to victory.

 

INSIDE: What does the schedule look like for 2012?

 

DALE MUELLER: It’s the same as this year’s schedule but Dixie Heights has been replaced by Scott County, the Class 6A state runner-up. We’ll play Boyle County here in our opener and flip a coin to see if we play at Scott County or at home the second week of the season. Our bye week will be the week after the Scott County game.

 

INSIDE: How would you rank Patrick Towles with other quarterbacks you have coached at Highlands?

 

DALE MUELLER: I’d say Patrick is in the top two and I’m not sure who the other quarterback would be. Patrick has a chance to play for the University of Kentucky as a freshman. He is a perfect example of a kid who never gave up after not starting at quarterback on the freshman team. Patrick has a positive attitude and is strong in ever area of the game. He tries to so hard and the team is so important to him. Before he traveled to California for the Elite 11 competition last summer, he came to me and asked me if it would be okay for him to go. He would have stayed home if the team needed him here.

 

INSIDE: Did the state championship game against Franklin-Simpson go about as planned?

 

DALE MUELLER: Franklin-Simpson was pretty good and their coaching staff came up with a good game plan against us. They knew they couldn’t stop our offense, so it didn’t matter where they gave us the ball on offense. That’s why they tried an onside kick on every kickoff. They were trying to get the ball back and knew it wasn’t a risk to give us the ball at midfield because we were going to score whether we had to move the ball 50 yards or 90 yards. Their game plan was to keep possession of the ball and keep it out of our hands. I thought they had a good plan on defense too. They did a lot of blitzing.

 

INSIDE: Was there one game this season where you thought your team played exceptionally well?

 

DALE MUELLER: I’d say most every game all year long. I thought we played about as well as expected. I was so impressed at how much we improved throughout the season. Each guy on the offensive line just got better and better. Our tight-end, Ian McGurn, emerged as a weapon every time he touched the ball. It was fun watching our guys develop into really good football players.

 

INSIDE: Has playing a two-platoon system changed the team?

 

DALE MUELLER: It has really stepped us up to a different level. We’re a different team. Fresh guys make for good luck. All year long our guys get to practice just one position. Our offense only attends offense meetings. Our defense only attends defense meetings. They receive much more coaching in their position than ever before. More players get to play too and that’s a big positive. It makes the players more excited about Highlands football than ever before. We play 45 guys a game now and that makes a huge difference.

 

INSIDE: What was the influence of wide receiver coach Cris Collinsworth on the team this season?

 

DALE MUELLER: I was really driving in an air-conditioned bus on cruise control on my way to state before Cris became a coach. Cris put me on a Harley Davidson at full speed. He had great opinions on how to improve everything about the team. All of his ideas proved to be good ones. He’s an amazing person. He purchased a Jugs machine for the team and would be out there setting it up before practice at 6:45 a.m. every day. It’s tremendous that Cris was a professional football player, but it’s really more about who he is as a person that made him so valuable to our program.

 

INSIDE: Was it difficult working with fewer coaches this season?

 

DALE MUELLER: I think we had roughly the same number of coaches because we added two coaches on the freshman level. We did lose Jared Lorenzen early in the summer, but I coached the quarterbacks and will continue to be the quarterback coach.

 

INSIDE: How does it feel to have coached 10 state champions at Highlands, the most by any coach in the history of high school football in Kentucky?

 

DALE MUELLER: It feels good. I like that. But it’s not so much how many you win in a row, it’s about the team I am coaching this season being successful. And, winning isn’t the ultimate goal for me. I’m an educator first and I’m trying to have a positive impact on young peoples’ lives. I think our coaching staff does a good job as educators. What we’re doing gets me fired up on a daily basis. If the team works as hard as possible from December through March, they see positive results. If we do what we’re supposed to do all year long, the games take care of themselves. If we try hard, we learn that good things will happen.

 

INSIDE: Let’s look into the future. The offense appears to be loaded again for 2012 but the defense is losing a number of seniors who started in 2011. Will some of your offensive players be moved to defense next season?

 

DALE MUELLER: One or two players may be switched to defense. It won’t be many. We have a number of really good defensive players returning. We have a solid core that includes Thomas Wrobleski (sophomore linebacker), Reid Schroder (junior linebacker), Blake Schutte (junior defensive back), Quentin Murray (junior defensive back), Ben Streeter (junior defensive back), Connor Poston (junior linebacker), Gabe Schultz (junior lineman), Seth Hope (sophomore lineman), and Joe Paolucci (junior linebacker). All of these guys saw extensive action this past season.

 

INSIDE: Can we expect Donovan McCoy to step in at quarterback since he played so well in the Elder win?

 

DALE MUELLER: No starting position is guaranteed at this time. They have to be the best to play. But Donovan McCoy is in position to be our starting quarterback next season. Sophomore Drew Houliston also played well for us in 2011. He completed 70% of his varsity passes and 80% of his passes on the junior varsity team. McCoy and Houliston are all state caliber quarterbacks.

 

INSIDE: Talk some more about the offense for 2012.

 

DALE MUELLER: I think we’ll probably have the best group of receivers in the state next season. Jac Collinsworth, Luke Turner and David Christian return for their senior year and Ryan Greene, Brandon Hergott, Luke Brockett and Evan Allen will be juniors. We have a lot of experience with our returning receivers.

 

INSIDE: You also return quality, experienced running backs.

 

DALE MUELLER: Zach Harris and Colin Seidl return and they are outstanding. We also return Jaylen Hayes and Ryan Donovan. We may have to change some things for spring practice to protect the guys because Harris is such a strong, punishing runner. Our plan is to do more to get our running backs into the game next season because we have so much talent at that position. We may run Colin Seidl as a slot receiver at times.

 

INSIDE: What about the situation at tight-end and on the offensive line?

 

DALE MUELLER: Nick True was our number-two tight-end last season and is being recruited by colleges all over the country. He’ll be a junior. We also like Jack Grimm and Matt Walkenhorst at tight-end. We have four underclassmen returning who started on the offensive line plus a number of outstanding current sophomores who will push for playing time next season. The returnees include center Mitch Dee, guard Tyler Schweitzer, tackle Jason Thome and tackle Richie Whitford.

 

INSIDE: Off-season lifting and running has already begun as you pursue a state record six consecutive state championships.

 

DALE MUELLER: We started January 2 and we had over 80 guys show up. The key to our success will be how hard they try all year round. There is a new state rule that allows us to coach football skills all year long instead of being restricted to just conditioning in the off-season. This has our players and coaches all fired up.

Cool article!

 

 

I was unaware of a new rule for the off season....can someone explain?

Cool article!

 

 

I was unaware of a new rule for the off season....can someone explain?

 

Each sports has an official start date. That still exists. However, I believe the new rule lets coaches work with players as long as it's not an official practice ie mandatory or as long as it's open to all kids ie no cutting yet.

 

Perfect for football since football doesn't cut.

Dale is so slippery. Every time he's asked to specifically compare A and B he refuses to give a definitive answer. I think this is due to his refusal to say anything negative about anybody.

 

Not meant as a negative or to bash Dale (I think he's awesome!), but it's got to be frustrating for a reporter trying to get a straight answer!

Oh, and it also sounds like the door has been left open a crack for Houliston to be the starting QB. If he (Houliston) can handle it and McCoy and his athleticism can be used elsewhere, I think it makes the team better.

Oh, and it also sounds like the door has been left open a crack for Houliston to be the starting QB. If he (Houliston) can handle it and McCoy and his athleticism can be used elsewhere, I think it makes the team better.

 

I like McCoy at qb because of his pass/run factor..The Birds have plenty of running backs and wide receivers for next year..If Houliston does play qb you could also move McCoy to the defensive side of the ball..I guess it is a good problem to have..

I like McCoy at qb because of his pass/run factor..The Birds have plenty of running backs and wide receivers for next year..If Houliston does play qb you could also move McCoy to the defensive side of the ball..I guess it is a good problem to have..

 

McCoy and Harris were two of the best linebackers I have seen at the freshman level. But I definitely think they have more value on the offensive side.

McCoy and Harris were two of the best linebackers I have seen at the freshman level. But I definitely think they have more value on the offensive side.

 

Dale said " We may have to change some things for spring practice to protect the guys , because Harris is such a strong punishing runner ." Wow !! Nice compliment from coach to Harris !!

 

Is it me , or does it sound like Harris might beat up the defense ? :scared:

Doesn't sound like the Birds have much to worry about.

McCoy will be the QB next season. 2008......Will Bardo could of probably started for any team in NKY and done well as a Junior. Dale went with the Sr instead. Will Bardo got his turn in 2009!!! Drew will get his shot to start QB in 2013. Period!!!

McCoy will be the QB next season. 2008......Will Bardo could of probably started for any team in NKY and done well as a Junior. Dale went with the Sr instead. Will Bardo got his turn in 2009!!! Drew will get his shot to start QB in 2013. Period!!!

Maybe Will fit into the defensive scheme better than the Sr. would have that year. Wasn't 2008 the year Dale started the "2-platoon" experiment. (outside of 1 or 2 players.)

McCoy will be the QB next season. 2008......Will Bardo could of probably started for any team in NKY and done well as a Junior. Dale went with the Sr instead. Will Bardo got his turn in 2009!!! Drew will get his shot to start QB in 2013. Period!!!

 

Dale has never struck me as one who would play the Sr. just because he's a Sr. As he said, "No starting position is guaranteed at this time. They have to be the best to play." I think he'll do what's best for the team, and that will become apparent in Spring practice.

I noticed no mention of special teams in the article. They will need to replace Carter New as the placekicker and they will also need a punter and a long-snapper as both graduated.

Nice article, is Coach Mueller ever not fired up? If so I sure haven't seen it.

I noticed no mention of special teams in the article. They will need to replace Carter New as the placekicker and they will also need a punter and a long-snapper as both graduated.

 

I know the frosh will have a very good one..