Q&A: Joe Willis & Thomas Hutchings

With summer around the corner, DCTF's Madi Hess talked with Cedar Park High School head coach, Joe Willis and All-Central Texas Player of the Year, Thomas Hutchings, to discuss future plans at Blinn Junior College and recap on his career at Cedar Park.

Finishing up the 2014 season with an overall record of 7-4, what are your expectations for the upcoming 2015 season? “Much better, you know, we finished the regular season 7-3 with a heartbreaking loss to Round Rock in the first round of the playoffs, so I expect us to be better. We will be returning 6 players offensively and 5 defensively, where last year we had 11 brand new players in our offense. So yes, looking for a much better season. Start off the season looking for a district championship and then our best goal is to be practicing on Thanksgiving day. Even though we are in a competitive district with Lake Travis, Bowie, Hays, etc. this will still be our goal.” 2.     With that said, what is your main focus during the offseason? “Our big focus is strength. We have completely upgraded our overall strength of football. We know we cannot control how tall our guys are, but what we can control is how strong and physical they are.” 3.     What are your expectations for Junior, QB, Sam Ehlinger? “I have great expectations for Sam. He has been a great leader, both vocally and by example. One of the big things for the upcoming season is he won’t be a 15 year old QB anymore, so he will be much more comfortable in that leadership role. He had a great season last year throwing for 2500 yards and rushing for 700 yards. So I just expect him to continue to be that player. I mean we have 3 of our top 4 WRs back so I am expecting a great season from Sam as far as being a leader and producing for us.” 4.     What is your outlook on the recruiting process? How do you help your players advance to the next level? “The most important thing is to make sure the process is ongoing. My staff and I got here May 6th of last year so it’s hard for me to say much with this last year’s class, but one of the biggest things is to understand that there has never been a high school coach that has gotten a kid a scholarship. We are not the one’s giving out the scholarships. However, what we can do is make sure the player has the desire to continue to play the sport after high school. From there, it is fair to give them an evaluation of what we think they are realistically capable of doing so that they do not waste their time. I actually spoke with a player of mine this morning who will be a senior next season, and we just talked about how important this upcoming track season is and how crucial it is for him to get good times. Also, we spoke about how important spring football practice will be. After spring ball, you have to evaluate who is interested in you and who you are interested in playing for. One of the biggest mistakes players and families make is they spend time going to places that do not fit them, so part of our job is to help find them their best fit. Also, make sure they understand that it’s not all about the big Division 1 schools, you know, there are still some small Division 1 AA schools who do recruiting the old fashion way and base it off the film they receive. So the players just have to buy into that.” 5.     Why do you think, LB Breckyn Hager, was a good signing for the University of Texas? “His father was actually a teammate of mine at the University of Texas. 4 of his boys have come through Westlake and 3 of them went on to play college football. Breckyn has lived in Austin his whole life and has always dreamed of following his father’s footsteps and becoming a Longhorn so I think this was an opportunity that he could not pass up.” 6.     This offseason there has been a lot of coaches moving from the high school to colligate level for coaching, what advice would you give them with having experience in both backgrounds? “When I was offered the UNT job, it was straight from Southlake Carroll High School. A lot of people ask me if I regret the decision I made, but I have no regrets. It was a great opportunity for my family and I. You know I think the better pathway is to be an assistant or offensive/defensive coordinator before becoming a head coach. Last year, I got a phone call from UNLV, and they were asking my opinions on hiring coach Tony Sanchez and I just told them I think they have a plan in place. I told him I would make sure you coach within your own personality. I think the biggest thing coming straight out of high school coaching is that there are so many other people in the organization that the players deal with from a day-to-day basis. Sometimes the equipment staff, training staff, and assistant coaches see the players more than you do. If I could go back to when I was coaching at UNT, I would have done a better job of educating my philosophies and making sure my players were aware of what I was trying to get done from a culture standpoint. A lot of other people have to be on board with your message.” 7.     What does it mean to you to be back in Austin where you spent your collegiate years playing at the University of Texas? “Elizabeth and I met at UT and we actually got married on campus back in 1986. My first job took me to Rockwall, TX near the Dallas area and that is where we raised our children. I spent the first 22 out of my 28 years of coaching in the DFW area. So we always had the desire to have careers back in Austin and it has obviously happened. There is a lot of history here in Austin. My wife went to Westlake High School and her father was the head football coach for 4 years and athletic director for 22 years. The stadium is actually named after him so I am very blessed to be back in Austin with this opportunity at Westlake.” How are things going for your son, Riley Dodge, as the offensive assistant? “Riley has had a great opportunity over the past 3 years. He started as a GA under Kevin Sumlin at Texas A&M back in 2012. In 2013, he got a call from Major Applewhite and Mack Brown to join their staff and now he is on the staff with Charlie Strong. As a father, I am very fortunate that he has had these major opportunities to coach under 3 great men. He is looking for jobs in and out so the internships will be over soon. This may take him to the collegiate or high school level, were not sure.”