Garin Higgins found himself doing the same thing every time he came back to Emporia.
Somehow, his car would always make it by the Emporia State campus — and his mind would travel back to the college days that he had loved so much.
“Every time I’d drive by the practice field,” Higgins said, “a new memory would come to my mind.”
He remembered the 35-yard pass he’d completed when he entered the game against Arkansas Tech, and the 6-7-8-9 game against Oklahoma Panhandle — where he finished the game 6-of-7 for 89 yards. He remembered the pretty cheerleader who sat in front of him in the team photo — the one, Heather North, who would later become his wife.
He also remembered the up-downs he’d done for ESU coach Larry Kramer as punishment — which he estimated jokingly at around 3,000.
“When I was playing, they were bad memories,” Higgins said. “But I’ll tell you what, it was something I’ll never forget. It’s a big part of me. It’s a big part of how I coach the game of football.”
It’s why Higgins saw himself as different from the other coaching candidates. He had sweat on the practice field and changed clothes underneath the old stadium.
While other coaches might have seen the Emporia State football coaching position as a step up or a stepping stone, Higgins saw it as something different.
“To me, it was a career opportunity,” Higgins said. “It was a lifelong dream.”
ESU Director of Athletics Kent Weiser said that enthusiasm and passion for Hornet football came through during Higgins’ interview. Calling him “the total package,” Weiser said that the coach’s energy was contagious during the meeting.
“He’s excited about what he’s doing,” Weiser said. “He has a vision and he believes in it, and I think he’ll get people to follow it.”
The first ones Higgins hopes to reach with his message will be the current Hornet players. The new coach said that while bringing others in was important, his initial task would be reaching those athletes that were already with the program.
“The first thing you want to do is take care of what’s here. That’s my most important thing,” Higgins said. “I know it’s important for me to go out on the road and go recruiting, but I also want to make sure that the football team that is here now understands where we want to be and what we want to do.”
So far, the handful of football players that attended Friday’s announcement seemed pleased with their first impressions. They all talked briefly with Higgins before the press conference began.
“I think once everyone meets him,” ESU running back Seville Ko said, “they’ll be pretty sold on what he has to say.”
Higgins, who has been an offensive coordinator in each of his last three coaching stops, said his philosophy on offense included spreading players out and making defenses guard the entire field. The gameplan also would include changing the tempo of the game, whether that was with different sets or the no-huddle offense, and a commitment to running the football.
“There’s going to be a few older guys that might be stubborn and reluctant to buy into his system right away,” ESU offensive lineman Josh Koerkenmeier said, “but if we want to win next year, everybody’s going to have to buy into it. It’s pretty much mandatory.”
The drive should be different now for Higgins. The campus that once drew him in because of its past has now become his future.
The coach believes there’s a few more memories to be made.
“This university gave me so much. It’s got a strong place in my heart,” Higgins said. “I had a great experience here as a student-athlete, and I want my players to experience the same type of experiences that I had.”