The head coach at Fayetteville High School publicly hammered Ryan Silverfield, then walked it back. Yikes.
Soap-operatic drama entered the world of Arkansas football in recent days. Casey Dick, the head coach at Fayetteville High School -- squarely in Ryan Silverfield's (new) back yard -- lobbed a hand grenade of a tweet at the new Razorback football coach before deleting it and later walking it back. Best of Arkansas Sports has more:
"Dick is an Allen, Texas, native who played quarterback at Arkansas under Houston Nutt and Bobby Petrino from 2005-08. The 39-year-old became the Fayetteville football coach in 2019 and was right down the road on Stadium Drive for the entirety of Sam Pittman’s head coaching tenure at Arkansas. He and Ryan Silverfield, however, have not gotten off on the right foot, to say the very least.
“Disappointed in my university’s approach to the recruiting process of a high school athlete,” Dick wrote in a since-deleted tweet. “Situations like this are not good for high school athletics or the sport of football. Moving forward, [Arkansas football] and [Ryan Silverfield] will not be welcome in our facilities.”
Dick did delete the tweet. He was upset at the way Silverfield and his staff were approaching one of his players, star quarterback prospect Hank Hendrix. The speculation (not confirmed fact) is that Arkansas wanted Hendrix to enroll early at UA, and that the plan was communicated to the player without Dick's knowledge.
Dick later offered a follow-up statement:
"Regarding a post shared earlier today, I want to be clear that my responsibility as head coach is first and foremost to my student-athletes. My priority has and will always be to put these young men in the best position to succeed—both on the field and in life—and that commitment will never change.
"Earlier today, I reacted emotionally to information about decisions involving some of my players that I was not previously aware of. I take responsibility for addressing those feelings publicly and for any confusion that may have caused, and I look forward to our follow meeting with Coach Silverfield.
"I love this state and this school. My response was never rooted in resentment, but in a deep sense of responsibility to advocate for the young men I am entrusted to lead. I will continue to support the Fayetteville program and this community. We look forward to seeing more Purple Dogs become Hogs in the future."
It's okay for a high school coach to be upset at the big college coach in town if he thinks the method of approaching a player is less than ideal. However, a high school coach cannot burn bridges with the flagship college program. There's an obvious way to go about all of this: Talk to the college coach, establish a relationship, create a line of communication, and express gratitude for showing interest in one of your players. Casey Dick obviously got the message. Hopefully this is a "live and learn" situation for everyone involved.