Houston Texans coach David Culley was a star athlete for White County High School in Sparta, Tennessee, and he was already displaying a gift for coaching during those formative years.
In the second episode of “Building the Texans,” the series visits Culley’s hometown to get a better feel for the rudiments of what makes the fourth full-time coach in team history tick.
A star quarterback, point guard in basketball, and pitcher in baseball, Culley excelled at also making sure his teammates were in the right spots to execute plays as designed.
“Dave, he had the support of all the team. Everybody looked for Dave from a leadership quality,” said David Carrick, Culley’s childhood friend and teammate. “When we went into the huddle, it was pretty clear as to what we were supposed to be doing, and I remember times to where the play would like be called for me, and before the play is called, Culley would always coach me and tell me, ‘Be right here,’ kind of give me the rest of where I was supposed to be. He was coaching during the game.”
Mike Harris, the son of Dee Harris, Culley’s high school coach and a White County High School coaching legend, said that the eventual Texans coach accomplished a feat no one had ever done in the state of Tennessee to that point.
Said Harris: “When he was a senior, he became the first player ever to be named the Associated Press’ state player of the week for both the offense and defense, and he did it in consecutive weeks.”
The Texans are hopeful that what made Culley great going as far back as White County High School manifests as they seek to recover from a disappointing 4-12 finish from a year ago and bring winning ways back to Kirby Drive.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_puy8JCYDw
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