When Tim Beck was named as Pittsburg State’s football coach, he left an opening at offensive coordinator.
And in the offseason, Beck brought in a pair of high school coaches with offensive coordinator experience.
There’s just one thing: one of those coaches won’t be picking which players will start. Instead, Tyler Lawrence will be fighting for a starting spot of his own.
A former quarterback at Kansas, Lawrence comes to the Gorillas via Highland Park High School in Topeka, where Lawrence served as offensive coordinator after graduating. But because Lawrence took just three years to graduate, he has the equivalent of four semesters, or two seasons, of eligibility as a Pitt State player.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it,” Beck said. “Somebody plays until they graduate, goes and gets a job and is able to come back and play. It’s definitely not very common. Tyler is a very mature person.”
Lawrence said the job was the reason he came back to football. A stellar quarterback at Shawnee Mission West High School, he earned an offer to Kansas after impressing KU coaches with his mobility and strong arm during the Super Jayhawk camp before his senior year.
“It was what I always dreamed about,” Lawrence said. “So I jumped on the offer right away.”
But as a quarterback, Lawrence was coming out at the wrong time. Kansas already had one young quarterback in Pittsburg native Kerry Meier, while future star Todd Reesing was a member of Lawrence’s recruiting class.
When Meier moved to receiver full-time in 2008, Lawrence received the snaps behind Reesing, playing in three games. He completed one of two passes for 11 yards and rushed for another 17 yards on two carries. After the season ended, Lawrence finished up his bachelor’s degree in psychology, and decided not to return to the team.
While he was pondering what to do, Lawrence received a phone call from former Kansas teammate Sadiq Muhammad. Muhammad had just received the head coaching job at typically downtrodden Highland Park and was assembling a coaching staff built from former Jayhawks. He asked if Lawrence would join the staff as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
The Scots went 0-9, though they scored more than twice as many points as they did the previous season. More importantly, Lawrence said his love of the game, and his desire to keep playing it, was replenished.
“It really got me thinking about playing again,” Lawrence said. “I started to love football again, and I wanted to look into playing again.
“I think one thing that helps is that my knowledge of the concepts behind the game really improved,” Lawrence said. “I don’t just know that a guy runs a 10 and stops, but I understand why he’s doing it. When you’re a coach, you game-plan and scheme, and I think my understanding of that will really help.”
So Lawrence began calling around, and one of the coaches to field his call was Beck, who was intrigued by Lawrence’s talent.
“I remembered him from high school, though we didn’t really scout him very much at the time because he had some big-time offers,” Beck said. “What we heard is that he was a very smart competitor, and that he had a really strong arm.”
Beck said that Lawrence would have a shot at the Gorillas’ starting job.
“Our quarterback position is wide open right now,” Beck said. “The best person for the job will be the person that the other players respond to, and the player who reacts well under pressure.
“Number one, we want a great leader, and if you expand it further, we like a player who can run with the football,” Beck said. “That ability to run makes us tougher to defend.”
“I like to see myself as mobile,” Lawrence added. “I like to run the football.”
As for Lawrence, he said he will attempt to try and complete his master’s degree in psychology and pursue a career in criminal justice, likely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And he hopes he might get to throw a few passes along the way.
“I’m so excited for the upcoming season,” Lawrence said. “I know we have a lot of talent … you can see it at workouts. It’s been great to get to know all the players, and I think that I can step in and help out. I’m excited to play football again.”
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When Tim Beck was named as Pittsburg State’s football coach, he left an opening at offensive coordinator.
And in the offseason, Beck brought in a pair of high school coaches with offensive coordinator experience.
There’s just one thing: one of those coaches won’t be picking which players will start. Instead, Tyler Lawrence will be fighting for a starting spot of his own.
A former quarterback at Kansas, Lawrence comes to the Gorillas via Highland Park High School in Topeka, where Lawrence served as offensive coordinator after graduating. But because Lawrence took just three years to graduate, he has the equivalent of four semesters, or two seasons, of eligibility as a Pitt State player.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it,” Beck said. “Somebody plays until they graduate, goes and gets a job and is able to come back and play. It’s definitely not very common. Tyler is a very mature person.”
Lawrence said the job was the reason he came back to football. A stellar quarterback at Shawnee Mission West High School, he earned an offer to Kansas after impressing KU coaches with his mobility and strong arm during the Super Jayhawk camp before his senior year.
“It was what I always dreamed about,” Lawrence said. “So I jumped on the offer right away.”
But as a quarterback, Lawrence was coming out at the wrong time. Kansas already had one young quarterback in Pittsburg native Kerry Meier, while future star Todd Reesing was a member of Lawrence’s recruiting class.
When Meier moved to receiver full-time in 2008, Lawrence received the snaps behind Reesing, playing in three games. He completed one of two passes for 11 yards and rushed for another 17 yards on two carries. After the season ended, Lawrence finished up his bachelor’s degree in psychology, and decided not to return to the team.
While he was pondering what to do, Lawrence received a phone call from former Kansas teammate Sadiq Muhammad. Muhammad had just received the head coaching job at typically downtrodden Highland Park and was assembling a coaching staff built from former Jayhawks. He asked if Lawrence would join the staff as quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator.
The Scots went 0-9, though they scored more than twice as many points as they did the previous season. More importantly, Lawrence said his love of the game, and his desire to keep playing it, was replenished.
“It really got me thinking about playing again,” Lawrence said. “I started to love football again, and I wanted to look into playing again.
“I think one thing that helps is that my knowledge of the concepts behind the game really improved,” Lawrence said. “I don’t just know that a guy runs a 10 and stops, but I understand why he’s doing it. When you’re a coach, you game-plan and scheme, and I think my understanding of that will really help.”
So Lawrence began calling around, and one of the coaches to field his call was Beck, who was intrigued by Lawrence’s talent.
“I remembered him from high school, though we didn’t really scout him very much at the time because he had some big-time offers,” Beck said. “What we heard is that he was a very smart competitor, and that he had a really strong arm.”
Beck said that Lawrence would have a shot at the Gorillas’ starting job.
“Our quarterback position is wide open right now,” Beck said. “The best person for the job will be the person that the other players respond to, and the player who reacts well under pressure.
“Number one, we want a great leader, and if you expand it further, we like a player who can run with the football,” Beck said. “That ability to run makes us tougher to defend.”
“I like to see myself as mobile,” Lawrence added. “I like to run the football.”
As for Lawrence, he said he will attempt to try and complete his master’s degree in psychology and pursue a career in criminal justice, likely with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. And he hopes he might get to throw a few passes along the way.
“I’m so excited for the upcoming season,” Lawrence said. “I know we have a lot of talent … you can see it at workouts. It’s been great to get to know all the players, and I think that I can step in and help out. I’m excited to play football again.”
