Former Nashville quarterback finds success in coaching

Hot Springs Lakeside coach Jared McBride speaks to his team in a game against the Lincoln Wolfpack during the first half of play Sept. 1, 2014, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.
Hot Springs Lakeside coach Jared McBride speaks to his team in a game against the Lincoln Wolfpack during the first half of play Sept. 1, 2014, at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville.

HOT SPRINGS — Two decades removed from playing quarterback at the University of Arkansas under Houston Nutt, Hot Springs Lakeside Rams football coach Jared McBride has built himself into a successful high school coach with a sharp offensive mind.

McBride is the 2015 Tri-Lakes Edition Coach of the Year.

The Rams ended the year with a 9-3 record overall, going an impressive 6-1 in conference play. Their lone conference loss came against in-city rival Hot Springs High School by a score of 17-15. The final score of the game came with approximately eight minutes to go in the final quarter, as Lakeside’s Dupree Swanson scored a 49-yard rushing touchdown to make it a one-score game. But once the Trojans received the ball on the kickoff, they held on to win by running out the clock.

McBride only played in a handful of games for the Razorbacks, but he was a highly touted prospect as a senior at Nashville High School during the 1996 season. That year, he passed for a then-state-record 4,049 yards and 53 touchdown passes with a 58 percent completion percentage. Modern high school football has seen a transition to Spread offensive systems that favor quick reads and high-percentage throws that allow receivers to make plays after the catch. The prevalence of such offenses has inflated passing numbers, making McBride’s accomplishment seem to pale in comparison to the now-record 5,310-yard showing by Spencer Keith of Pulaski Academy in 2008, although McBride’s feat was more impressive in an era when pass-happy teams were the exception, not the rule.

As a Hog, McBride had trouble staying healthy, particularly in a contest on the road against the South Carolina Gamecocks. He came in as the third-string quarterback after starter Robby Hampton sprained a finger, and redshirt freshman quarterback Zak Clark came in and sprained an ankle. That gave McBride a chance to shine, but two plays later, he tore his anterior cruciate ligament and was out for the season.

“I played for Billy Laird in High School, who was kind of on the front end of the passing game back in the ’80s and ’90s in the college game and learned a lot from him comin’ up,” McBride said about his offensive philosophy. “Then I played for Joe Ferguson at the University of Arkansas and actually got to coach with him in Louisiana.”

McBride joined his coaching mentor Ferguson at Captain Shreve High School in Shreveport, Louisiana, serving as offensive coordinator. From there, McBride moved on to be Bryant High School’s offensive coordinator for a few years. He went to Springdale High School as offensive coordinator once again before winning a state championship at Fayetteville High School as assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

Six years ago, McBride accepted the head coaching job at Lakeside High School. This year, the Rams lost in the second round of the Class 5A state playoffs to Little Rock McClellan. But a 9-3 record and a playoff win are a great improvement over the 4-6 record the Rams posted in 2014 without a playoff berth.

Although his specialty is the passing game, McBride has learned to appreciate the value of a strong running game. A balanced offense can limit a defense by

making the opposition be ready for the run and the pass. A strong running game can also help with clock management, particularly in so-called four-minute-offense scenarios. Such scenarios come up when a team has a lead and wants to bleed the clock to keep the other team from possessing the ball.

“I’ve definitely found a new respect for the run game the older that I’ve gotten,” McBride said. “I’ve kind of leaned on that lately, trying to be as balanced as we can, but really, in high school, you have to use the athletes that you have. So some years, we’ll throw it around, and other years, we’re a little more focused on the run.”

This year, junior quarterback Fisher Alexander passed for 2,142 yards, good for second-most in the conference. Senior Colt Housley led the conference with 1,533 rushing yards, and junior Caleb Dean led the conference with 882 receiving yards. Senior Maurice Bradford was second in the conference in total points, 172, and touchdowns, 28.

The offense may get more attention, but the Lakeside defense was stout all season long, as evidenced by the close games the team won. Senior Caden Vaughn finished with four interceptions, second-most in the conference.

“We showed up in our first game against Little Rock Central, and we came back to win that game,” McBride said. “I knew we kind of had a special group at that point. We were in a lot of close games this year. We won a lot of those games in the end. We had to come back to win some of those games. Our motto throughout the year was “no fear,” and they showed that all the way through the end. They were able to make plays and win those close games for us.”

After all these years, McBride went to Fayetteville and Louisiana, but ended up an hour and a half from home coaching the game he loves.

McBride’s playing career may have been stunted by injury, but his coaching career is set to be long and bright.

Staff writer Morgan Acuff can be reached at (501) 244-4314 or macuff@arkansasonline.com.

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