SAN ANTONIO – Texas State head coach Everett Withers and Houston head coach Tom Herman know each other well on the field and off.
They come from impressive coaching trees, talk often, and both said their wives are good friends.
Recommended Videos
READ THE ORIGINAL STORY AT KSAT
All that being said, the communication has likely come to a standstill this week as Texas State prepares to host nationally-ranked Houston in San Marcos Saturday night.
“Tom was a GA (graduate assistant) when I was at Texas and we worked together on the staff at Ohio State,” Withers said in his weekly press conference. “Our wives are really close, we’re really close. We talk, but we don’t talk this week.”
Withers and Herman’s coaching paths crossed in the late 90s at Texas under Mack Brown, but they got an up close look at one another’s coaching abilities in 2012 when Withers was Ohio State’s defensive coordinator and Herman was the offensive coordinator on Urban Meyer’s staff.
That knowledge could be useful for a Bobcats team looking to slow down Houston’s offense at this Saturday’s home opener at Bobcat Stadium.
“I think we do a lot of the same things, and I have an idea of what they want to do,” Withers said. “I know he wants to be physical and run the football, use tempo just like us. It’s not like playing against someone you just don’t know.”
Aside from the coaches personal history, Herman has his own history in San Marcos.
He was on David Bailiff’s offensive staff in 2005 when Texas State played in what was then Division I-AA.
Herman said earlier this week at his weekly press conference that he enjoyed his time in San Marcos and his friendship with Withers.
Herman added he respects the Texas State program and the Cougars, ranked No. 6 in the nation, will not take the game lightly.
As on Wednesday morning, Houston was a 35-point favorite with national championship aspirations.
Withers wants to get to Texas State to the level where it consistently competes against top opponents, but knows it will take time and does not want to compare his program to Herman’s.
“This one’s a little different in that aspect. We’re not quite at that level of taking over and establish a program,” Withers said. “What we have to do is try to build our own way and our own culture of how to get things done.”
No matter what happens Saturday night, Withers expects the friendship to remain strong as both coaches continue to forge their own paths.
“At Texas, I thought he was one of those guys you knew was going to be a real good coach one day. You can tell,” Withers said. “When we both came to Ohio State, we initially talked to see what we were getting into before we got there. It worked out for both of us.”
Saturday’s game between Texas State and No. 6 Houston kicks off at 6 p.m. and will be nationally televised on ESPNU.