SPRINGDALE — Matt Clinkscales was ready to go one-on-one when he ran into junior cornerback Cedric Oliver after Springdale High’s football practice Tuesday.
Oliver proposed the matchup to the Bulldogs’ newest volunteer assistant coach during practice. And Clinkscales was more than willing to accept.
But the showdown would have to wait for another day, as Sprindale band members took their positions on the Jarrell Williams Bulldog Stadium field for their own practice.
“Saved by the band,” Clinkscales said jokingly to Oliver. “Want to go Friday before Rogers gets here?”
It hasn’t taken the class of 2006 Springdale graduate long to bond with the current roster. Clinkscales started working as a volunteer assistant a month ago and quickly found the players recognized his status as a key contributor to the storied 2005 Springdale state championship team.
“A lot of them want to see what that state championship ring looks like,” Clinkscales said. “Because they’re very hungry for it. So all of them want to get better. And I just want to help them do that. As people, as well.”
Clinkscales was one of the standouts on the 14-0 team in 2005 while playing alongside the highly touted “Springdale 5.” The 6-foot-1, 205-pounder ran for 1,007 yards and 17 touchdowns during the championship season.
Clinkscales remembers the impact volunteer coaches made on then-Springdale coach Gus Malzahn’s staff.
“Rhett Lashlee’s the offensive coordinator at Auburn,” Clinkscales said. “He was just out there working with us for free every day. He’s now an offensive coordinator in the SEC. I’m not saying that’s what I’m trying to do, but he’s just giving back to the community.
It wasn’t a hard decision for Springdale coach Shane Patrick when Clinkscales approached him about helping out in the spring.
“It’s just been an awesome thing to see somebody that meant so much to the program when he played want to do so much for the program now, too,” Patrick said. “He’s a lot younger. And so he’s close to relating, but at the same time he’s an adult.
“So he automatically demands that respect without having to demand it.”
Clinkscales is only able to attend Tuesday practices and Friday games in the area because of his work schedule as a senior staff auditor for Arvest Bank, a job that requires him to travel 10 to 12 weeks a year. But it’s worth it.
“I just give little pointers,” Clinkscales said. “Tell them if they ever need anything outside of that, give me a call. If they want to talk about school. If they don’t want to talk to a coach about something, they can talk to me. Just whatever they need.”
Working as a volunteer assistant has also given Clinkscales a chance to reunite with longtime Springdale running backs coach Dennis Debusk, his position coach when he was a Bulldog.
“To be around him is great for me so I can learn so I can help these guys out,” Clinkscales said. “Because he’s been here for years. And he knows it all. I try to absorb anything I can from coach Debusk.”
Debusk has fond memories of coaching Clinkscales for three years.
Clinkscales didn’t get the majority of the headlines while playing on a team with numerous high-profile signees despite rushing for almost 1,900 yards his final two seasons. But that was never an issue.
WHERE ARE THEY NOW
Matt Clinkscales
Notable: Began working as a volunteer assistant this fall. Works full-time as a senior staff auditor for Arvest Bank. … Rushed for 1,870 yards and 32 touchdowns his junior and senior seasons at Springdale. … Signed with Central Arkansas, where he played four years and graduated with a degree in business management. … Moved back to Northwest Arkansas shortly after graduation.
“He did whatever the team needed,” Debusk said. “If he’d been on another squad he might have had 1,700 or 1,800 yards. But that didn’t bother him because we won. Some people could have got jealous and said, ‘Gosh, well I’m doing all this.’ But he didn’t.
“He knew when he was needed, he’d be there and you could count on him any time.”
That’s a mindset Clinkscales has tried to impart to the current Springdale players.
“I was talking to one of the kids the other day and said I’d rather have negative-four yards rushing and win state than break the Arkansas state record,” Clinkscales said. “It’s just a better feeling when everybody wins.”
Clinkscales won’t be able to make every Tuesday practice. He’ll miss next week while on a business trip in Phoenix.
But he’s already taken to his new role at Springdale. He’s even getting used to the hectic Tuesday afternoon schedule.
The Bulldogs hit the field at the same time Clinkscales gets off work at 4:30 p.m. So he makes the 15-minute drive from Lowell to the Springdale campus as quickly as possible, runs inside the indoor facility to change from his dress shirt and slacks into practice gear, then hustles across the street to the stadium to join the in-progress practice.
“It’s just trying to be here as soon as I can to help them out,” Clinkscales said. “Because I don’t want to miss anything. And I want to be a bigger part of it rather than be left out.”