Conway, Ark.- When Nathan Brown talks about his offense, his voice carries both conviction and excitement. The head coach knows he's stepping back into the fire as UCA's offensive play caller, but he's quick to credit the people around him.
"Yeah, so, one, just excited to get back in the line of fire, as offensive play caller," Brown said. "But I'll say this: I couldn't do what I'm able to do with the offense and call plays, without a great staff."
Building a Staff That Feels Like Family
Brown lit up as he described the group of assistants he leans on every day. "Coach Gunnar Boykin, as my O-line coach, he's like a security blanket for me," Brown said. "I mean, he's as good, in my opinion, one of the best O-line coaches at this level of football. He consistently gets the most out of what we have every single year."
He didn't stop there. "Coach Jake Walker is my wide receiver coach. He also duels as my pass game coordinator. He's been so good for that wide receiver room, just organized, consistent, detailed, really hard on them. You've got to manage a lot of personalities in the wide receiver room, and that's not easy to do. And so Coach Walker does a great job of that."
On the running backs: "We brought in Will Kennedy as my running backs coach. He spent the last five or six years at Arkansas being a graduate assistant, student assistant, analyst — you name it. He's been it. But he's been around some great offensive-minded coaches."
And then there's quarterback coach Chase Fourcade, a familiar name to Bear fans. "Chase is no stranger to UCA. We played against him for four years when he was the starting quarterback at Nicholls. He's been the perfect fit for what we're trying to accomplish here. He's really, really good at developing quarterbacks, and it's been fun to watch him really make that room better."
Rounding it out is the veteran of the group. "Coach Hollingsworth is back as tight ends coach. This is his fourth or fifth stint at UCA. He's the gray hair of the group, and we need that. He keeps us grounded, and he knows more football than all of us combined. And I don't say that jokingly. He does."
Offensive Philosophy: Simple, Fast, and Balanced
Brown was clear about the identity he wants: "I want to be balanced. When you say balanced, that doesn't necessarily mean 50-50 run to pass. I think you do what you've got to do to win the game."
The coach has won games both ways. "I've won a lot of games here where we've ran the ball 60 times and thrown it 30. I've had to win games where you had to throw it 50 times. So it's really what the defense dictates. The defense is the dictator of offensive scheme. Like I told the quarterbacks the other day, the defense is going to tell you what you're going to do. It's just, are you going to be too stubborn to adjust?"
Fans can expect creativity — without recklessness. "We're going to give an offense that is very simple and fast to learn, but give the illusion of complexity, whether that's through tempo, motions and shifts, or alignments. It's going to be a fun offense to watch. It's going to be a creative offense. And hopefully score a lot of points. But more so than anything, the most important thing is not putting the ball in jeopardy. The football is the program. If we give the football to the other team, we're lessening our chances of winning the game."
Talent Across the Field
The offensive line may be the backbone of the unit. "It starts with two preseason all-conference guards, Jamal Mull and Will Diggins. Both 30-plus starts in their career. Both NFL-caliber opportunity players," Brown said. "It's huge having those two guys." He went on to spotlight transfer tackles Walker Baty (UTSA) and Lane Jeffcoat (Rice), plus returning starter Chaylin Peine. "Lane is probably the biggest kid I've ever coached. He's 6'9, 315 pounds. He just has a presence."
Tight end depth excites him too. "Jackson Kostmayer and Ben Haulmark — upside-wise, probably two of the more talented tight ends we've maybe had here in the last seven or eight years." He also pointed to freshman JT Layton, who "has proven he's going to be physical enough to play right away."
At running back, it's the "Landen Chambers show." Brown said, "He's waited for this time… he's big, he's strong, and he's physical. If he stays healthy and consistent, he's an easy thousand-plus yard rusher." Behind him, transfers Chapman McKown (Oklahoma) and Jalen Washington (Southern Miss) bring explosive speed, while Cam Young and Elijah Jackson give the Bears power options.
The wide receiver group might be the deepest he's ever had. "I do think we have that top-end talent like the guys we've had in the past, but I think we're also seven or eight deep with quality upside and talent, maybe the deepest we've been at receiver," Brown said. "That's exciting." He singled out Malachi Henry ("the number one guy"), Manny Smith ("probably the most loved player on the football team"), Arlie Lee ("untapped potential"), and Ty Durham ("one of the toughest dudes I've ever been around").
And of course, there's the quarterback battle. "The million-dollar question right now is the quarterback position," Brown admitted. "We've got three guys that could go out right now and be our starting quarterback, and a fourth that probably could as a young freshman."
He praised veteran Austin Myers as "one of the better quarterbacks I've coached, the way he navigates the pocket," while also noting Luther Richardson's upside: "I think we don't even know what Luther can be. He just gets football. There's not a minute of the day that goes by that Luther's not thinking about being a quarterback."
The message was clear: UCA is in good hands. "If we're a conference championship playoff football team, we're going to be talking about Austin Myers and Luther Richardson when this season's over. You can mark my words on that."
Ready to Roll
For Brown, the formula is simple — trust his staff, lean on his depth, and keep the football secure. "I couldn't do what I do without those guys," he said of his assistants. "We're going to put together the best offense we can with the personnel we have. That's the fun part — the opportunity to be creative and create something that's unique."
And with that, he says, "The football is the program. Protect the football, and we give ourselves a chance to win every time."