The FAKE FAIR CATCH Texas Tour, explained by coach

You have probably already seen the return touchdown of 90 yards north of Texas on Arkansas, en route to a 44-17 destruction of the Razorbacks. And you will probably smile when you look at it right now for the 36th time, because it's so wild.

You might also have questions about how it happened. Same.

So SB Nation discussed Saturday night with the two most involved people in the play: Marty Biagi, coordinator of the UNT special teams, and Keegan Brewer, the return of the pool.

It's the story of how the piece went from idea to epic success story, explained by both.

Brewer did not become a thug and tried it alone. The Mean Green was working on this schoolyard thing since the fall camp.

The game required weeks of practice. And to go that far, the return had to be accepted. This is not the case for a game that requires the returning player to stand up like a statue as the men head for him.

"You can not just put that on a Wednesday and then go, Hey! Believe me! ", Says Biagi.

So, the coordinator told the turner in August, "Hey, let's start practicing this while fall camp and I need you to trust me.

"And Keegan looked me right in the eye and said," Coach, let's practice it until you know it's going to work. " So instead of practicing it once, my big advantage is not to practice it, "says Biagi. "Practice it until you can not go wrong."

In the movie study, the Mean Green saw something that intrigued them about how Arkansas covered the punts.

Biagi did not say what Arkansas had done to convince him to install the fake for this game. But that meant the way the pigs tended to finish their blankets.

"Make sure we watch everything at the beginning of the play, at the end," says Biagi. "It was just something we felt like this week, that it was the right opportunity to retire."

That it would be this The second half of the Hogs' afternoon was decided only later. The first Arkansas punt was out of a stalemate.

Biagi told Brewer a few seconds ago that it was time.

He said, "Keegan, we use it. "I said," Well, let's do it then. "

The game was not just a play. It was a fully managed production by the scene, with dozens of people watching to make sure everything went smoothly.

Let's start with Brewer, whose job was the simplest: catch the parachute, play to death as he had just been catching up, and then run like hell when the coast was cleared. "When you know, go ahead," Biagi told him.

Brewer Blockers had a lot of tasks a lot more complicated. First, the Biagi staff gave them the order to block and block the guys from the Arkansas cover immediately on the line. This is not a rare task, although some return units allow gunners to break free and channel them in particular directions. On this game, the extended blocking accomplishes two things:

1. Distraction. The more Arkansas players were engaged with blockers, the less likely they were to have eyes on Brewer and understand the trick. "They kept the blocks enough for [Arkansas] not to see that I did not catch him, "says Brewer.
2. Speed ​​control. Rejecting the cover for a chance to win the lead made the game safer for Brewer, who was basically a sitting duck after catching the kick.

The goal is not to keep them forever, however. In the end, potential tacklers must come together enough to make the appeal of a fair grip credible, and the higher they rise, the easier it is to slip behind them. The UNT blockers had to do it as keys to the security of the lie and their teammate.

* This was not just the 11 players on the field. Keep reading.

Brewer gripped the ball tightly so as not to fumble if someone hit him. And he assumed a slightly defensive stance, where he would protect himself if he was touched.

That's the answer to the question: Did not North Texas put Brewer in extraordinary danger?

And was not the Brewer afraid?

"I was definitely," he says. "But the gamble they pitched was not that high, so it was not the one I would be scared at. So, as soon as I caught it, I had a little time to protect myself, which even scared me a bit [about] before the game. But after that, once I had the ball, it was good.

The room almost collapsed before it was launched, because a curious Arkansas player almost understood it.

Here we are talking about this guy: number 31, Grant Morgan.

"The guy right in front of me was really talking to me," says Brewer.

"Why do not they whistle the whistle?" Brewer heard Morgan ask him.

Morgan reached the top of the videotape behind Brewer. The turner looked silently in front of him.

"I sat down and waited," he says. "It was not too hard."

"You have to play all the way," said Arkansas coach Chad Morris. "You have to play the whistle. That was my message.

Back to the other guys on the ground for North Texas. As the play progressed, they had to turn to their own sideline.

This part was important. The return should go along the North Texas sideline. The Mean Green knew that Arkansas players were going to their own side as soon as they were convinced that Brewer had played the ball well.

So while he was in the air, a horde of UNT blockers, who had just dropped their tasks, began to move. By the time Brewer moves to his left, an armored escort of eight teammates would wait for him.

"And after that, it was just" building a wall, "says Biagi.

This is where all the North Texas staff – assistants, GA, force coaches – had to play a critical role.

"It's almost like a movie theater," says Biagi, with so many people involved.

Staff on the sidelines had to make sure no one in white jersey has been rigged too. If UNT offensive players thought the game was dead, they could ruin everything.

"You talk about a big operation," says Biagi. "You must have all hands on the bridge, because you must have the coaches of the sideline, the force personnel does a great job to keep everyone on the ground, because normally the attack is ready to take the field on, and that everyone pulls. "

If someone plays mid-game, it's a penalty.

Another group could have a role to play: the officials.

North Texas could have alerted them not to instinctively whistle the dead game when Brewer was at a standstill. It is common for teams to communicate in advance with experts about specific odd situations.

"I do not have the right to tell you, if you do not mind," says Biagi.

The other thing Biagi did not say: if the return on the game has an option other than just capture for real. Given the numbers, this should be a creative option.

UNT is not the first team in history to pitch a false tie. But it could be a moment before the next one. (Or not.)

Perhaps the most famous example: Terrell Buckley, from the state of Florida, did it in Syracuse in 1989, before crossing the Orange:

Football is so big that no one can say it with confidence on the last attempt before UNT. But Mean Green was the first in a long time to do it successfully at their level. Now everyone in the sport has seen the band, what should – should – make it irreplaceable for a moment. But maybe not.

"I guess it's like anything," says Biagi. "You must know and do good film studies. It's a bit like everything is going around and traveling in a loop. Someone may be trying, and maybe someone will not try it before age 50, after I leave.

But North Texas has no reason to swear it forever.

"You never know," says Brewer. "It could happen again. But I do not know when.