Lincoln Riley wasn't supposed to be here. At least, not this year.
The 34-year-old head coach of the Big 12 champion Oklahoma Sooners took over when Bob Stoops abruptly retired in June, and led the program to a 12-1 record and a 41-17 win over TCU in the Big 12 Championship Game on Saturday afternoon -- likely earning a trip to the College Football Playoff in the process.
Defensive line coach Ruffin McNeill was impressed. Very impressed.
Take a look at the emotional speech McNeill gave to Riley as he handed the head coach of the Sooners the game ball in the locker room at AT&T Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
McNeill was the linebackers coach at Texas Tech in 2002, when Riley was a walk-on quarterback on the same roster that included Kliff Kingsbury and B.J. Symons. Riley later served as the offensive coordinator on McNeill's staff at East Carolina from 2010-14, prior to taking the same job on Stoops' staff in Norman.
The Sooners will find out their postseason fate on Sunday afternoon when New Year's Six bowl pairings are announced.