THEY SAID IT

Reaction from Wednesday's news of the death of legendary University of Houston football coach Bill Yeoman: “Father of the veer option, Yeoman was an offensive genius. More importantly, he helped lead integration in the South by being the first coach at a predominantly white Texas school to sign a Black player.” Gil Brandt, former Dallas Cowboys executive and NFL scout “I never played for Coach Yeoman but he was every student-athlete at the University of Houston’s coach. My heart aches for the hundreds of lives he touched as he had the uncanny ability to light up any room he entered. He is the true patriarch of UH athletics and will be missed.” Leroy Burrell, former Olympic sprinter and UH track coach “I’m forever indebted to him, mainly because he offered me a scholarship and I got to play football at a great university in a great city and meet a lot of great friends due to the fact he believed in me when I was 18 years old.” Art Briles, former UH and Baylor coach

“He was a creative offensive thinker and when he came to Houston he combined his innovations with great local talent, it was no fun to play them when they turned it loose. It wasn’t a surprise they could score 100 points in a game.” Ken Hatfield, former Rice coach

“When I came down to Houston to take the Rice job, I was fortunate to get to know him as a man and learned he was so much more than just a great football coach.” Fred Goldsmith, former Rice coach

“His legacy as a football coach, all the innovations he brought to our game, and the amazing success he had at the University of Houston are well documented … but his legacy extends so far beyond that. He was just an awesome man. During my time at UH, he was always a presence around the fieldhouse, ready and willing to share his knowledge and provide great advice to me and our entire staff.” Tom Herman, former UH football coach

“We had a father-son relationship … We could talk about anything. We were that close. This is a sad, sad day for me.” Warren McVea, former UH All-America running back “Coach Darrell Royal told me that Bill Yeoman was the best at maximizing the talents of his players. During my six years at Houston, Coach Yeoman went out of his way to help me.” ” Tom Penders, former UH men’s basketball coach