MY MEMORIES OF GREG PLOETZ AND MIKE DEAN
BY TOMMY LUCAS PROUD MEMBER OF THE 1959 FOOTBALL RECRUITING CLASS
The Sherman Boys and the Cleburne boys are prototypical Royal football players- Under 200 Pounds, quick, Instinctive, and Motivated to Win!
After the football season of 1962, I was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the 19th round as a prospective Tight End or Outside Linebacker. I attended their training camp at Thousand Oaks, California in July of 1963 where I survived several squad cuts but did not make their final team roster. Soon after returning to my hometown of Houston, Texas, I was hired as an assistant football coach at Abilene Cooper High School but my stay in Abilene was short lived because the Head Coach Clovis Riley was hired as the Athletic Director and Head Football Coach at Sherman High School in Sherman, Texas.
Coach Lucas bottom left Sherman High
Coach Riley asked me to go with him as the Defensive Coordinator even though I was 24 years old and just 2 years of experience.
Our first year at Sherman resulted in a 6-4 season and really not that bad because our team was young and the district that we were in was a tough one consisting of teams from Garland, Richardson, Mesquite, Carrolton, Highland Park, Denton, and Denison. The following year we began the season with a loss to an old rival Gainesville HS but the team responded with 8 straight wins, however, we lost our last district game to another old rival Denison HS. In those days only the district champion went to the playoffs so we were out and the Yellow jackets were in but it was still one of the best seasons that the Bearcats had in some time.
A large part of our success was due to a strong senior class that included two outstanding players by the name of Greg Ploetz and Mike Dean
Captain Ploetz and Captain Dean
On offense Greg was the right guard and Mike was the left guard and defensively Greg was the left inside linebacker and Mike was the right inside linebacker. We employed the same 6-2 defense that Coach Mike Campbell established at the University of Texas in the early 1960's and as their position coach I was of the opinion that they could play at the next level. They were our leading tacklers making plays from side line to side line however; I became disappointed because only a few college coaches were somewhat interested in offering them a scholarship. (TCU and North Texas)
So I decided to give Coach Bill Ellington a call as he was the Freshman Coach and Assistant Athletic Director in order to possibly stir up some interest as I really wanted them to be a Longhorn. After our opening conversation in which I explained my reason for calling he asked about their size and I said well they are about 6 ft. and weigh about 185 lbs. but they play much bigger than their size. I said I think UT should take a look at them based on their play and not their size and Coach Ellington agreed.
Coach Ellington far right , Patterson is on the right
The next week Pat Patterson the recruiter for the Dallas area came by and asked to see some game film so I set him up with a projector and our last 4 games. After my last class of the day, I went by the stadium and Coach Patterson was still there. He quickly told me that he was impressed with Greg's play and that he had heard about him from some of the coaches in our district but then he said I also like the Dean kid and I would like to talk to both of them about coming to Austin for an official visit to our campus. Pat then said, "l think we may have a scholarship for those two".
Well as they say in the movies, the rest is history! Greg Ploetz became NOT an outstanding linebacker for the Longhorns but instead he became an outstanding defensive tackle in the Texas split 4 defenses going against much bigger offensive lineman but seldom losing one on one battles. He overcame a size disadvantage with his strength and fierce determination.
Mike Dean became a starting offensive guard and was according to many to be undersized for his position. He had to block defensive lineman that had a size advantage but he proved many times that determination plus strength and the will to win can overcome a lot of minuses. He is Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame member because of his outstanding performance versus an All American defensive tackle from Notre Dame and he is also a member of the Longhorn Hall of Honor.
Mike and Greg will always be very special to me and I am proud to say that I was one of their coaches. They exemplify my belief that lack of size can often be overcome by the will to succeed and having unrelenting determination.