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ULM’s Kubik faces a fellow Mooney alum
Cardinal Mooney has quite a matchup tonight. The Cardinals may have played Akron North last night, but a college game is on tap at 7 p.m. today when Louisiana-Monroe takes on Oklahoma.
Matt Kubik, a 2001 Mooney graduate is in his first season as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Warhawks as they try to pull off the upset on 1978 Mooney graduate Bob Stoops and his Sooners.
Kubik went to Louisiana Tech after graduation where he was the starting quarterback for two seasons. His collegiate coaching career began at Northwestern State before moving on to Central Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin. But now he’s at the FBS level and it’s a dream come true.
“The last place I thought I’d end up after high school is Ruston, La.,” Kubik said. “But I’m glad it happened. [Coaching in FBS] is an opportunity I’ve been looking for and to have a chance to go back to Louisiana and try to rebuild a program here where I’ve got some strong ties is really exciting.”
ULM head coach Matt Viator had to gameplan against Kubik when he was leading the Louisiana Tech offense and it wasn’t forgotten. When Viator got the job with the Warharks one of his first calls to fill his staff went to Kubik.
“We had kept in touch when he was at McNeese State and when he got the job he reached out to me and said he’d like the opportunity to work together and I jumped on it,” Kubik said. “My wife is from the Monroe area, so it was a no brainer for us.”
And now he’s been handed the opportunity to gameplan against one of the most famous Mooney alums in what would be a large upset if the Warhawks could shock the Sooners in Norman.
“It’s a pretty neat experience,” Kubik said. “The Mooney family is something everyone takes pretty seriously. Once you’re a part of it and to be part of those guys with the Pelinis and the Stoops and guys like Tim Beck, to be a part of that kind of fraternity is a pretty neat deal.
“It’s a very, very humbling experience to know there’s guys that came before you and set the tone. They made a great reputation for coming out of the Youngstown area.”
Back when he was piloting the Mooney offense a decade-and-a-half ago, Kubik didn’t get a scholarship offer from Stoops, but he was still noticed.
“Stoops was already at Oklahoma my senior year,” Kubik said. “I wasn’t on their recruiting radar but I do remember him writing me a nice note during the recruiting process.”
Kubik said that camaraderie you find at Mooney is what keeps him coming back once a year.
“Over the years I’ve made it a point to do the bocce social and the Camp of Champions every year at Mooney,” Kubuk said. “I try to make it back every year. You cross paths and chat and stuff so it’s nice to have the opportunity to now coach against [Stoops].”
While he was less than happy to get the news last week of Mooney’s collapse against Boardman, Kubik said he keeps up with Mooney football regularly and makes sure he gets updates about the team.
“I definitely follow Mooney football on Twitter and I usually get the score,” Kubik said. “I definitely still have some best friends who live up there and follow those guys on a weekly basis. I think you’d find most Mooney alums do since it’s so tight knit.”
Stoops did not return a call seeking comment for this story.