There is no doubt that West Texas A&M football program has dominated these past couple of years. Despite starting 1-2 thus far, WT still manages to continue to play hard and show that they are a force to be reckoned with.
You can give the credit to the coaches and the players but what it really comes down to is play calling and the art of executing assignments.
Take Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks coach Stephen Lee. Lee gets the offense rolling as soon as WT has possession of the ball, whether he starts off with an outside run or a quick pass.
Against Tarleton, Lee managed to get the offense a total of 386 yards (249 passing and 137 rushing) and 25 first downs within four quarters of play. But at the end of the day once games and practices are over, and film as been reviewed till mistakes are corrected, coaches return home to continue with their lives and continue to live on.
On the field, Lee has an impressive resume. Starting his coaching career in Bronte, Texas in 1992, Lee soon received other positions such as being in charge of the running game at Western New Mexico in 1999.
In 2000, Lee would assist over at Howard Payne, tutoring the Yellowjackets’ offensive linemen and running backs from 2000 to 2002 and moving over to coach defensive ends and linemen from 2003 to 2005.
From 2005 to 2010, Lee accepted a position as the quarterbacks coach and co-offensive coordinator at Brenham High School. In his time in Brenham, he helped the Cubs rein in five district championships.
It was not until 2010 where Coach Lee was brought to WT to coach up the quarterbacks, helping former Buff Dustin Vaughan develop his mechanics to give him a shot in the National Football League. Vaughan is currently with the Dallas Cowboys.
Another quarterback looking to follow in Vaughan’s footsteps is starting quarterback Preston Rabb. Rabb, under Lee’s tutelage, has already thrown for more than more than 600 yards in the 2014 season.
“He’s pretty hard on me, I think he expects a lot out of the quarterback position,” Rabb said. “He’s a great coach and he’ll always let me know when I do well and when I mess up.”
“I’d say Diligent,” Lee said, speaking of one word that spoke best about himself. “I like to get things right.”
The most frustrating thing about coaching, according to Lee, is wanting measurement. Measurement meaning the work in progress could be something that could become quite stressful, yet rewarding in the end.
However, Lee enjoys building relationships with his players.  These relationships are what Lee likes the most about coaching.
“It’s always great building relationships with the players, being able to help and communicate with one another to improve their game,” Lee said.
It wasn’t until 2012 where Lee was promoted to Offensive Coordinator, where he helped the Buffs get to 12-3 record. In that season, Lee developed a vicious running attack to the offense and allowed current New Orleans Saints running back Khiry Robinson to rush for a school record of more than 1,600 rushing yards.
This past spring, to add another dimension to the prolific passing attack that West Texas A&M is known for, Head Coach Mike Nesbitt met with Lee. This movement toward a ground attack was attributed to pulling out of close games and helping out the offense later in the season.
“It was something that we needed to add to the pass game, try to incorporate more of [the run] and that was his vision,” Nesbitt said of the work he and Lee emphasized in training camp.
Upon meeting the accomplished coordinator, Lee displays a down-to-earth aura of calmness to him, and responds to questions with the utmost confidence.
“It wasn’t really an option in the beginning, I figured I would work in business once I graduated college,” Lee said on what persuaded him to coach. “It kind of just happened.”
However, Lee does like to relax when given the chance.
“I like to go out and hunt or fish, usually cook on the grill or golf,” Lee said. When not coaching, Lee said that he would probably be doing something outdoors, golfing or reading hunting magazines.