The light bulb went off midway through the interview with Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom.
That often happens when I discover a network among football coaches.
There was the realization Odom has a tie that bonds with one of his new players, redshirt freshman safety Jalen Catalon. It came after I asked an innocent question, oblivious to Odom’s roots as a star running back at Ada, Okla., where Odom scored 39 touchdowns as a senior while leading his team to the 1994 state title.
It was just 16 months ago that I stumbled into another former Ada star, the head coach at Mansfield, Texas, Legacy.