Editor’s note: Andrew Coker saw his streak of 37 consecutive start end Nov. 18 against Baylor on Senior Day because of a knee injury. But he wants to play Nov. 24 at Oklahoma, where the team will spend Thanksgiving, to help the Frogs qualify for a bowl game. Win, and they’re in. 

Thanksgiving on a football team is one of those things that if you don’t look for it, you miss it. It’s almost like Christmas last year when we were in Arizona. I’m not saying we missed it, but we woke up and were like, “It’s Christmas Day. We’re in Arizona.” 

Photo by Percise Windom

But it is a time to be around the guys, just hanging out and enjoying each other’s company. It’s great. I remember one year we didn’t have Thanksgiving food, but we had burgers. For 18- to 22-year-olds, burgers and fries is good probably any day of the week.  

Senior Day was really emotional, honestly. I didn’t shed any tears out there, but I definitely did back in the locker room after the game. It was just sad because I’ve been here for so long and played so many games, and it’s one of those things where you don’t really think it’s going to come to an end. When it finally does, you’re like, “Whoa … I won’t play here ever again.” It’s a surreal feeling. 

But we did beat Baylor. It’s always good to beat a rival. Records don’t matter in a rivalry. It doesn’t matter if one team is 12-0 or 0-12. A rivalry game brings out the best of both sides, and we played very well the second half.  

Photo by Percise Windom

I hated not being out there, so I’m going to try to give it a go this week. There’s a lot going on in my right leg. I’m able to move more right now. It’s just how much load, in terms of weight, can I handle. On the offensive line, you’re trying to move people or not be moved. The movement is something I can compensate for, but I’ll have to get a feel for the load and weight. 

My role for the Baylor game was just to be a leader, communicate, be another set of eyes for my offensive line and the offense. I was just trying to communicate what I saw, what I thought and just be the best leader I could be to get the guys fired up. 

If you’ve seen the way that this league plays out, everybody’s good, right? In this league, you never know what’s going to happen week in and week out. We have to be the best version of ourselves against Oklahoma. 

When we play to our capabilities, it’s remarkable. We took a good Texas team and in the second half beat them 20-3. Last year we didn’t score 20 points against them and we were supposed to be better last year. But we know what we need to do to help us win this game. We have to stay away from mistakes, turnovers and shooting ourselves in the foot, and we’re very confident we can do it.