Why is SkyCoach a trusted partner for the KJCCC? Hutchinson's Drew Dallas talks about importance of officials replay in JUCO

Photo: Hutchinson Football Coach Drew Dallas

Drew Dallas, the head football coach at Hutchinson Community College, was a major proponent of the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference starting with SkyCoach for officials replay in 2022.

Initially, the head coaches in the KJCCC had concerns about officials replay adding heavier work loads to an already demanding schedule.

“That was our biggest concern going into it was the fact that we don’t have a support staff,” Dallas said. “We don’t have a paid professional where that’s his or her job. In junior college football, coaches wear so many hats. A big thing was about taking this on, would we be wearing ourselves thin?

“But really, it’s been a super simple process. It’s not something I’ve had to deal with a ton. It’s very minimal for our video guy. It’s well worth the time you devote to learning it and the setup process to make sure we’re getting the calls right on the field. That part of it is the biggest thing. I’m trained on it and we have another full-time or part-time coach who’s always around on game day to oversee our student workers. We have had zero issues.”

“The thing with SkyCoach is, the price point is good. The efficiency is good. It’s an easy setup process and it’s reliable.”

The seven football teams in the KJCCC use a two-angle setup: one view from the press box area at the 50 and an end zone shot. Then the officials replay tent is behind the end zone. Coaches can use their challenge flag to have a play looked at and the official will automatically review every targeting call.

Dallas said: “The general consensus amongst the head coaches in the conference was about the human error part of this because we’re using freshmen and sophomores as our filmers. That was the only concern. Everybody was onboard with getting the calls right. Even in the officiating world, a lot of times the junior college ranks is a stepping stone for officials to get to higher levels as well. So, we’re dealing with first, second or third-year officials who might be making the jump from high school to college and trying to elevate their careers.

“We want to provide the best, competitive stage for our players, and SkyCoach was a huge part of that. We can eliminate some of those critical errors that ultimately can have an effect on the game. It’s been huge for us. Additionally, the thing with SkyCoach is the price point is good. The efficiency is good. It’s an easy setup process and it’s reliable. For us, those are the things that was really important in our conference deal.”

Photo: Hutchinson Football Coach Drew Dallas

Not only is SkyCoach the perfect fit for the KJCCC in its affordability, efficiency and consistently working, but from a coach and player standpoint, getting the calls right is essential.

“A lot of times as a coach, you’re watching film on Sunday and we missed this obvious call and that’s basically all we wanted to do was eliminate those things that were blatantly wrong. We wanted to know it was a clear interception, a clear fumble and targeting has been probably the most beneficial,” he said, adding, “Being able to overturn targeting or being able to confirm it—now you’re not just talking about the course of the game, but about players’ outcomes. This gives our players the best opportunity to stay on the field.”

Everyone knows that junior college football players have goals of moving up to transfer to a four-year program, and do to that he needs to have as much game film possible to aid in that recruiting process. That game film serves as a resume of their skills and performance on the field. On the JUCO level, every rep and play matters, which is why remaining on the field is crucial.

Dallas on Balansama Kamara, his LB/DE who transferred to Hutchinson from Temple: “We had a kid who got injured in the summer and didn’t return until midseason. In his first game back, he was called for targeting at the end of the first half. The officials looked at it and it got overturned and we were able to keep him in the game. He was a kid who only ended up playing four or five games that season because of his injury, so that call being overturned to keep him in the game was super beneficial to him. He was a kid that was struggling to get a bunch of game reps because of things out of his control then he got dinged with the targeting call but thankfully it was overturned.”

The Blue Dragons head coach also recalled another incident in which SkyCoach played a key role in getting it right on the field.

“We had one situation where an official was getting ready to award a team with a fifth down because of a weird penalty situation but were able to go back and review it. That changed the course of the game because of where the ball was at. It’s things like that, those critical errors or major misses from an officiating standpoint that can now be eliminated. It just gives us the chance to get things right.”

As the head coach stated, he just wants Hutchinson, and the rest of the KJCCC, to be a competitive conference that helps their players as best as possible. The Blue Dragons have consistently been one of the best community college football programs nationally, and now with SkyCoach, it’s just another layer of security in making sure they’re doing all the can to win games and aid players in their football journey.

“That’s been the thing, as coaches, we have appreciated the most—the ability to keep kids on the field and get the call right,” he said. “When they’re using the right technique or doing something illegal and in the game they get called for targeting, then they’re missing a half of the game. Looking at the call immediately in a quick process and getting the call right is extremely appreciative. It’s super important to our players too because to get recruited, you need film. There’s limited opportunities as is in junior college football for guys to get recruited, (using SkyCoach) is one more resource for us to help get them the film they need to get out.”

After a 10-1 season in 2023, the Hutchinson football team finished third in the final National Junior College Athletic Association Division I Football rankings. The 2023 Jayhawk Conference champion Blue Dragons went through the regular season undefeated and spent 11 weeks at No. 1 before falling to East Mississippi 27-23 in the NJCAA National Semifinals. It is the fifth-straight season the Blue Dragons have been ranked in the top three of the final rankings.

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He was hired as the head coach on New Year’s Eve 2019, then Covid-19 hit. Dallas had to wait over a year before officially coaching the Blue Dragons but it all worked out in the end. Hutchinson captured the NJCAA Football national championship, the first in program history, that season.

Dallas was the assistant head coach and tight ends coach for the 2019 season. Under Dallas, the 2019 Blue Dragon offense ranked No. 1 in the Jayhawk Conference and No. 3 in the NJCAA in scoring average at 44.8 points per game.

Before coming to Hutchinson, Dallas was at NCAA Division II Angelo State University from 2011 to 2018. Dallas was quarterbacks and receivers coach at Kansas Wesleyan in 2009 and 2010.