WACO, Texas -- Andrew Billings goes by Dollar Bill. Shawn Oakman is Oaky Doke. Shock Linwood gets called Shock The World. Even Baylor athletic director Ian McCaw gets one. He’s Chief.
Baylor football coach Art Briles just can’t help himself. His powers as a granter of nicknames are stronger than ever.
Briles always has had a fondness for nicknaming his players, staffers, friends and family.
“I always try to be real positive with ‘em,” Briles said in 2011, “because nobody likes a bad nickname.”
There's no telling when he’ll assign one, no clear rule for its development and no whiteboard in the office keeping track. Baylor players admit all the nicknaming that goes on inside Briles’ noggin leaves them wondering what they’ll get called next and why.
Here are some of Briles’ best monikers:
Baylor quarterback Seth Russell: Scotty
Briles once coached a high school quarterback named Scott Richardson in the 1980s.
“He was good,” Briles said on Monday. “He was actually a four-year starter at Sweetwater High School. Good player.”
And for some reason, the nickname stuck. Baylor players call the quarterback Scotty too. BU’s sports information staff used the hashtag #ScottyTooHotty after his big plays this season.
“I like it. Fits him,” Briles said. “It’s got a little bit of flair to it, and he needs a little bit.”
Receiver Corey Coleman: CoCo or Pretty Tough
“[Briles] says I’m a pretty guy and I look good, but I’m tough as nails,” Coleman said. “I’m fine with that. That’s the boss man right there.”
Tackle Spencer Drango: Durango
Drango doesn’t think there is much of a method behind Briles’ habit; sometimes the all-conference tackle is just called by his jersey number. Some players get lots of names and some never get one. The nicknames that don’t immediately click get scrapped.
“Some of them will just come out as a one-time, hit-or-quit kind of thing,” Drango said.
TE LaQuan McGowan: Big Truck, 2035, Q-Dog, The Annihilator and Capital Q
Baylor players say their beloved 6-foot-7, 410-pound tight end is getting called Big Truck lately, but two of his other nicknames are Briles' particular favorites.
2035 refers to Briles’ opinion that all football players will be McGowan’s size in 20 years. As for Capital Q, Briles said, “There’s not much lowercase to him. Better hit that shift key.”
Quarterback Jarrett Stidham: Nothing yet
With one career start under his belt, the true freshman hasn’t earned a moniker from his coach.
“I really haven’t got anything for Stidham yet, quite honestly. So we’ll see,” Briles said. “Nicknames are not given, normally. They’re earned. So he’s in the process. Hopefully he’ll stay on the fast track.”
Stidham did confirm he’s still nicknameless, but he gets the sense Briles is close to a decision.
“Sometimes he’ll come up to me and he’ll say Studham instead of Stidham,” he said. “I think he’s testing the waters on that one.”
Offensive coordinator Kendal Briles: Charlie
There is a curious dynamic with father and son as co-workers and one that has led to other nicknames.
“Kendal got an entirely new name on the practice field, getting called ‘Charlie’ in an attempt to avoid signs of father-son favoritism,” author Nick Eatman wrote in the 2013 Briles biography, “Looking Up: My Journey from Tragedy to Triumph.”
“In return, Kendal would refer to his dad as ‘Roger’ for the same reason.”
Briles alumni nicknames
Former Baylor WR Kendall Wright: One of the select few who racked up countless monikers. He was known at various times as Dub, W, My Dubby, Rub-A-Dub and eventually B.I.C. (short for Best In the Country).
Former Texas Tech WR Wes Welker: The Natural. Briles came up with this one within the first 20 minutes of watching Welker play. "He didn't look like Robert Redford's version of Roy Hobbs," Briles wrote in "Beating Goliath," his 2014 memoir, "but boy, did he play like him."
Former Houston QB Case Keenum: Keenom, because it rhymes with phenom.
Former Baylor WR Lanear Sampson: Lenny Long Chain.
Former Baylor WR Tevin Reese: Sweet Feet.
Heisman winner Robert Griffin III: Cream, because the cream always rises to the top.