By Chris Stoneman,
On March 17th, the Schwabisch Hall Unicorns U20 team will travel to Loughborough, England to face off against the NFL Academy in what is sure to be an epic showdown. The two teams played last year, which ended in a decisive victory in the Academy’s favor (with a final score of 34 – 8). However, much has changed since then. Many of the key NFLA players from last season have gone onto big time Division 1 programs and the Unicorns have added many new coaches to their staff and players to their roster.
One of the new Unicorn coaching additions is none other than running backs coach Juliano Arguello, a linebacker for the Unicorns GFL1 team. While not particularly experienced at the running back position, Arguello brings a bevy of football knowledge to the program. Arguello was a standout player on both sides of the ball for the Saarland Hurricanes in 2018 and 2019, during which he anchored the Hurricanes defense at inside linebacker while playing a little fullback and led the team to a playoff berth. Following 2019, Arguello played for the Hurricanes GFL team as a linebacker and registered solid numbers before eventually moving to Schwabisch Hall where he plays now.
We had the pleasure of sitting down with Arguello and got to ask him a couple of questions about his time coaching the Unicorns and their mindset going into Sunday’s big matchup.
How has being a high-level linebacker prepared you for coaching running backs?
“At the beginning, I was kind of lost. I started thinking stuff like “How am I supposed to coach running backs with no knowledge and in-game experience?” It was mentally tough at first because I couldn’t teach cuts and setting movements. But then I started thinking about it from a different angle, and considered what the running backs I hated playing against did really well in like pass blocks and ball carrying. Like for example if I went to tackle a running back, I would read his hips but if he faked me out he could get a lot more yardage. I realized I could teach how linebackers and defenders will react and in doing so show our guys how we can beat it. I was already familiar with how offensive linemen block, since you’re reading them a lot as an inside linebacker, so understanding and coaching the game from there on was relatively easy. Understanding the game in that regard, combined with a lot of insights from coaches like my former head coach Martin Mick from the Saarland Hurricanes U19 and YouTube has really allowed me to help our running backs in the best way I possibly can.”
How have you been gameplanning for the NFLA? What do you think is their most difficult position group to deal with offensively, especially from a running back perspective?
They have a lot of talent, but so do we. We’ve been steadily preparing since our last game last year. It’s no secret that on paper, the NFLA are bigger than us in terms of mass. So during the offseason, we worked out a lot and got our bodies ready for the task at hand. After that, we started installs every week and shifted our mentality to the mindset that we are about to face the best youth team in Europe, and used that headspace for the rest of our contact training and game scenarios. It’s one of those things that you have to keep up the whole time: consistency, consistency, consistency. We can prepare our players as much as we want, but at the end of the day it comes down to the eleven guys we send out on the field.
In terms of actual football and scouting, we know that they play a 4-4 front. They are very aggressive and tough, especially up front. I’d say that the most difficult position we are going to have to deal with is their defensive line, especially with number 51 Matti Krueger. Krueger plays very patient and fluid football, so he’ll definitely be listed as the most dangerous man to deal with. I’ve prepared our guys well though for the physicality they’re going to face on Sunday, especially in individual periods.
How are you planning on dealing with the travel time to Loughborough? Is it the farthest the team will have traveled?
“It’s the farthest game I’ve ever had to travel for. It’s 16 to 17 hours from Schwabisch Hall to Loughborough without traffic. We are planning to do pauses and breaks, stretches to keep the body right with breathing exercises. They’re making us drive that long instead of meeting on a neutral field or coming to us, so we’re going to make them pay. It’s a grudge match for us.
Is there added pressure to this game based on the last time you faced them?
“The good thing for me and a lot of other coaches is that we weren’t there for that game. That wasn’t us and we simply don’t care about last year. We’re locked in for this year and we’re going to fight as a team, the 2024 Unicorns. Our connected and positive mindset will make it a difficult game for the Academy.”
Do you think the pressure on the NFLA could play in your favor?
“For them the pressure is there, but a different kind of pressure. We as the Unicorns family have a lot of remaining players that return with confidence that will spread to our younger guys, whereas the NFLA has had a lot of guys leave to pursue their dreams of playing in America at the college level. For me, the difference between a solid team and a great team is merging together and playing for each other. I feel like the NFLA is playing for more personal goals like scholarships and personal futures whereas we are playing for each other. They are individuals that play together for their own personal reasons, and we are a family that plays for each other. On Sunday, we’ll see which style wins.”
A massive thank you to Coach Arguello for the interview and may the best team win on Sunday! You can tune in to the game live on the NFL Academy YouTube channel at 11am GMT.