'Continuing to grow': Inside the budding relationship between UWF coach Kaleb Nobles and quarterback Peewee Jarrett

When Kaleb Nobles was announced as the University of West Florida’s next head coach in December, quarterback Peewee Jarrett attended the introduction on crutches and with a wrist splint.

Jarrett had just come off an outstanding first season with the Argos. Although he only completed 51 passes, the quarterback from Des Moines, Iowa threw for 2,719 yards and 33 touchdowns in 14 games. And on the ground, he ran for 762 yards with nine touchdowns.

But Jarrett’s physical appearance didn’t matter to Nobles. One of the first conversations the duo had was different ways Jarrett could improve his game.

“I’ll always bring up that story when I tell people about the first time I talked to Coach. I just appreciate him so much because he didn’t know me from the back of his hand,” Jarrett said. “And he wanted to make me a better player right away.”

Week 2 Preview: Argos look to continue success in at McKendree University

Dominating Victory: UWF football defeats Kentucky Wesleyan behind 'relentless' defense and 'efficient' offense

And so began a strong relationship between Jarrett and Nobles, the Argos’ first quarterback in 2016 – something Jarrett didn’t know until the team’s first meeting. Jarrett was aware that Nobles served in several capacities as an assistant coach, and spent the last two seasons at Clemson University.

So how did Jarrett find out? It involved a team record that Nobles has – and probably no one wants to break it: the most interceptions in one season with 18.

“I really didn’t know that (he was the quarterback) until the first team meeting when he said he had the most picks in school history. … It’s funny because he really hangs that over his own head the most. He always says he’s got the only record that doesn’t want to be broken here. We’re just going to keep that one not broken,” Jarrett said. “It’s crazy that he went from first quarterback here to second head coach. It’s really cool.”

Despite being injured in the offseason, Jarrett and Nobles still got some work done. Jarrett, who “sat in a chair a lot of January,” and Nobles played catch, working on Jarrett’s quick release and other fundamentals.

While it might have been work, they were also building that relationship.

“Any time, especially when you’re head coach who’s working on the offensive side of the ball, you better be close to the quarterback. And I know that,” Nobles said. “But I also challenged him, ‘Hey, I think there’s a lot of stuff on your film that I’ve seen from last year that I think we can really improve on and be a more high-efficiency, passer-rating quarterback.’”

‘Nothing’s ever good enough’

Nobles couldn’t help but let out a little laugh when mentioning the smaller age gap between himself and the players. The head coach isn’t even 30 years old yet. And he thinks that played into his advantage when first connecting with Jarrett, understanding that the quarterback had been through a few different coaching changes in his collegiate career.

Jarrett mentioned that there were a few players that entered the NCAA transfer portal in the offseason, and “the option was there.” But after hitting it off with Nobles in their first conversations, it was about buying into one another.

Not to mention the fact that Nobles was also once where Jarrett was, and “walked in his shoes by playing quarterback” at UWF. Nobles threw for 3,050 yards in his lone season with the Argos, adding 28 touchdowns.

It’s about being human, as well.

“For me, it’s been important to do what I can to let him work through some struggles with the offense, and he’s done a great job of doing that and being open to it,” Nobles said. “I try to open my life to those guys. They see my wife, and they see my daughter around – she was in there in the office not too long ago. Being able to let them see me as a person, I think helps grow that relationship. I think they’re appreciative of that stuff.”.

That allows players to see Nobles’ personality – and there’s one thing that stands out.

“The players know – and Peewee knows – that nothing’s ever good enough. I hate the term ‘good enough’ because I don’t want our guys to think that I’ll let them slouch and say, ‘that was all right.’ All right is not good enough. All right is not where we need to be,” Nobles said. “Peewee knows that I’m hard on him but in a good way. He’s reciprocates that, and he expects high things out of me – which I want out of the quarterback room.”

‘Efficiency for everybody’

During the 2022 season, Jarrett wasn’t afraid to show off his cannon of an arm for some long plays. After season opener last Friday, Jarrett said that Nobles told him that he probably left 600 to 1,000 yards on the field with those “high-risk, high-reward” passes.

Nobles emphasized that Jarrett “was looking at the right places and reading the right reads” in 2022. But with an offensive-style change, putting a focus on “quick, efficient-type” passing, Nobles expects Jarrett’s numbers to improve.

With a wide range of receivers at Jarrett’s disposal, having shorter passes and allowing those receivers to use their feet to make plays, “those yards add up,” Jarrett said. Plus, utilizing faster passes is “efficiency for everybody,” Jarrett noted.

“I’m taking hits off my running backs. I’m taking hits off myself in the run game, or if I have to scramble because I skipped over a short route or something,” Jarrett said.

“He had a couple (plays against KWC) where he could’ve ran somebody over, and I feel like I would’ve seen him try to run somebody over last year to make a name for himself. Now, he’s adapted a little bit,” Nobles said. “He knows that that every game doesn’t have to be won or lost on him running somebody over. We can win games with him sliding or getting out of bounds, just being smart.”

Jarrett said Nobles has “really opened (his) eyes” with the “gifted” receivers UWF boasts.

“They’re not just here to catch the ball and fall down. If you get the ball in their hands with space, you see what happened last Friday – a lot of missed tackles and extra yards,” Jarrett said. “I watched the live stream after the game (against Kentucky Wesleyan), and the announcers were like, ‘Well, we haven’t really seen a deep shot.’ Last season, we were throwing deep shots the first, second play of the game. … Now, just taking what (the defense) is giving me, it’s been a gamechanger for us and this whole offense.”

“He knows how important it is, not only to get to get the ball out quick, but to be accurate with the football,” Nobles said. “There’s a difference between throwing those short passes and the guy’s jumping to get it – and now there’s a defensive back making a play – and a guy catching it, being able to turn around and run. He’s done a great job buying in and understanding what that looks like.”

Continuing to build trust

It’s still early in the 2023 season, with UWF going into Week 2 on Saturday at McKendree University in Illinois. So it’s safe to say the relationship between Nobles and Jarrett is continuing to grow.

While the relationship is budding, there is trust building, too. During the Week 1 victory against Kentucky Wesleyan, there was a play right before halftime just a couple yards from the end zone.

Jarrett went to Nobles and said, “Let me get the ball.” A quick play was drawn up on the sideline, and Jarrett dove past the goal line to score another touchdown for UWF. But if you ask Jarrett, he knew he was going to score on the play.

“The head coach trusts me to run his offense and make the best plays happen out of his work, really. It’s a great feeling to know I’ve got the trust from not only him, but the rest of the coaching staff and the team,” Jarrett said. “They just let me go out there and do my thing.”

The duo continues to lean on each other. Jarrett said Nobles will text him and ask about certain things. It’s “what a lot of people don’t see, the behind the scenes.”

“It’ll be 11 p.m. and he’ll ask me how I feel about a certain play call. … Our relationship is continuing to grow every day. He knows when I can be better,” Jarrett said. “And he knows when I’m not comfortable with something, he’s going to put me in the best position to win games.”

Nobles said being able to work with Jarrett during his first year as head coach, plus building that relationship with him, “it’s even better than (he) could’ve imagined.” He had to take a moment to make a joke while talking about Jarrett – when Jarrett walked behind him after practice on Wednesday – that he was “only going to say good things about him as he’s walking right by.”

While he said it in jest, Nobles quickly said that he “can’t put enough words” into the type of player – and person – Jarrett is.

“My goal is to challenge him to get better every week. We went 19-for-22 (in Week 1). Two of them were in between whether it’s a drop or not a good ball. One of them was a bad throw. So my challenge is, ‘Hey man, we weren’t perfect. We’ve got plays that to make.’ The great part about him is that he knows that,” Nobles said. “He’s such a smart thinker as far as being diligent about things when I’m not around. … When you challenge him on things like that, and he does it, that’s a sign of maturity. To me, that means he was raised the right way. … Peewee’s a great one, man.”

Ben Grieco is a sports reporter for the Pensacola News Journal. He can be reached on X (@BenGriecoSports) and via email at BGrieco@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: UWF Football: Kaleb Nobles, Peewee Jarrett see relationship 'continuing to grow'