KEARNEY, Neb. — A different man held the whistle at UNK football practice Wednesday morning.

First-year head coach Ryan Held handed over responsibilities to first-day head coach Moses Harper. The Lopers passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach was given the role as part of an effort to elevate the program’s minority coaches and players.

“A lot of kids want to see guys who look like them in the forefront of the program. This is good," Harper said. "It’s something we’ve been fighting for for a long time, so it’s good that we’re bringing some awareness here at UNK.”

Held was inspired by Tennessee Titans head coach Mike Vrabel and Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin, both of whom deferred to a minority coach for a preseason practice recently. He had total trust in Harper.

“He’s a great person, he’s a great coach, he’s a great recruiter, and he’s a family man," Held said. "Those are things that are important to me. If I tell him to do something, it gets done.”

According to the Associated Press, 14 out of the 133 FBS head coaches are Black. That’s about 10 percent in a sport where more than half of the players identify as Black.

Out of 12 football schools in UNK’s conference, two have a Black head coach.

“There’s just not enough representation," Held said. "There needs to be more opportunities. It’s just a matter of giving those opportunities. This is one example of a way to do that.”

“We gotta keep networking," Harper said. "You gotta continue to meet the people, the ADs, the ADs gotta pass your name, you continue to network, keep doing good jobs. So hopefully, somebody sees this today and says, ‘hey, let’s give that guy a call.’”

Harper says he didn’t throw any wrinkles into Held’s typical practice script, but it was a good experience to be in control.

“The main thing is you gotta keep everything on time because you have the whistle now," Harper said. "You have to stop and start the plays. But the players were very supportive, they were supportive last night. (They) came out and they made it feel like it was a real situation to be the head coach. I’m very grateful for that from the players and coaches.”

All UNK home football games will be televised on News Channel Nebraska.