Katy High School football coach Gary Joseph has attained state and national recognition during his 12 years as head football coach, especially with his latest accomplishment—the 2015 University Interscholastic League Class 6A state championship.

Joseph led the Tigers to an undefeated season and the unofficial national title in high school football, bestowed up the No. 1 ranked team in the USA Today High School Sports final 2015 computer rankings.

Joseph is also set to be inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame in May.

The success will likely be highlighted at Joseph’s induction to the state hall of fame.

“It’s humbling to be placed in the hall of fame,” Joseph said. “It’s humbling to sit there and win a championship knowing how hard they are to win. I never take them for granted.”

The coach—who is also the school’s athletic coordinator—said he does not have expectations. Rather, he said, his job is to make sure the hard work that leads to a championship gets accomplished.

“We teach them that they have to be able to do things they don’t want to do,” Joseph said. “It’s a character thing.”

Joseph was promoted from assistant coach to head coach in 2004. He said those lessons prepare players for when they go into the real world.

Joseph’s influence is felt throughout Katy and has garnered the city national recognition.

“He’s a no-nonsense kind of coach,” Katy Mayor Fabol Hughes said. “He knows what he’s doing. He knows how to get it out of these kids.”

Hughes’ son played under Joseph, and he has been a Katy High School season ticket holder for more than 20 years.

Hughes said the coach is teaching his players life lessons, not just how to play football.

During practice, however, Joseph said he emphasizes the basics.

“The program is built on sound fundamentals,” he said. “In the 12 years I’ve been head coach it’s not the exact same offense or the exact same defense, but the basic fundamentals are still the same.”

With 14 football coaches and about 450 players involved in the entire program, Joseph said organization is key to success.

Joseph said support from his family and school staff has helped him as a coach to drive the team’s success.

“We’re going to sit there and make sure that we do everything we can to keep this thing going because it’s about the kids,” Joseph said. “[A championship] is something special every time it happens.”