October 07, 1997
How do you think your team will handle success?
"Of course that remains to be seen, but I think having been through some of the things we've been through that we will handle it well. We visited yesterday about the realities of where we are and what lies ahead for us. I think one of the things that I felt the best about with this team was that they have taken leadership, they have taken coaching. It makes you feel good as a coach when they respond like that. It like having a horse that is gentle and with the slightest little bit you can get the horse to turn. There are some that you are pulling and yanking, they're hard-headed and it's all you can do to turn them. I'd say this team so far has been very easy to manage. They do things you ask and have been an easy team to manage so far."
Were you aware that the crowd at Colorado was chanting "Wrecking Crew" after the game? The offensive guys say it doesn't bother them but do you worry that there might be some jealousy?
"We've never had a problem, but I could see how, looking from the outside, how it could be a potential problem. But if you're on offense or you're an offensive coach, you love having a good defense. We've always made it a positive and never had a noticeable problem with it."
Bob (Toledo, former offensive coordinator) chafed under it a little.
"That could have been. That's the only comment I've ever heard. That there's a little bit of 'when we win it's the Wrecking Crew, but when we lose it's the offense.' I took a lot of exception to that. I've always given the offense credit, because the style of offense has a lot to do with the effectiveness of the defense. I've said that throughout my career. Back in the early 70's we were really good on defense, but we were running the wishbone on offense and we would go out for three plays of defense and you may not have to go back for eight minutes. They would take that ball and keep it. Our stats were great every year, and we were always playing fresh because we had a ball control offense. We didn't play much defense. If you look at the teams over the years that played good defense and you will always find that the offense has been an effective ball-control offense. I've never known of a good defense that plays with a run-and-shoot offense. It just doesn't happen and there's a reason. All that fits together and I've always tried to emphasize that in my conversions with the coaches and the players. Steve Marshall and those guys are thrilled with the Wrecking Crew and the Wrecking Crew is thrilled about us being able to rush for 260 yards in that ballgame (vs. Colorado). It allowed them to get some rest on the sideline and go out fresh."
You've said this is a team without stars, but if you keep winning then some are going to emerge.
"When I say 'stars' I'm actually talking more about 'star mentality' rather than actually big-name players. If you look at our team, we don't have any guys that think they make it all happen. And we really don't have any big-name players. Dat Nguyen would probably be the biggest name we have. Dante Hall is emerging as a guy because of his success with the punts and all-purpose yardage. We don't have a big-play, big-name receiver, we don't have a big-name tight end, we don't have a big-name quarterback, although I think Branndon (Stewart) has gotten a lot of exposure but still isn't seen in the 'star' category at this point."
What about Dat? He is well-known and he makes the big plays.
"He could be, if he continues what he doing. He's getting more and more recognition as a player. He makes just about every play. He's fun to watch. He practices that way and he's been a very effective player."
What about your punter/kicker combination?
"Good, really good. (On Bryant's final FG attempt) I thought it was really unfortunate the way all that happened. That's such a delicate thing -- being all lined up and walking your steps off and getting set to kick and then that stopping. Then the official actually bumped into him when he was getting ready to kick. If that same guy is up on a tee box and all that happens, then he's probably going to hit a bad drive. He has been a consistent player. He's a very confident guy. He's an honest guy with me with what he can and can't do. I love the guy as a kicker."
Doesn't it seem a long time ago that you were throwing that job up for grabs?
"Yeah. He's got that job nailed down now. And then with Lechler - he's the best I've ever been around in all my years of coaching. And I've been around some pretty steady punters, but he's the best guy. Just like with the other day, there was some reason to take a safety there at the end, but I really felt good about him punting the ball and getting some hangtime. It's fun to have a guy that like that has kicked his best kicks when we really needed it the most. Some guys are pretty good as long as everything is going well but as soon as you put pressure on them in a critical situation, then they shank it about 20 yards for you. I've seen some of those over the years. We had a guy nicknamed 'Shank.' That should have told us something. How smart is the coach that keeps playing a guy named 'Shank'?
Can you talk about Iowa State.
"They are a team that is getting better. They're getting their running back back and he's a good player. They throw the ball around. They're one of those teams that you look at and wonder how their record could be what it is. They do some nice things."
Are they dangerous because A&M is coming off a big win?
"I think they're dangerous just because of who they are -- the players they have. But I think it's an added danger because they have an 0-5 record and we're coming off a big, emotional win. It makes us even more susceptible to it. They have great speed at the receivers and I like their quarterback. We had to struggle to win that ballgame up there last year, so they're going to come in here with some confidence. In all honesty, we were fortunate to get out of there with a win."
Are you hopeful for a swell of emotion from the fans?
"You'd like to come back and have a good home experience because we do go on the road for two tough road games after to Kansas State and to Texas Tech. So you'd like to get a little momentum here. I bet we'll have a good crowd. It's a Big 12 opponent and we've had pretty good crowds for the two games we've had here."
What part of your team are you particularly pleased with development-wise?
"I'd hate to single out any position because I'm pleased with the team's overall development. I am pleased that the defense is showing signs of playing our type of defense. They're playing with intensity and causing problems for the other offense. I'm probably most pleased with that. We're on a track to be a good defensive team. There were times last year when I looked out there and couldn't believe what I was seeing."
What was the problem with last year's defense?
"Just overall play. I looked at it and that wasn't us. We allowed people to keep the ball on us. We'd have third and long and I was just as nervous as everybody else. We'd get third-and-20 and I didn't know if we could stop them or not. In years past we'd have been licking our chops, getting ready to rough somebody up. Just the intensity level of seeing people flying around, gang-tackling. The one thing that was a trademark was that we played hard. The other day we were watching the tape and I told Hank (Mike Hankwitz) what was impressive about the goal line stop was that we hit him and hit him, like it was a bunch of piranhas. Six or seven guys clawing and jumping over the top and that's the way it's supposed to look. We've taken pride in having that type of intensity, so it good seeing that come back.
Position changes ...
"Yesterday (Monday) I moved Jason Glenn to outside linebacker. He gives us another guy like we've had in the past like Marcus Buckley, Aaron Wallace, John Roper, William Thomas, Antonio Armstrong. He's that kind of guy -- a big safety that becomes a very fast linebacker. We moved Cornelius Anthony inside behind Quinton Brown. Ron Patton will move in behind Coady at safety."