23 Join Football Program During Early Signing Period
Dec 19, 2018 | Football
Texas A&M signed 23 to national letters of intent during the December early signing period. Listen to or watch Jimbo Fisher's press conference below.
"As always we're really excited about the guys we have in this class so far. We've signed 22 guys, hopefully, eventually in the class we'll sign 26. Hopefully one more by Friday and then 3 later if it all works out right. Very excited.
"The thing I love about this class first of all was the diversity of it. We hit every position across the board, we hit needs, and not only just needs with players--but guys that we really wanted. The staff did a tremendous job I think of building relationships. We recruited the heck out of the state of Texas, which I think is one of the greatest football states in the country, and we try to get as many of those as we possibly could that we feel were the right guys, and we could get, and wanted to come here, all those things. But we also got to brand ourselves nationally a little bit, get across the country, get down to the Southeast a little bit, get West a little bit, everywhere. So I'm very happy with the job they did. I think they did an outstanding job of working. I tell you one of the best things I know about the relationships is because of how smooth things go. On signing day there's always one or two disasters, I don't care. I've been in it a long time. Some you see coming, some you don't see coming. Today was a very uneventful day, which made me very happy. I was smiling from ear to ear because the guys that were coming we knew were coming, they sent their letters in very early, and we got the things done for the most part.
"We had 10 offensive players, 11 defensive players and a specialist, so great balance across the board. As you know, we need linebackers…we came up with four linebackers in the group. Secondary, we wanted some secondary guys, and we got two corners and two safeties. I'm excited about that whole crew. We've got a couple D-tackles, D-end. Offense we got a quarterback, a running back, receivers, a tight end, got o-linemen… the thing is there's a lot of size in this class, a lot of length, a lot of power, athleticism, a lot of ball-skills guys that can return the ball, catch the ball, defend and tackle in space. And you better in this league. As you saw you look out there I mean we had a tremendous year but so did everybody else in this league. Everybody in this league has players. So now it gets down to player development and the things that go on. But a great day for Texas A&M, a great day for Aggie football. I talk about our assistant coaches, but our off the field people do a tremendous job, our support staff do so much, Austin (Thomas) and Leah (Knight) and everybody involved, Larry (Thompson)…I mean everybody. You can recruit them, but when you get them here, I heard from top to bottom from everyone how they were treated when they got here. Not just how nice things were but how good the people were, how welcome they made them feel, and every time they come here and knowing who they are and what to do, and they just felt very, very comfortable and very family-oriented when they were here. That's our goal. That's how we want to coach, play and develop players, that's for sure. I'm very happy. A great day. Hopefully like I said it's not over this signing period. Hopefully we get a little bit more in this one and then finish up in January and get on the 2020s and 2021s."
How important of a piece was DeMarvin Leal not just because of how great a player is but be because you're losing three seniors?
"Well I think it's huge. And he's such a versatile guy, you're talking about a guy who's 6-4, 280 pounds. He can play outside in, he can play inside rush…I mean there's a lot of things he can do. He's so athletic and diverse and is a phenomenal football player. You know the unique thing about him is he didn't take tons of visits everywhere. He didn't go to camps, he came to our camp, didn't go to Rivals camp, didn't go to this camp, didn't go to that camp…he wasn't looking for fame or stardom but I'm going to tell you what, he's one heck of a football player and I think he's as good as there is out there."
How different was today as smooth as it was to what you experienced this time last year and in February?
"Well last year we're saying hey, don't sign with anybody. wait 'til January so we can talk to you. And we got a couple guys you know we got a guy named Jace Sternberger, and I remember people saying well who the heck is that? He didn't even play in junior college. I'm glad we did. But you know that's the thing about signing day. You get so caught up in this guy or that guy but man just because someone rates a guy somewhere, which is great, I mean a lot of guys are great that get ranked high, but there's a lot of really good football players out there that people don't know and that's player development and how they come through. But it was totally different and at the end we were scrambling like heck last year and we ended up having a really good class. Again our staff did a heck of a job of going out there and getting it, and we got some guys in that class that you see really made an impact on our team this year as freshmen and I think some very dynamic guys."
How much of a second sales job did you have to do on Zach Calzada to make sure he was coming?
"Oh we did, and there's always…when you have a guy at distance sometimes that happens. There's always a little twist to the story from the other side, you know I mean? That always puts the doubt in their mind. And it's no that's not true, you're going to do this you're going to do that…I won't get into it. That's the gamesmanship. Some of it's gamesmanship, some of it is unnecessary and ridiculous, because it is trying to trick a kid. I think you ought to give them the information so they can get their future set. It is what it is. But listen, I've said this from the get-go. Zach's been my guy. I've loved him from the get-go, from the minute I saw him throw. I stopped his workout 20, 30 minutes in and said I've seen enough. You watch the film, he's a throwback guy. I think he has unbelievable arm talent. I think he's very deceivingly athletic and runs. He's tough. He's competitive. You're talking about a guy that had a collapsed lung and a broken rib this year. He could have sat out knowing he's coming here, but what'd he do? He came back two and a half weeks early for his team to go lead them to the state semifinals, which they'd never been to. They were an underdog in every game, 10, 15 points, and he leads them to victory. He's a throwback guy. I say quarterback, and everybody gets caught up in is he is a prototype? How's his footwork? Let me ask you something. Guys moved the ball down the field, and then you got to be able to ad-lib, throw different arm angles, be able to create, be able to react, be able to play the game. This guy, he reminds me of the guy that can take 10 guys off the street and go win. And to me that's what a real quarterback is. You can have those guys that are all pretty and drop right and do the camp stuff right put the right guys around them…this guy's a decision-maker. He's accurate and a phenomenal player, and we're blessed to have him, I'm telling you. I'm excited about having him."
Can you tell us what you told him to alleviate some of the concerns he might have had (this week)?
"You go through them and you sort them out but basically the end of it that's what it comes out to. Those things aren't true. I'm not a dog and pony (show) recruiter. I'm not, you know, a circus act when we recruit. It is what it is, tell me what it is and that's the way I'd want it and that's why we do
It. I said listen it ain't changing. It's what I told you. Just trust me and believe me."
This is the most highly-ranked class around here in memory. How much stock do you put in those kind of national rankings?
"Again, your national rankings don't mean anything because they're rankings. It still goes back to how the players perform, what they turn out to be, how you develop them, all those things. But at the same time I do think it's very good for your program because of marketability, credibility…kids feed off that. They see where a guy's going and they want to play with other good players. Because to win a championship especially in football you've got to have a team full of players. You can't just have a couple. I think it is very good and I think it shows you the direction we're going and the impact of a lot of guys trusting in us and in the early stages of our development as a program and where we're going, how we're doing things. Hopefully it was a sign of how we played this year. Hopefully that's the sign that kids saw things like how tough we played, how competitive we played, even though it didn't come out to the season we totally wanted. But you saw us right on the edge of being a very dynamic team. I think the atmosphere and environment right here in Kyle Field with the 12th Man and playing the dynamic games in which we did in the atmosphere and in this environment. Those kids being here and saying, you know someday I want to be out there when that when that stadium is rocking like that and playing like that, and how loyal these Aggie fans are and what this atmosphere and environment's like. And then when you go digging into the school, I mean how much you have to sell here with the academics and the culture of the place and then the Aggie Network afterwards. They don't win you a championship, but they can help you along the way as far as perception and what's going on, the marketability of where you're going and other players want to play with good players. Like I say, a lot of these guys? A lot of guys could have picked them out. It's a matter of getting them to come here because you knew they were good players."
You were talking about national branding, and you got a couple of big recruits from Florida. How beneficial is your relationship with the high school coaches down there, and for Florida itself, how important is getting the talent from there?
"Oh it is. I think you have to have supplemental areas, because there's maybe things in your state that, maybe a guy just doesn't want to go to A&M, or maybe there's a tie somewhere else, or something happens and there's not as many players—that usually doesn't happen in this state—but I think you have to be able to brand yourself to go out and find at times it can be one, it can be three, it could be seven or eight guys, that you think can win you a national championship, and things you don't have that you have to go to distance to get and finally be able to do that. You look at every team that's winning now and winning heavily, sometimes half or more kids on their roster aren't from there state. Now we won't ever be that way because we have such a great state. I saw schools today that were ranked that had eight or 10 different states represented of guys they signed. I mean that's just the way this world is. Saying all that, we have an unbelievable state here and we're going to recruit the living heck out of it, and get all these Texas guys we can possibly get, I promise. Because the coaching here and the facilities and how they do things and the development of these kids is as good as anywhere in the country. We want to get them, but we have to have the ability to go outside our home base and get guys that are difference makers if we want to win a national championship and if we want to be a relevant program nationally."
When you said Zach was a throwback guy, who are you throwing back to?
"In football, it's the guys that just picked up, and didn't worry about what the cleats looked like, didn't worry about what the shoes look like, didn't worry about what the drop looked like, were my hands perfect. Was the ball completed? Did we move the ball down the field? I know I'm hurt, I'm banged up, I'm bruised up, but guys come on let's go. We've got a job to do. That's the guys I mean. You go back to Staubach and Bradshaw and all those, go watch Brett Favre play I mean he never missed a game. It wasn't always the prettiest but I'm going to tell you what, he started to throw that football and they believed. The Dan Marinos and the Montanas and the Elways. Those guys, they were gamers, man. Not that these guys aren't. Brady's like that. Brees. Those guys that can take anybody around them and figure out what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are. And guys, trust in me. I don't care what I feel like. I don't care how I'm banged up or how I'm hurt. Let's go play ball. To me he's a guy in that mold."
What kind of player is Baylor Cupp and how can he fit into this program?
"You talk about size, speed, power, length. A guy who's 6-6, 240 pounds, remember he ran 22.4 electronic in the 200-meter finals last year and then went and threw the shot 52 feet. I mean, how many guys can do that? And then catches the ball and runs, and plays offense, plays defense. There's another guy who doesn't care about, didn't go to any (camps)…no one had even heard of Baylor Cupp. Some in-state schools were recruiting him and we get him and people start looking around and saying look at this guy. Yeah, he's as good as anybody out there. He didn't go to all the crazy camps, didn't go promote himself. He said I know what I want to do and I know where I want to come. He's just a ballplayer. He's a kid who's smart, he's tough, and those guys are hard matchups, man. When you're 6-6, 240 and can run like him…he ran 4.55 in our camp two or three different times. Broad jump 10'6". Vertical 36 inches. The things he did athletically just were amazing, but then he went he went through three days of camp. A lot of guys come to a day or two here…he went through three days of camp. Every rep of every drill of everything he did. He just loves to play ball. You've got guys like that that have that kind of ability…now you don't ever predict futures for anybody, but they have it and they have the right mentality."
This is a DB class that is really good on paper. How important was it to get the JUCO player to maybe give you some immediate help?
"I think it was because you saw my guys who played in college games, and and then we lost a player and we had to have a guy there, and I think it was a great thing. He is such a long guy, 6-2, 6-2 ½, 185 pounds that runs under 4.4 that can return kicks and can get up on you and press your run. He's a very dynamic player. Eric is just a good football player. Every camp he went to, everything he did, he just shined like crazy. And then those two safeties, I wouldn't trade them for anybody in America. You talk about guys who can run and cover and hit and play, I mean it's a very, very dynamic class. I love those guys and I'm telling you what…all very intelligent, all football guys, and all very sound in their decision-making. Just very mature guys."
In signing such a huge class early this year, do the recruits all decide to sign together?
"In today's world they communicate so much more. Because one, they pick up a phone and they've got Twitter, they've got the Instagram…I'm not a social media guy so whatever the heck they're on talking they do all the time. But then there are camps together and they know each other, and then other guys want to play with other guys. They get good players. Guys recruit each other. Because listen, I want you, you're a great player. It's like I always say, when you go to the park, you know what guy you want on your team, you know what I mean? No, you're playing with me man, come on. We're going. We're up now. Guys do that now, but I think the relationships we were able to build for a year so they knew what we're about, what we did, how the season went, where our direction is, where we see the vision for them…we had time to spend with them to do it. And then I think they just bonded together. This group is a very tight-knit group."
I'm sure there are some new coaches right now that are gnashing their teeth in the position you were a year ago. Have you come around on early signing day in terms of the timing?
"I mean it's great once you're here, but man it is tough when it is. I'm going to say that. It is still tough on new guys where it is. They're not going to probably push it to August, at least not for a while. I always said that, I always thought you know at the beginning of August was always really good. I still don't think that's wrong, I really don't. Because I think it helps the assistant coaches, I really believe that. But at the same time you know (December is) still better than going all the way to February. I'd rather have it then, but it's still better than (February). Having an early signing period, we needed something. The way you're recruiting now, how many classes you're recruiting, it gives you at least that January. And here's the thing I struggle with, as a head football coach, you can't go talk to juniors. But you can be in that school, and have a presence, and talk to the coach, and I can go talk to the counselor, I can talk to the teacher. I can say how is this young man, and you as a head coach being in there represents it even…I mean the assistant coaches are great but when the head coaches are out there it promotes the game. And kids know you're in there. And it gives me the ability to go out and intermingle with the people and get to know my guys better because otherwise in January I'm still doing a lot of visits with the guys that I'm trying to sign. That's the only time I'm allowed on the road is December in January, to go out and mingle with the people who were involved with these kids. Now the home visits in December with the seniors and I'll get some of those in are great, but if you can do those early as juniors and find out from the teachers, from the coaches, from the janitor…me doing that too is a big factor, you know I'm saying? Or being at a basketball game. You can't go talk to the guy but I can go watch him play high school basketball or whatever sport he's playing during those two months. It gives me a better evaluation of him, watch him compete, know him, and I think it promotes the game of football because I think with all the crazy things going on football right now I think it's very important for the head coaches to be out pushing the game of football and letting people know it's such a great game and that we're going to be here for a long time."
Speaking of basketball, RJ Orebo looks like he could with his size play small forward for Billy Kennedy…how intriguing is that at linebacker, maybe at end?
"It is. Guys that have length, I always say this, big guys do more on accident than little guys do on purpose. I mean, you've got to be special, but big guys I mean even though you're not rushing you step up, you tip a ball, you get in a passing lane…size and length matter when you're talking about players, they really do. Now it's not saying little guys can't play, we've got guys everywhere, but at the same time when you can get big, athletic guys it makes a difference and the versatility it creates. There's so many ways to match up things now. And football is very much like basketball. Are there positions in basketball anymore? It seems like everybody is 6-4 to 6-10, run the court, they play the wing, play the post, they shoot it from three, they pick-and-roll…the 6-10 guys are doing that and the guards are underneath. And football, when you're matching up, you've got a third-down package, you've got a second-down package, you've got a heavy package, you've got a nickel package, you got a dime…I've got to match a big slot, I've got to match a little slot…mixing and matching types of players. When you can get two or three or four players in one that's very important in your evaluations today in my opinion."
I was going to have a two-parter, asking how many 6-7 linebackers you had recruited and along with that how many guys you recruited who didn't win a game their senior year…
"I tell you one of the best ones I ever coached in my life was a guy named Joseph Addai. We recruited him, signed him at LSU from Sharpstown, he's a left-handed option quarterback that went 0-10, he had a blown knee at the time. We took him to LSU and all he did was come lead us to a national championship, play in a bunch of SEC Championships, was a first-round draft pick, won a Super Bowl and played in three or four Pro Bowls. So that was pretty good. He was from right down in that same area down there in Houston. A guy named Devery Henderson. Ever heard of Devery Henderson? Played with the New Orleans Saints, played 10 years, played receiver number 19, could fly. Ran a 20.7 in the 200 meters and a 10.4 100-meters out of high school. He played for us at LSU, was All-American and All-SEC and everything with Michael Clayton and that national championship team. Then played 10 years in the league. He was 0-10 in Opelousas as a tailback. Sometimes you get a respect for a guy, all right, I'm 0-10, and you go watch him play his tail off and not matter what his record is and still give effort and not fall into that trap that sometimes you do when you're 0-10. Sometimes it tells more about you than when you're 10-0."
With the majority of your class signed do you know how many guys are expected to enroll early and how important is it to get them here that semester?
"I believe it's seven or eight is the number. I think that's right."
Click here to visit Signing Day Central.
COACH FISHER PRESS CONFERENCE: OPENING STATEMENT
"As always we're really excited about the guys we have in this class so far. We've signed 22 guys, hopefully, eventually in the class we'll sign 26. Hopefully one more by Friday and then 3 later if it all works out right. Very excited.
"The thing I love about this class first of all was the diversity of it. We hit every position across the board, we hit needs, and not only just needs with players--but guys that we really wanted. The staff did a tremendous job I think of building relationships. We recruited the heck out of the state of Texas, which I think is one of the greatest football states in the country, and we try to get as many of those as we possibly could that we feel were the right guys, and we could get, and wanted to come here, all those things. But we also got to brand ourselves nationally a little bit, get across the country, get down to the Southeast a little bit, get West a little bit, everywhere. So I'm very happy with the job they did. I think they did an outstanding job of working. I tell you one of the best things I know about the relationships is because of how smooth things go. On signing day there's always one or two disasters, I don't care. I've been in it a long time. Some you see coming, some you don't see coming. Today was a very uneventful day, which made me very happy. I was smiling from ear to ear because the guys that were coming we knew were coming, they sent their letters in very early, and we got the things done for the most part.
"We had 10 offensive players, 11 defensive players and a specialist, so great balance across the board. As you know, we need linebackers…we came up with four linebackers in the group. Secondary, we wanted some secondary guys, and we got two corners and two safeties. I'm excited about that whole crew. We've got a couple D-tackles, D-end. Offense we got a quarterback, a running back, receivers, a tight end, got o-linemen… the thing is there's a lot of size in this class, a lot of length, a lot of power, athleticism, a lot of ball-skills guys that can return the ball, catch the ball, defend and tackle in space. And you better in this league. As you saw you look out there I mean we had a tremendous year but so did everybody else in this league. Everybody in this league has players. So now it gets down to player development and the things that go on. But a great day for Texas A&M, a great day for Aggie football. I talk about our assistant coaches, but our off the field people do a tremendous job, our support staff do so much, Austin (Thomas) and Leah (Knight) and everybody involved, Larry (Thompson)…I mean everybody. You can recruit them, but when you get them here, I heard from top to bottom from everyone how they were treated when they got here. Not just how nice things were but how good the people were, how welcome they made them feel, and every time they come here and knowing who they are and what to do, and they just felt very, very comfortable and very family-oriented when they were here. That's our goal. That's how we want to coach, play and develop players, that's for sure. I'm very happy. A great day. Hopefully like I said it's not over this signing period. Hopefully we get a little bit more in this one and then finish up in January and get on the 2020s and 2021s."
How important of a piece was DeMarvin Leal not just because of how great a player is but be because you're losing three seniors?
"Well I think it's huge. And he's such a versatile guy, you're talking about a guy who's 6-4, 280 pounds. He can play outside in, he can play inside rush…I mean there's a lot of things he can do. He's so athletic and diverse and is a phenomenal football player. You know the unique thing about him is he didn't take tons of visits everywhere. He didn't go to camps, he came to our camp, didn't go to Rivals camp, didn't go to this camp, didn't go to that camp…he wasn't looking for fame or stardom but I'm going to tell you what, he's one heck of a football player and I think he's as good as there is out there."
How different was today as smooth as it was to what you experienced this time last year and in February?
"Well last year we're saying hey, don't sign with anybody. wait 'til January so we can talk to you. And we got a couple guys you know we got a guy named Jace Sternberger, and I remember people saying well who the heck is that? He didn't even play in junior college. I'm glad we did. But you know that's the thing about signing day. You get so caught up in this guy or that guy but man just because someone rates a guy somewhere, which is great, I mean a lot of guys are great that get ranked high, but there's a lot of really good football players out there that people don't know and that's player development and how they come through. But it was totally different and at the end we were scrambling like heck last year and we ended up having a really good class. Again our staff did a heck of a job of going out there and getting it, and we got some guys in that class that you see really made an impact on our team this year as freshmen and I think some very dynamic guys."
How much of a second sales job did you have to do on Zach Calzada to make sure he was coming?
"Oh we did, and there's always…when you have a guy at distance sometimes that happens. There's always a little twist to the story from the other side, you know I mean? That always puts the doubt in their mind. And it's no that's not true, you're going to do this you're going to do that…I won't get into it. That's the gamesmanship. Some of it's gamesmanship, some of it is unnecessary and ridiculous, because it is trying to trick a kid. I think you ought to give them the information so they can get their future set. It is what it is. But listen, I've said this from the get-go. Zach's been my guy. I've loved him from the get-go, from the minute I saw him throw. I stopped his workout 20, 30 minutes in and said I've seen enough. You watch the film, he's a throwback guy. I think he has unbelievable arm talent. I think he's very deceivingly athletic and runs. He's tough. He's competitive. You're talking about a guy that had a collapsed lung and a broken rib this year. He could have sat out knowing he's coming here, but what'd he do? He came back two and a half weeks early for his team to go lead them to the state semifinals, which they'd never been to. They were an underdog in every game, 10, 15 points, and he leads them to victory. He's a throwback guy. I say quarterback, and everybody gets caught up in is he is a prototype? How's his footwork? Let me ask you something. Guys moved the ball down the field, and then you got to be able to ad-lib, throw different arm angles, be able to create, be able to react, be able to play the game. This guy, he reminds me of the guy that can take 10 guys off the street and go win. And to me that's what a real quarterback is. You can have those guys that are all pretty and drop right and do the camp stuff right put the right guys around them…this guy's a decision-maker. He's accurate and a phenomenal player, and we're blessed to have him, I'm telling you. I'm excited about having him."
Can you tell us what you told him to alleviate some of the concerns he might have had (this week)?
"You go through them and you sort them out but basically the end of it that's what it comes out to. Those things aren't true. I'm not a dog and pony (show) recruiter. I'm not, you know, a circus act when we recruit. It is what it is, tell me what it is and that's the way I'd want it and that's why we do
It. I said listen it ain't changing. It's what I told you. Just trust me and believe me."
This is the most highly-ranked class around here in memory. How much stock do you put in those kind of national rankings?
"Again, your national rankings don't mean anything because they're rankings. It still goes back to how the players perform, what they turn out to be, how you develop them, all those things. But at the same time I do think it's very good for your program because of marketability, credibility…kids feed off that. They see where a guy's going and they want to play with other good players. Because to win a championship especially in football you've got to have a team full of players. You can't just have a couple. I think it is very good and I think it shows you the direction we're going and the impact of a lot of guys trusting in us and in the early stages of our development as a program and where we're going, how we're doing things. Hopefully it was a sign of how we played this year. Hopefully that's the sign that kids saw things like how tough we played, how competitive we played, even though it didn't come out to the season we totally wanted. But you saw us right on the edge of being a very dynamic team. I think the atmosphere and environment right here in Kyle Field with the 12th Man and playing the dynamic games in which we did in the atmosphere and in this environment. Those kids being here and saying, you know someday I want to be out there when that when that stadium is rocking like that and playing like that, and how loyal these Aggie fans are and what this atmosphere and environment's like. And then when you go digging into the school, I mean how much you have to sell here with the academics and the culture of the place and then the Aggie Network afterwards. They don't win you a championship, but they can help you along the way as far as perception and what's going on, the marketability of where you're going and other players want to play with good players. Like I say, a lot of these guys? A lot of guys could have picked them out. It's a matter of getting them to come here because you knew they were good players."
You were talking about national branding, and you got a couple of big recruits from Florida. How beneficial is your relationship with the high school coaches down there, and for Florida itself, how important is getting the talent from there?
"Oh it is. I think you have to have supplemental areas, because there's maybe things in your state that, maybe a guy just doesn't want to go to A&M, or maybe there's a tie somewhere else, or something happens and there's not as many players—that usually doesn't happen in this state—but I think you have to be able to brand yourself to go out and find at times it can be one, it can be three, it could be seven or eight guys, that you think can win you a national championship, and things you don't have that you have to go to distance to get and finally be able to do that. You look at every team that's winning now and winning heavily, sometimes half or more kids on their roster aren't from there state. Now we won't ever be that way because we have such a great state. I saw schools today that were ranked that had eight or 10 different states represented of guys they signed. I mean that's just the way this world is. Saying all that, we have an unbelievable state here and we're going to recruit the living heck out of it, and get all these Texas guys we can possibly get, I promise. Because the coaching here and the facilities and how they do things and the development of these kids is as good as anywhere in the country. We want to get them, but we have to have the ability to go outside our home base and get guys that are difference makers if we want to win a national championship and if we want to be a relevant program nationally."
When you said Zach was a throwback guy, who are you throwing back to?
"In football, it's the guys that just picked up, and didn't worry about what the cleats looked like, didn't worry about what the shoes look like, didn't worry about what the drop looked like, were my hands perfect. Was the ball completed? Did we move the ball down the field? I know I'm hurt, I'm banged up, I'm bruised up, but guys come on let's go. We've got a job to do. That's the guys I mean. You go back to Staubach and Bradshaw and all those, go watch Brett Favre play I mean he never missed a game. It wasn't always the prettiest but I'm going to tell you what, he started to throw that football and they believed. The Dan Marinos and the Montanas and the Elways. Those guys, they were gamers, man. Not that these guys aren't. Brady's like that. Brees. Those guys that can take anybody around them and figure out what their strengths are and what their weaknesses are. And guys, trust in me. I don't care what I feel like. I don't care how I'm banged up or how I'm hurt. Let's go play ball. To me he's a guy in that mold."
What kind of player is Baylor Cupp and how can he fit into this program?
"You talk about size, speed, power, length. A guy who's 6-6, 240 pounds, remember he ran 22.4 electronic in the 200-meter finals last year and then went and threw the shot 52 feet. I mean, how many guys can do that? And then catches the ball and runs, and plays offense, plays defense. There's another guy who doesn't care about, didn't go to any (camps)…no one had even heard of Baylor Cupp. Some in-state schools were recruiting him and we get him and people start looking around and saying look at this guy. Yeah, he's as good as anybody out there. He didn't go to all the crazy camps, didn't go promote himself. He said I know what I want to do and I know where I want to come. He's just a ballplayer. He's a kid who's smart, he's tough, and those guys are hard matchups, man. When you're 6-6, 240 and can run like him…he ran 4.55 in our camp two or three different times. Broad jump 10'6". Vertical 36 inches. The things he did athletically just were amazing, but then he went he went through three days of camp. A lot of guys come to a day or two here…he went through three days of camp. Every rep of every drill of everything he did. He just loves to play ball. You've got guys like that that have that kind of ability…now you don't ever predict futures for anybody, but they have it and they have the right mentality."
This is a DB class that is really good on paper. How important was it to get the JUCO player to maybe give you some immediate help?
"I think it was because you saw my guys who played in college games, and and then we lost a player and we had to have a guy there, and I think it was a great thing. He is such a long guy, 6-2, 6-2 ½, 185 pounds that runs under 4.4 that can return kicks and can get up on you and press your run. He's a very dynamic player. Eric is just a good football player. Every camp he went to, everything he did, he just shined like crazy. And then those two safeties, I wouldn't trade them for anybody in America. You talk about guys who can run and cover and hit and play, I mean it's a very, very dynamic class. I love those guys and I'm telling you what…all very intelligent, all football guys, and all very sound in their decision-making. Just very mature guys."
In signing such a huge class early this year, do the recruits all decide to sign together?
"In today's world they communicate so much more. Because one, they pick up a phone and they've got Twitter, they've got the Instagram…I'm not a social media guy so whatever the heck they're on talking they do all the time. But then there are camps together and they know each other, and then other guys want to play with other guys. They get good players. Guys recruit each other. Because listen, I want you, you're a great player. It's like I always say, when you go to the park, you know what guy you want on your team, you know what I mean? No, you're playing with me man, come on. We're going. We're up now. Guys do that now, but I think the relationships we were able to build for a year so they knew what we're about, what we did, how the season went, where our direction is, where we see the vision for them…we had time to spend with them to do it. And then I think they just bonded together. This group is a very tight-knit group."
I'm sure there are some new coaches right now that are gnashing their teeth in the position you were a year ago. Have you come around on early signing day in terms of the timing?
"I mean it's great once you're here, but man it is tough when it is. I'm going to say that. It is still tough on new guys where it is. They're not going to probably push it to August, at least not for a while. I always said that, I always thought you know at the beginning of August was always really good. I still don't think that's wrong, I really don't. Because I think it helps the assistant coaches, I really believe that. But at the same time you know (December is) still better than going all the way to February. I'd rather have it then, but it's still better than (February). Having an early signing period, we needed something. The way you're recruiting now, how many classes you're recruiting, it gives you at least that January. And here's the thing I struggle with, as a head football coach, you can't go talk to juniors. But you can be in that school, and have a presence, and talk to the coach, and I can go talk to the counselor, I can talk to the teacher. I can say how is this young man, and you as a head coach being in there represents it even…I mean the assistant coaches are great but when the head coaches are out there it promotes the game. And kids know you're in there. And it gives me the ability to go out and intermingle with the people and get to know my guys better because otherwise in January I'm still doing a lot of visits with the guys that I'm trying to sign. That's the only time I'm allowed on the road is December in January, to go out and mingle with the people who were involved with these kids. Now the home visits in December with the seniors and I'll get some of those in are great, but if you can do those early as juniors and find out from the teachers, from the coaches, from the janitor…me doing that too is a big factor, you know I'm saying? Or being at a basketball game. You can't go talk to the guy but I can go watch him play high school basketball or whatever sport he's playing during those two months. It gives me a better evaluation of him, watch him compete, know him, and I think it promotes the game of football because I think with all the crazy things going on football right now I think it's very important for the head coaches to be out pushing the game of football and letting people know it's such a great game and that we're going to be here for a long time."
Speaking of basketball, RJ Orebo looks like he could with his size play small forward for Billy Kennedy…how intriguing is that at linebacker, maybe at end?
"It is. Guys that have length, I always say this, big guys do more on accident than little guys do on purpose. I mean, you've got to be special, but big guys I mean even though you're not rushing you step up, you tip a ball, you get in a passing lane…size and length matter when you're talking about players, they really do. Now it's not saying little guys can't play, we've got guys everywhere, but at the same time when you can get big, athletic guys it makes a difference and the versatility it creates. There's so many ways to match up things now. And football is very much like basketball. Are there positions in basketball anymore? It seems like everybody is 6-4 to 6-10, run the court, they play the wing, play the post, they shoot it from three, they pick-and-roll…the 6-10 guys are doing that and the guards are underneath. And football, when you're matching up, you've got a third-down package, you've got a second-down package, you've got a heavy package, you've got a nickel package, you got a dime…I've got to match a big slot, I've got to match a little slot…mixing and matching types of players. When you can get two or three or four players in one that's very important in your evaluations today in my opinion."
I was going to have a two-parter, asking how many 6-7 linebackers you had recruited and along with that how many guys you recruited who didn't win a game their senior year…
"I tell you one of the best ones I ever coached in my life was a guy named Joseph Addai. We recruited him, signed him at LSU from Sharpstown, he's a left-handed option quarterback that went 0-10, he had a blown knee at the time. We took him to LSU and all he did was come lead us to a national championship, play in a bunch of SEC Championships, was a first-round draft pick, won a Super Bowl and played in three or four Pro Bowls. So that was pretty good. He was from right down in that same area down there in Houston. A guy named Devery Henderson. Ever heard of Devery Henderson? Played with the New Orleans Saints, played 10 years, played receiver number 19, could fly. Ran a 20.7 in the 200 meters and a 10.4 100-meters out of high school. He played for us at LSU, was All-American and All-SEC and everything with Michael Clayton and that national championship team. Then played 10 years in the league. He was 0-10 in Opelousas as a tailback. Sometimes you get a respect for a guy, all right, I'm 0-10, and you go watch him play his tail off and not matter what his record is and still give effort and not fall into that trap that sometimes you do when you're 0-10. Sometimes it tells more about you than when you're 10-0."
With the majority of your class signed do you know how many guys are expected to enroll early and how important is it to get them here that semester?
"I believe it's seven or eight is the number. I think that's right."
Players Mentioned
Miami Postgame: Klein, Reed, Craver
Saturday, December 20
Miami Postgame: Bateman, York, Brooks, Sanford
Saturday, December 20
Miami Postgame: Mike Elko
Saturday, December 20
One-on-One: Holmon Wiggins
Thursday, December 18
