Q: When you go out to these booster events this offseason, how much different is it from a year ago?
A: The energy and enthusiasm has always been really positive ever since we've been here. People weren't at all discouraged. They sort of knew we had to do some building. We're pleased with the progress we made to this point, but not satisfied. What I try to do is get everybody to understand the goals are the same, but the inspiration is a little different. Once you get good, you need a total disposition about staying good. ... Now the challenge is you've got to want to be the best. That's a never-ending process. That's got to be the motivation. It's not about being embarrassed or trying to prove something.
Q: Have the players bought into that attitude?
A: We had a good spring, but I don't think the true team chemistry really surfaces until the summertime. The coaches are always with the guys in spring practice. In the summer, the coaches aren't there as much. That's when the true leadership starts to emerge. You start to see the core buy-in that everybody has in terms of how they go about what they do. They have to work with the strength and conditioning coaches. For the first time, the responsibility becomes theirs instead of somebody making them do it. That's where the true chemistry (develops); you see what the team might be.
Q: Is the program where you thought it'd be at this point?
A: I didn't have any thoughts where it would be. I just know where it was the first day. Then we managed it the second day, the third day, the fifth month and the sixth month, the first season, then the second season. Our thing is you've got to have a lot of intensity but also a sense of urgency -- continue to get better, and manage the positives and negatives you deal with every day. That's all I focus on. I never had any thoughts of what it should have been, what it could have been, what it's gonna be or when it's gonna be that.
Q: How much do your (No. 1-ranked) recruiting rankings fuel expectations?
A: It's nice to be recognized, and I certainly have respect for the people doing the recognizing. But football is such a developmental game. I ask kids, "Are you a lot better now than you were as a freshman in high school?" They all say yeah. "Well, you're gonna be a lot better player as a junior, a senior in college than a freshman. Now can we get back to why you improved?"
We (don't want) the players themselves caught up in that. The fans sometimes get caught up in the instant self-gratification of it all. The expectations affect the players, too. When they don't have success, they get frustrated. That sets them back so they're not making the progress they need to make.
Q: Is football the hardest sport to project the future of a player?
A: It's a developmental game because of the physical nature of the game. There's so many skill sets involved because of the different positions. Offensive line, receivers, the running backs, quarterbacks ... you've got so many different skill sets, and if a guy has a fatal flaw at any position, it will impede his development.
Q: This offseason nationally has been focused on the SEC coaches and their verbal jabs going back and forth. What are your thoughts?
A: I try to stay out of the spotlight. I don't try to sensationalize anybody. I'm not trying to entertain. I'm trying to give information and give access to me and tell about our program. I'm not saying anybody did that or does that. But to me, I want to represent our organization in the first-class way and be the kind of role model and leader that other people can emulate.
I'm not saying our way of doing it is right, but that's what we've always done and how we try to do it. The way I look at it is, if you don't want somebody to know something, don't say it. If you don't want them to see you do something, don't do it.
Q: The SEC commissioner plans to address this at the spring meetings -- should he be getting involved?
A: None of this (jaw-jacking) do I know a lot about because I don't pay much attention to it, because it's nothing I can control. It's nothing that affects us and what we do. I respect our commissioner. When he says something, I'll listen and try to do it. At the same time, it's not an issue for me. What somebody else does, I don't have a lot of control over.
A: The energy and enthusiasm has always been really positive ever since we've been here. People weren't at all discouraged. They sort of knew we had to do some building. We're pleased with the progress we made to this point, but not satisfied. What I try to do is get everybody to understand the goals are the same, but the inspiration is a little different. Once you get good, you need a total disposition about staying good. ... Now the challenge is you've got to want to be the best. That's a never-ending process. That's got to be the motivation. It's not about being embarrassed or trying to prove something.
Q: Have the players bought into that attitude?
A: We had a good spring, but I don't think the true team chemistry really surfaces until the summertime. The coaches are always with the guys in spring practice. In the summer, the coaches aren't there as much. That's when the true leadership starts to emerge. You start to see the core buy-in that everybody has in terms of how they go about what they do. They have to work with the strength and conditioning coaches. For the first time, the responsibility becomes theirs instead of somebody making them do it. That's where the true chemistry (develops); you see what the team might be.
Q: Is the program where you thought it'd be at this point?
A: I didn't have any thoughts where it would be. I just know where it was the first day. Then we managed it the second day, the third day, the fifth month and the sixth month, the first season, then the second season. Our thing is you've got to have a lot of intensity but also a sense of urgency -- continue to get better, and manage the positives and negatives you deal with every day. That's all I focus on. I never had any thoughts of what it should have been, what it could have been, what it's gonna be or when it's gonna be that.
Q: How much do your (No. 1-ranked) recruiting rankings fuel expectations?
A: It's nice to be recognized, and I certainly have respect for the people doing the recognizing. But football is such a developmental game. I ask kids, "Are you a lot better now than you were as a freshman in high school?" They all say yeah. "Well, you're gonna be a lot better player as a junior, a senior in college than a freshman. Now can we get back to why you improved?"
We (don't want) the players themselves caught up in that. The fans sometimes get caught up in the instant self-gratification of it all. The expectations affect the players, too. When they don't have success, they get frustrated. That sets them back so they're not making the progress they need to make.
Q: Is football the hardest sport to project the future of a player?
A: It's a developmental game because of the physical nature of the game. There's so many skill sets involved because of the different positions. Offensive line, receivers, the running backs, quarterbacks ... you've got so many different skill sets, and if a guy has a fatal flaw at any position, it will impede his development.
Q: This offseason nationally has been focused on the SEC coaches and their verbal jabs going back and forth. What are your thoughts?
A: I try to stay out of the spotlight. I don't try to sensationalize anybody. I'm not trying to entertain. I'm trying to give information and give access to me and tell about our program. I'm not saying anybody did that or does that. But to me, I want to represent our organization in the first-class way and be the kind of role model and leader that other people can emulate.
I'm not saying our way of doing it is right, but that's what we've always done and how we try to do it. The way I look at it is, if you don't want somebody to know something, don't say it. If you don't want them to see you do something, don't do it.
Q: The SEC commissioner plans to address this at the spring meetings -- should he be getting involved?
A: None of this (jaw-jacking) do I know a lot about because I don't pay much attention to it, because it's nothing I can control. It's nothing that affects us and what we do. I respect our commissioner. When he says something, I'll listen and try to do it. At the same time, it's not an issue for me. What somebody else does, I don't have a lot of control over.
