Big 12 Media Days: Day One
Big 12 Media Days have kicked off with
Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Texas A&M and Iowa State.
You can probably guess most of the questions before they are asked,
but at least we get to start thinking about the season.
Omaha World-Herald has video of the day.
Nebraska
"If they start talking about being the North favorite, I can ground them pretty quick.
It's not about all that" - Bo Peiini
Bo Peilin and Bill Snyder have made up.
Nebraska coach Bo Pelini apparently has made up with Kansas State coach Bill Snyder.
Pelini was involved in a celebrated shouting match with Snyder after KSU notched a 38-9 victory over the Cornhuskers in Lincoln in 2003 when Pelini was defensive coordinator on Frank Solich's final team.
"That's nothing," Pelini said. "It's water under the bridge. It's nothing that I'm concerned about or Coach Snyder is."
Offensive tackle Jaivorio Burkes is out for the season.
So what will it take for Nebraska to win games?
"The biggest thing for us is to limit our (defensive) mistakes," said Suh, a senior picked as the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year by the media. "We won most of our games at the end of last season when we stopped making mistakes.
"So as long as we can get the offense back the ball, we're going to win games."
Oklahoma State
Boone PIckens U. has big plans for next season.
Mike Gundy’s fifth season as head coach, can the Cowboys really improve enough defensively to make a run at the grand prize?
"If we stay healthy and the ball bounces our way, we’ve got a chance. We’re excited about this season," Gundy said during Monday’s opening round of the three-day Big 12 Media Days session. "You’ve got to have a little luck, you know.
"There may be some teams that have more talent from an overall standpoint than we do. We’ve got key (players) who have to stay healthy. But if we do stay healthy, I think we’re getting to a level where (a national title) could happen."
OSU got the same question over and over.
Time and again, whether it was on TV’s College Football Live or First Take, or on the radio with Mike & Mike In The Morning or the late-night stuff or even chatting on the Web, inevitably one of the first few questions to come at Gundy was something to the effect of "Yeah, you guys are going to be good but come on, you’ve still got to play Texas and Oklahoma. Don’t you get tired of that?"
Passing the buck...
On the close losses OSU has suffered against Texas over the last few years:
"I'd like to blame myself, but we were in a couple of them with coach (Les) Miles, so I blame part of them on him.
Texas A&M
Mike Sherman gets this question a lot:
On having to rebuild while playing in the Big 12 South:
"I'm probably asked that question as much as any question, about coming into the Big 12 South. Did you know it was going to be this tough?
"I spend more time thinking about our team. I've always been that way. You can take care of business at home before you worry about other people's business."
There is progress in College Station.
Aggies coach Mike Sherman knows he has a tough job turning his team around, but said he feels there has been tremendous progress so far.
``I think despite the record last season, I could see several areas of our program get better across the board. Y'know, we don't have guys miss class, we don't have guys who are disrespectful, we have guys who are going to their tutors and taking care of their business. We don't have guys missing workouts...And we've had some attrition along the way, so it's not for every body, but we challenge these guys pretty hard, and they've handled it quite well.
Speed is key to Aggie success.
The Aggies have a need for speed and that is what Sherman is going after.
"In regards to this incoming class and the (2010) class we want to address some issues on our team in regard to speed on the defensive side of the ball and (at) receiver," Sherman said, "and also size and strength on the offensive line. I think we have addressed these issues."Thus, speed and interior line is a key for the Aggies.
Sherman's daughter put the season in perspective:
As Sherman was working on his study, his daughter didn't mince words about the way the Aggies' 4-8 season ended.
"I was very quiet, by myself," Sherman said. "And my daughter comes in and sits on my lap. She looks up at me and she says, 'Daddy.' "
"I said 'Yes, Selena, what's up?' You know you're expecting to hear those three words you want to hear, which is you know, I love you."
But Selena's reaction was a little different.
"She says, 'Daddy, get over it,' " Sherman said. "And then she got up off my seat and went back and watched television. It was a long weekend. But out of the mouth of babes, you get great advice."
Wide receiver Roger Holland is out for the season.
Iowa State
Paul Rhodes has at least one positive thing going for the team: attitude.
One positive the new coach has going for him is the team’s attitude.
"You would think that, with the things that were inherited from 10 straight losses, from not being able to win a Big 12 football game last year, to having the longest road losing streak in the country (that) you would walk into a group of young men who have their heads down and couldn’t escape the challenge to begin with," Rhoads said. "I have not felt that from Day One.
"And we’ve attacked those (losing) numbers. We don’t hide from them. We don’t try to brush them under the carpet. I see a football team that is hungry."
What has been Rhodes biggest challenge as a head coach?
"The biggest difference that I've encountered is what comes through my office on a daily basis. I deal a lot less with Xs and Os and the specific recruitment of a certain area as I did as a position coach and as a coordinator.
Thoughts on Gene Chizik?
It didn't take many player interviews to realize the Cyclones are thrilled with Rhoads' arrival. Consider this exchange between a reporter and ISU defensive lineman Nate Frere. I think his comments are self explanatory.
Frere: "I think Coach Rhoads is a great motivator of young men. He's a people person. That's one of his bigger strong points."
Reporter: "If someone would ask you if Coach Chizik was a people person, what would you say?"
Frere: "I'd say, 'No comment.' "