Tuesday, August 26, 2008
? Some guesswork was unavoidable when Arkansas State football coaches began preparing for the season opener at Texas A&M.
A new era begins Saturday in Aggieland with Mike Sherman?s first game as Texas A&M?s head coach. Sherman spent the last decade in the NFL, including six seasons as the Green Bay Packers? head coach and the last two as an assistant for the Houston Texans.
Steve Roberts, who begins his seventh season as ASU?s head coach when Saturday?s game kicks off at 6 p.m., said he?s not exactly sure what the Aggies will do on either side of the ball.
?Obviously in college football there is a lot of film that changes hands,? Roberts said during Monday?s Sun Belt Conference coaches teleconference. ?We keep a very extensive video library. Our coaches study a lot of NFL football during the offseason, any film we can get. What we?ve had to do was look at who was where and when and if we had a film on that, get a look at it.
?We?ve watched some Houston Texans film from when Coach Sherman was offensive coordinator there last year and we?ve gone as far back as Green Bay Packers film when he was head coach there. From a defensive perspective on A&M, Joe Kines is their new defensive coordinator and their last stop was Alabama. Obviously they?ve played a couple of people in our conference when he was there at Alabama, and we have film on that.?
And through their film exchange with Texas A&M, Red Wolves coaches were able to watch past footage of the Aggies to become acquainted with their personnel.
?It?s preparation and guessing to some degree,? Roberts said.
The Red Wolves are opening the season with a Big 12 Conference opponent for the fifth time in Roberts? tenure. ASU kicked off the 2003 season at Texas A&M, played Missouri to start the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and opened the 2007 season at Texas.
The 2003 opener in College Station wasn?t decided until A&M?s Courtney Lewis broke a 42-yard touchdown run with 3:06 to play, sealing the Aggies? 26-11 victory. Roberts came away impressed with the atmosphere at Kyle Field.
?It?s right up there with the best,? Roberts said, ?a very, very loud environment, choreographed so that everything is done in unison. It can be intimidating. I think most of our players that we?ll be counting on to play in this first ballgame have been in that type of environment before, so they know what to expect, but it?s right up there with the best environments that we?ve played in.?
ASU returns 17 starters from last year?s 5-7 squad that opened with a 21-13 loss at Texas. The Red Wolves feature junior quarterback Corey Leonard and five players who were preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections, but they will also break in new starters in key areas on Saturday.
Four new starters will join All-SBC tackle Matt Mandich on the offensive line, the secondary will feature four new starters, and the Red Wolves don?t have much experience at fullback.
Roberts expressed confidence in the players who will fill those roles.
?I think we?ve had enough competition through fall camp that it?s really elevated the level of play at those positions, especially in the offensive line,? he said. ?We?ll find out more as we compete through our non-conference schedule going live in game-type conditions, but we?ll probably play several guys at those interior spots in the offensive line.
?At fullback, I?m proud of the progress that Jeff Blake and Jermaine Robertson have made. I think we?ll be fine there. In the secondary, it?s just guys taking on new roles. They?ve functioned very well through fall camp and we expect that to continue through next Saturday.?
Texas A&M was the only team in the nation last year to have three players who rushed for 700 yards or more, led by quarterback Stephen McGee with 899. All three return this year, though Sherman said Monday that 270-pound fullback Jorvorskie Lane is questionable for the opener because of an injury.
Roberts said Texas A&M?s backfield personnel, which includes junior Mike Goodson at tailback, is intimidating.
?They do have big-play potential at tailback, a guy who can really make people miss and really run away from people,? Roberts said. ?Jorvorskie Lane is a big, big load at fullback and at tailback when they decide to use him there, a definite weapon for them. We have to get enough bodies and run well enough to the football to bring those guys down.?
? Some guesswork was unavoidable when Arkansas State football coaches began preparing for the season opener at Texas A&M.
A new era begins Saturday in Aggieland with Mike Sherman?s first game as Texas A&M?s head coach. Sherman spent the last decade in the NFL, including six seasons as the Green Bay Packers? head coach and the last two as an assistant for the Houston Texans.
Steve Roberts, who begins his seventh season as ASU?s head coach when Saturday?s game kicks off at 6 p.m., said he?s not exactly sure what the Aggies will do on either side of the ball.
?Obviously in college football there is a lot of film that changes hands,? Roberts said during Monday?s Sun Belt Conference coaches teleconference. ?We keep a very extensive video library. Our coaches study a lot of NFL football during the offseason, any film we can get. What we?ve had to do was look at who was where and when and if we had a film on that, get a look at it.
?We?ve watched some Houston Texans film from when Coach Sherman was offensive coordinator there last year and we?ve gone as far back as Green Bay Packers film when he was head coach there. From a defensive perspective on A&M, Joe Kines is their new defensive coordinator and their last stop was Alabama. Obviously they?ve played a couple of people in our conference when he was there at Alabama, and we have film on that.?
And through their film exchange with Texas A&M, Red Wolves coaches were able to watch past footage of the Aggies to become acquainted with their personnel.
?It?s preparation and guessing to some degree,? Roberts said.
The Red Wolves are opening the season with a Big 12 Conference opponent for the fifth time in Roberts? tenure. ASU kicked off the 2003 season at Texas A&M, played Missouri to start the 2004 and 2005 seasons, and opened the 2007 season at Texas.
The 2003 opener in College Station wasn?t decided until A&M?s Courtney Lewis broke a 42-yard touchdown run with 3:06 to play, sealing the Aggies? 26-11 victory. Roberts came away impressed with the atmosphere at Kyle Field.
?It?s right up there with the best,? Roberts said, ?a very, very loud environment, choreographed so that everything is done in unison. It can be intimidating. I think most of our players that we?ll be counting on to play in this first ballgame have been in that type of environment before, so they know what to expect, but it?s right up there with the best environments that we?ve played in.?
ASU returns 17 starters from last year?s 5-7 squad that opened with a 21-13 loss at Texas. The Red Wolves feature junior quarterback Corey Leonard and five players who were preseason All-Sun Belt Conference selections, but they will also break in new starters in key areas on Saturday.
Four new starters will join All-SBC tackle Matt Mandich on the offensive line, the secondary will feature four new starters, and the Red Wolves don?t have much experience at fullback.
Roberts expressed confidence in the players who will fill those roles.
?I think we?ve had enough competition through fall camp that it?s really elevated the level of play at those positions, especially in the offensive line,? he said. ?We?ll find out more as we compete through our non-conference schedule going live in game-type conditions, but we?ll probably play several guys at those interior spots in the offensive line.
?At fullback, I?m proud of the progress that Jeff Blake and Jermaine Robertson have made. I think we?ll be fine there. In the secondary, it?s just guys taking on new roles. They?ve functioned very well through fall camp and we expect that to continue through next Saturday.?
Texas A&M was the only team in the nation last year to have three players who rushed for 700 yards or more, led by quarterback Stephen McGee with 899. All three return this year, though Sherman said Monday that 270-pound fullback Jorvorskie Lane is questionable for the opener because of an injury.
Roberts said Texas A&M?s backfield personnel, which includes junior Mike Goodson at tailback, is intimidating.
?They do have big-play potential at tailback, a guy who can really make people miss and really run away from people,? Roberts said. ?Jorvorskie Lane is a big, big load at fullback and at tailback when they decide to use him there, a definite weapon for them. We have to get enough bodies and run well enough to the football to bring those guys down.?
