Andersen confident Aggies will turn the corner in 2011
Note: This is part two of a two part postseason interview with Aggie football coach Gary Andersen.
US: Do you ever think about the state of the WAC and the changes that have both taken place and will take place?
GA: I really don’t. I have a hard time worrying about things I’m not going to be able to control, and what I can control is what we are as a program, who we are as a program, and what are the goals and core values of our program and what we have to be able to do. We’re very, very fortunate at Utah State because it is a tremendous place and it has everything we need to continue to be successful. So rather than sit back and worry about things that might happen which I can’t control, I’m much more interested in worrying about the things that I can control. First and foremost, like I always say, take care of the young men in the program, and secondly, recruit.
US: When you look around the country and see all these coaching turnovers, does part of you ever worry about your job security at USU?
GA: Let me say this – there is a lot of carryover, but each job is different and each scenario is different and I know when I walked in here I knew the goal was to always win, first and foremost. I think in college football you have to win football games to ultimately keep your job. I think you can identify, when you walk in, what a program wants and the direction the program is headed, and obviously I felt (Utah State) was heading in a tremendous direction when I accepted the job. I just started a new contract and I think that the administration looked at it and said they were going to sign us up here at Utah State for another extended period of time to continue to work to turn this program around,
I think people understand we are moving in the right direction. That is a little unique in college football, and I appreciate that as a head football coach, and so does the whole staff. But do I feel pressure in year three to win? I feel pressure every single day of my life to win – in football and, as I say it again, on and off the field. I know it means an awful lot to me as a person to lead this football program the right way, and not just come in and sign 25 junior college kids the first year and try to turn it around, only to have some success and then pick up and leave. That is not my plan.
My plan is to be here for a long time. My plan is to build it right. My plan, I know it takes time, and it doesn’t turn a program around overnight just because of the core beliefs that we have and the way we recruit. This is a tremendous place. They want to win, they all want to win, and we all want to turn it around. I believe they are giving me the opportunity here at Utah State to turn the program around the correct way, which is from a social standpoint, and academic standpoint, a football standpoint.
US: What is your opinion of players returning from injuries. Do you grant them a sense of status on the depth chart because of what they’ve accomplished in the past, or will they need to compete like everyone else for their jobs?
GA: When you step back and talk about those two players right there, you look at Robert Turbin for what he did, and Robert Turbin is going to walk in here and be the feature back at Utah State. There’s no question he has been the feature back and will continue to be the feature back. How he comes back from his injury and how he continues to develop, now will Robert Turbin be highly active in spring football and in scrimmages? Absolutely not, but he doesn’t need to be. He is a proven warrior in my opinion, and I know what he can do. I would say the exact same thing of Michael Smith and I would say the same thing of Kerwynn Williams.
The guys – the Robert Marshalls and the Joey DeMartinos and the Joe Hills – at the running back position, those are the young men who you’re going to see get the reps. If you look at Matt Austin, again I would say – although he hasn’t played a lot for us because of the two injuries he’s had – that when Matt has had the opportunity to make plays he’s shown up and when Matt has had the chance to be in camp and in spring ball he’s done a tremendous job. Matt Austin, to me, is a proven football player. We’ll let the other young men around him continue to develop, but I expect them all to be highlighted players in the program, and I would say the same thing about Stanley Morrison.
US: Is it hard coaching at a “basketball” school, or does the team’s success help you?
GA: I think it absolutely helps. You hear it all the time – at different places it’s this kind of school or that kind of school, or this may be a basketball school or this may be a football school – at different places all over the country. (We’ve) had tremendous success with the basketball program and continue to have tremendous success, and I look at that as nothing more than a huge positive for the football program. I think it brings tradition. I think it brings expectation, which is a good thing. I also think it allows kids in the program, whether in football, basketball, softball, volleyball, or whatever they may be, it makes athletics more important in the University.
– adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu