Sky is the limit if Ags take down UNLV
To you Aggie football skeptics that are sick of numbers like 1-11 and 3-8, may I make a plea that you not start your countdown to the basketball season just yet.
If you don’t know why I said that, you must be new to USU and completely unacquainted with the mighty struggling of the Aggie football team through much of the past 20 or so years.
Don’t start your countdown yet because I suggest the 2007 season, which begins at Romney Stadium Thursday at 6:05 p.m. against the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, will be better.
Now you ask, “How can this be? Don’t you know the Aggies’ best quarterback of last year (a true freshman and graduate of Logan High School, who threw the winning touchdown pass in the team’s only win) is serving an LDS Church mission in Spain? Have you even looked at the schedule? Did you fail to notice words like ‘Oklahoma,’ ‘Boise State’ and ‘Hawaii’ on there? Some hard-core pessimists are saying the Ags might go 0-12. They’ve been picked to finish eighth in a Western Athletic Conference loaded with talent. Where do you come up with the word ‘better’ to describe this year’s 12 games?”
I’m not about to proclaim a 12-0 season of first downs in abundance, touchdown passes on every drive and crunching quarterback sacks.
But, I’ve been a fan and follower of Aggie athletics since I was 8, and I’ve seen enough to know when things are on the verge to change for the better.
For one thing, look at the leadership in the athletic department. Under Athletic Director Randy Spetman’s leadership savvy, the north end zone complex has brought Romney Stadium, and Aggie athletics as a whole, up to date. Make no mistake – this complex, which affects all 16 university-sanctioned sports, will lead to better recruiting, more talented and experienced teams, and eventual winning seasons at USU.
Another aspect of that leadership is Head Coach Brent Guy. He carries with him similar qualities in management, organization and trying his very hardest to get the job done. Following last season’s dismal and disappointing one-win, 11-loss season, Guy and his associates literally turned things upside down and backward to find the solution to fix whatever was wrong.
During the annual team Media Day in early August, Guy spoke of completely redoing the squad’s off-season spring program – everything from having players go from three days to five days of lifting weights to walking and talking team members through situations when they couldn’t do it in pads.
And then there is new offensive coordinator Darrell Dickey, a former head coach at North Texas, where he guided the Mean Green to four consecutive conference championships. Dickey, with his fun Texas drawl, is an easy guy to talk to, and the players took a quick liking to him, even if for some of them he was their fourth offensive coordinator in four years.
“After lengthy discussions with Coach Guy, I strongly believe in how he is going about building this program,” Dickey said.
The optimism and nobility of good and dedicated leaders is contagious. And the Aggies, who haven’t won a game since Oct. 7, 2006, need that as well as the confidence that comes with victory.
“I’m constantly looking at myself and asking what I can do different to get these guys over the hump,” Guy said. “The more games you win, the more confidence you get. It’s something we have to do.”
A taste of success – no matter how small it might be – is critical for the Aggie football squad this season. No matter how pampered the team might be (which is a criticism of late by some fans and athletes from other university sports), it’s important to realize that it is still very hard to go out on the field against monstrous opponents, knowing full well a beating is coming.
Going 1-11 stinks. I know from firsthand experience. When I was 12, my Junior Jazz team, coached by former Aggie basketball great Jimmy Moore, went 0-12. We had solid coaching, we just didn’t have talent. It really was hard, after a few losses, to really get ourselves to believe we could go out and win a game. Losing is contagious, and so is winning.
I believe this season the Ags have coaching, talent and, most importantly, experience from a year ago. From being in interviews with Guy and seeing his seriousness on the sidelines, it is apparent that he wants to succeed, and, with time, he will. Remember, Guy didn’t inherit much from those who went before him.
Now it all begins again Thursday with UNLV. If USU takes down the Runnin’ Rebels, the sky is literally the limit for what could be accomplished this season in Aggie football (aside from likely defeats to Oklahoma, Hawaii and Boise State). Remember San Jose State a year ago? The Spartans climbed from the bottom half of the league to the top half, winning a bowl game. The Aggies should have beaten them last season at Romney Stadium, but youthful mistakes proved too costly.
There are those who completely refute the idea that this year’s Aggie team can amount to much of anything. But those are the same people who fail to realize what a transforming power even a little bit of confidence can be.
– samuel.hislop@aggiemail.usu.edu