Aggie Flashback with former OL Steve McKinney

Key quotes from Steve McKinney interview

"Something happened in the locker room and the practice field and you have to credit Sumlin and the leaders on that football team. Somebody rallied them up and got them believing they could go in to Auburn and win against a team nobody gave them a chance to beat."

"When you know you have a guy like Kyle Allen that hasn’t played a lot and isn’t expected to win the ball game for you, the rest of the team has to step up and that’s exactly what happened. It was an all around great effort from the team and you have to have that to win."

"My grandfather had gone to A&M and we bled maroon from the time I was born. I went to my first A&M/Texas game when I was six weeks old, so that gives you an idea of the die-hard fans my family was."

"We were shooting bow and arrows in the backyard and had a target up against the fence, pretty safe situation. Normally, you shoot all your arrows and then walk down together and pull them out. Seth, he liked to shoot one arrow and run down and get it while I have five or six. I told him, “If you do that again, I’m going to shoot you.” He did and to be real honest, I wasn’t trying to hit him, I was just trying to get close, and I hit him right in the foot."

"My first love, in the fifth grade, I really thought I was going to be in the Aggie Band. I was so impressed with their formations and the marching with how precise they were. I just loved that aspect with the corps marching in. It wasn’t until seventh or eighth grade that I decided I wanted to play football for A&M."

"I was getting offers and I had already committed to A&M as soon as they offered me. Then, all the sudden, Notre Dame offered me and I was enamored with all that. This was right after Rocket Ishmail and Rudy had just come out. I ended up switching my commitment to Notre Dame and that shows you how confusing it can be for an 18 year old during this process."

"I took my official visit about a month before signing day and something knocked some sense into me. “What am I doing? I’m going to go spend four years in Indiana? It’s cold, the women aren’t as pretty.” I came back to my senses."

"Mike Sherman and Bill Johnson came down to visit. Bill out of nowhere said, “Steve, you play pool?” “I tell you what, you beat me at pool, you go to Notre Dame and if I beat you, you come to A&M.” I think I let him win, but I wanted to switch back to A&M."

"After my freshman year, I’m looking at the roster and there was Ed Casper, Brandon Mitchell, Larry Jackson, guys in front of me that will keep me off the field for another two, three years. Mike Sherman called me into his office and said, “If you move over to offensive guard, you can compete for a starting job next year.” I wanted to get on the field, so I started pounding the food and competed with James Brooks, he won the starting job but the second game he got a high ankle sprain and the rest is history."

"One day, somebody had a pistol BB gun and I started plunking it against the windows of Cain Hall. It would just glance off it so I went to the main entrance and shot it thinking it would glance off it. I must have shot it just right because it shattered. The next morning, Sherman called me into his office, “Do you know what happened to the door?” “Yeah, somebody shot a BB through the door and shattered it.” “It was me”