Texas A&M Football
"I think you'll see an evolution of the A&M defense under John Chavis. Let's face it. In this day and age we want things right now. I mean, we're normal. That's not anything that's unusual. Because things have flattened out a little bit in terms of that 'p-word', parity, you can get better faster. There's only 85 scholarships per team. You get the right recruiting class, you get better in a hurry. You know what I'm talking about. You get the right coaching with some kids who are talented, but maybe the system didn't fit or they lost confidence or whatever. I'm not saying you jump from -- what were you? 102,104 last year in total defense? To top 10? So I use the word 'evolution'.
You'll see a team, I believe, that will play extremely hard on the defensive side of the football. I think the fundamentals are something that he doesn't compromise on, doesn't scrimp on by any stretch of the imagination. I think that you're going to find that he's going to be very much a 'we're going to make you beat us other ways than how you want to'. Meaning, we're going to start with the run. I know in this day and age we talk about throwing it around like crazy, but the teams that win can run the football. So he's going to say, 'Look, that's just a fundamental, elementary part of football. You've got to be tough enough to handle people that want to run the football at you.'
That's part of that toughness that he started building from the moment he stepped on campus and on through spring practice. I know you guys know about that very well and got to witness a good bit of it, and that's what these kids are going to bring to the table. The more that they do any of this stuff, the more confidence they're going to build and the better they're going to play. Then you start getting into a little more sophisticated coverages, schemes, blitzes and a lot of other stuff that comes with it. It starts with being basic, and it starts with, 'I'm going to beat the guy across the line of scrimmage from me.' And once they start handling that, they'll be okay."
"A defense in the top 50-range puts you in contention for the SEC Championship. Because the way the game is played now -- you guys remember when we used to go into the locker room or into defensive meeting rooms and you remember those bold charts that were up on the board? You used to walk into those rooms and you'd see them all up on the board, 'Hold teams to 300 yards or less of total offense. Hold teams to 3.1 yards per carry.' You know all that junk. That junk doesn't exist anymore. What exists nowadays are, 'How many lost yardage plays can we create, tackles for loss and sacks? How do we keep down the explosive plays, plays of less than 15 yards, passes or runs? How many takeaways do we get? Do we make them have field goal attempts in the red zone as opposed to touchdowns?' Those are your defensive stats, so some of the stats that we're looking at are really not as big a deal to the defensive teams. But yeah, if you get into the top 50-range, you're probably playing -- or in contention -- for the SEC title, because slowing down offenses is extremely tough to do in this day and age. I cover the Pac-12 and the Big XII. I mean, if games aren't in the forties, you're actually somewhat surprised."
"The college game starts with recruiting, as we well know. Let's face it. LSU kind of has a 'Defensive Line U' tag on it. Doesn't it? Every year they've got kids coming out, and you're like, 'Oh, my Gosh.' Every year you go to the pro day, and you say, 'Who's going to be next?' I was doing the LSU-Texas A&M Cotton Bowl a few years ago. I was down on the field pre-game, and I was talking to John Chavis. I was like, 'My God, Chief, you've got some good-looking defensive linemen.' And he said, 'Oh yeah, look to your left, because -- to your left -- those are the starters. The guys you're looking at, those are the puppies. They're not even going to play tonight.' I was like, 'You're kidding me.' Because I hadn't even really locked in on numbers and the whole deal. He was like, 'No, no, no, those are the babies.' I said, 'Oh.'
So recruiting is where it starts, and then the development of them, the coaching, the teaching, all the things that go with it. It's not just a matter of recruiting a kid who's bigger, stronger, faster. How does he get better with his hands? How does he play with leverage? Does he understand what your defense is called? And on this play he's got to be in a certain gap at a certain time, otherwise the whole defense breaks down, and is he willing to sacrifice to do that? Or is he one of those kids that says, 'You know something? I'm going to go make every play,' and because of that the integrity of the defense breaks down and now everybody suffers because of it? It's all of those things -- the development of these guys -- they learn how the scheme fits, where they fit in the scheme, when they have a chance to make plays, when they have to be the guy that takes out other people so their teammates can make plays, and they just get better at what they do, better at their craft each and every day. That's John Chavis coaching on defense.
Listen, I'm as happy as heck for Chief. I was very bummed out all those years that he stayed in the conference at LSU, because I went to Tennessee. It's just like, 'That's just not fair, having to deal with him there.' Then of course, he makes his next move, and he stays in conference and goes to Texas A&M. Happy for him, not very happy that my Tennessee Vol is wreaking havoc against his Tennessee Vols. You know? That's just kind of the way it is. There's no better defensive coordinator -- I think -- in the country. There's no finer teacher, and -- here's the best part -- he connects with these kids. These kids know that he cares about them. That's the reason that you get kids to play so hard for you. When they know you care, they will put it all out on the line for you, and John Chavis gets that out of his kids."
"This league has run out more really good coaches -- and that's the thing people are being reminded of. There are a lot of really good coaches that haven't had the same success. This league is tough, and the league goes through transformation. When we have big-time quarterbacks in the league, points get scored. That Texas A&M-Alabama games, the two games that Johnny Manziel and A.J. McCarron hooked up? Points went up on the board, didn't they? You guys know Johnny went in there and did that to them. And how about A.J. McCarron who didn't get the credit that he probably deserved at the time? How about what he put up on A&M to win that game in College Station? It's a big deal when you have to deal with big-time, high-powered quarterbacks.
I think the league is suffering right now. We have to see if more emerge and become those types of play-makers. But when you have that, trying to play defense in today's game and today's football is tough to do. I look at Texas A&M and start last year with Kenny Hill and you end up with Allen, and points still go up on the board. There's a lot of talented kids out there and a lot of talented schemes. Coaching defense now -- I did have a coach tell me that last year he had one of his really talented young coaches that said his goal was to be a big-time defensive coordinator. Then the coach said he put his arm around him and hugged him and said, 'Bless you, son. Not many people want to take that on nowadays.'"
"The SEC West is going to be it's usual, typical dogfight. I think that everyone figured out that you better keep a real eye on Arkansas. They're going to play a little bit different style, even for the SEC, than other people.They are just determined to force-feed the bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger people up front and big, strong running backs to keep hurdling at you. I understand a third has emerged out of their spring. They're very solid with their quarterback. They think he can run their system very well. They're going to be a team that you'll have to deal with. Now. whether or not they're the favorite -- I wouldn't put them there, but I'd also say I wouldn't discount them. The rest of it is the usual suspects; it's the same every year. It's LSU. It's Auburn. It's Alabama. Ole Miss emerged last year. Mississippi State emerged last year. To me, I'm watching to see how those two handle the success of last year and whether they can handle actually being circled on a schedule now. Because you guys know that everyone has to circle their bigger games. Ole Miss and Mississippi State weren't getting circled for a lot of years. They're getting circled now. It'll be interesting to see how they handle it."
Insight on John Chavis from Fox Sports' Charles Davis
Key quotes from Charles Davis interview
"We're all trying to recover after the NFL draft. Everyone's trying to catch that cleansing breath and move forward, but every time you say something like that, you sit back and you say to yourself, 'Okay, anyone who's listening is probably working or has a job. They go to it every day and get it done. We all complain and moan and groan, but everyone goes out and does it.' And the truth of the matter is, would they rather do what they're doing or would they rather do what we're doing right now, which is sitting on my ample backside and talking football with you guys. So any complaints I have get lost very quickly. 'Oh, I'm so tired. I talked about football for the last six months.' I don't think anyone we know will have a lot of sympathy, and most people we know would trade with us in a heartbeat. We realize we're very fortunate.""I think you'll see an evolution of the A&M defense under John Chavis. Let's face it. In this day and age we want things right now. I mean, we're normal. That's not anything that's unusual. Because things have flattened out a little bit in terms of that 'p-word', parity, you can get better faster. There's only 85 scholarships per team. You get the right recruiting class, you get better in a hurry. You know what I'm talking about. You get the right coaching with some kids who are talented, but maybe the system didn't fit or they lost confidence or whatever. I'm not saying you jump from -- what were you? 102,104 last year in total defense? To top 10? So I use the word 'evolution'.
You'll see a team, I believe, that will play extremely hard on the defensive side of the football. I think the fundamentals are something that he doesn't compromise on, doesn't scrimp on by any stretch of the imagination. I think that you're going to find that he's going to be very much a 'we're going to make you beat us other ways than how you want to'. Meaning, we're going to start with the run. I know in this day and age we talk about throwing it around like crazy, but the teams that win can run the football. So he's going to say, 'Look, that's just a fundamental, elementary part of football. You've got to be tough enough to handle people that want to run the football at you.'
That's part of that toughness that he started building from the moment he stepped on campus and on through spring practice. I know you guys know about that very well and got to witness a good bit of it, and that's what these kids are going to bring to the table. The more that they do any of this stuff, the more confidence they're going to build and the better they're going to play. Then you start getting into a little more sophisticated coverages, schemes, blitzes and a lot of other stuff that comes with it. It starts with being basic, and it starts with, 'I'm going to beat the guy across the line of scrimmage from me.' And once they start handling that, they'll be okay."
"A defense in the top 50-range puts you in contention for the SEC Championship. Because the way the game is played now -- you guys remember when we used to go into the locker room or into defensive meeting rooms and you remember those bold charts that were up on the board? You used to walk into those rooms and you'd see them all up on the board, 'Hold teams to 300 yards or less of total offense. Hold teams to 3.1 yards per carry.' You know all that junk. That junk doesn't exist anymore. What exists nowadays are, 'How many lost yardage plays can we create, tackles for loss and sacks? How do we keep down the explosive plays, plays of less than 15 yards, passes or runs? How many takeaways do we get? Do we make them have field goal attempts in the red zone as opposed to touchdowns?' Those are your defensive stats, so some of the stats that we're looking at are really not as big a deal to the defensive teams. But yeah, if you get into the top 50-range, you're probably playing -- or in contention -- for the SEC title, because slowing down offenses is extremely tough to do in this day and age. I cover the Pac-12 and the Big XII. I mean, if games aren't in the forties, you're actually somewhat surprised."
"The college game starts with recruiting, as we well know. Let's face it. LSU kind of has a 'Defensive Line U' tag on it. Doesn't it? Every year they've got kids coming out, and you're like, 'Oh, my Gosh.' Every year you go to the pro day, and you say, 'Who's going to be next?' I was doing the LSU-Texas A&M Cotton Bowl a few years ago. I was down on the field pre-game, and I was talking to John Chavis. I was like, 'My God, Chief, you've got some good-looking defensive linemen.' And he said, 'Oh yeah, look to your left, because -- to your left -- those are the starters. The guys you're looking at, those are the puppies. They're not even going to play tonight.' I was like, 'You're kidding me.' Because I hadn't even really locked in on numbers and the whole deal. He was like, 'No, no, no, those are the babies.' I said, 'Oh.'
So recruiting is where it starts, and then the development of them, the coaching, the teaching, all the things that go with it. It's not just a matter of recruiting a kid who's bigger, stronger, faster. How does he get better with his hands? How does he play with leverage? Does he understand what your defense is called? And on this play he's got to be in a certain gap at a certain time, otherwise the whole defense breaks down, and is he willing to sacrifice to do that? Or is he one of those kids that says, 'You know something? I'm going to go make every play,' and because of that the integrity of the defense breaks down and now everybody suffers because of it? It's all of those things -- the development of these guys -- they learn how the scheme fits, where they fit in the scheme, when they have a chance to make plays, when they have to be the guy that takes out other people so their teammates can make plays, and they just get better at what they do, better at their craft each and every day. That's John Chavis coaching on defense.
Listen, I'm as happy as heck for Chief. I was very bummed out all those years that he stayed in the conference at LSU, because I went to Tennessee. It's just like, 'That's just not fair, having to deal with him there.' Then of course, he makes his next move, and he stays in conference and goes to Texas A&M. Happy for him, not very happy that my Tennessee Vol is wreaking havoc against his Tennessee Vols. You know? That's just kind of the way it is. There's no better defensive coordinator -- I think -- in the country. There's no finer teacher, and -- here's the best part -- he connects with these kids. These kids know that he cares about them. That's the reason that you get kids to play so hard for you. When they know you care, they will put it all out on the line for you, and John Chavis gets that out of his kids."
"This league has run out more really good coaches -- and that's the thing people are being reminded of. There are a lot of really good coaches that haven't had the same success. This league is tough, and the league goes through transformation. When we have big-time quarterbacks in the league, points get scored. That Texas A&M-Alabama games, the two games that Johnny Manziel and A.J. McCarron hooked up? Points went up on the board, didn't they? You guys know Johnny went in there and did that to them. And how about A.J. McCarron who didn't get the credit that he probably deserved at the time? How about what he put up on A&M to win that game in College Station? It's a big deal when you have to deal with big-time, high-powered quarterbacks.
I think the league is suffering right now. We have to see if more emerge and become those types of play-makers. But when you have that, trying to play defense in today's game and today's football is tough to do. I look at Texas A&M and start last year with Kenny Hill and you end up with Allen, and points still go up on the board. There's a lot of talented kids out there and a lot of talented schemes. Coaching defense now -- I did have a coach tell me that last year he had one of his really talented young coaches that said his goal was to be a big-time defensive coordinator. Then the coach said he put his arm around him and hugged him and said, 'Bless you, son. Not many people want to take that on nowadays.'"
"The SEC West is going to be it's usual, typical dogfight. I think that everyone figured out that you better keep a real eye on Arkansas. They're going to play a little bit different style, even for the SEC, than other people.They are just determined to force-feed the bigger, bigger, bigger, bigger people up front and big, strong running backs to keep hurdling at you. I understand a third has emerged out of their spring. They're very solid with their quarterback. They think he can run their system very well. They're going to be a team that you'll have to deal with. Now. whether or not they're the favorite -- I wouldn't put them there, but I'd also say I wouldn't discount them. The rest of it is the usual suspects; it's the same every year. It's LSU. It's Auburn. It's Alabama. Ole Miss emerged last year. Mississippi State emerged last year. To me, I'm watching to see how those two handle the success of last year and whether they can handle actually being circled on a schedule now. Because you guys know that everyone has to circle their bigger games. Ole Miss and Mississippi State weren't getting circled for a lot of years. They're getting circled now. It'll be interesting to see how they handle it."
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