Texas A&M Football
"I actually live in Denver, Colorado. I do a little work with the Broncos. I do a lot of their spring and summer camps for kids across the state. That's what got me up here. and that's what got me into Denver. It's a different environment. It's no Aggieland. I'll say that, but I like it up here. This time of year is awesome, but when January or February roll around and it's negative five degrees or negative fifteen, that's are the days I'd like to come back to College Station."
"I keep up with the Aggie football team every week. I was telling my daughter, and I was talking to some former players -- we haven't been this excited about A&M football in years. I can't remember -- probably since I played. I just think Kevin Sumlin's taking them in a great direction. I'm super excited. I think he has a great coaching staff. I think he made a great hire with Coach Chavis as the defensive coordinator. I'm really excited to see what happens in this upcoming season."
"Coach Sumlin was -- I don't want to say he was the perfect hire. I don't think anybody's ever perfect, but he was a great fit for what Texas A&M needed at the time and what they need in the future. He's a great recruiter. He's a player's coach. I think he's put a staff around him that kids want to come play for. With the uniforms and things, it's a different environment from when I was coming up. I was with Jackie Sherrill. Jackie Sherril and R.C. Slocum -- those were the guys that brought us in. We were the 'it' school at the time. People say that we lost it sometime inbetween the years, but I've never believed that. I always think we're the 'it' school in Texas. I think Sumlin's a great hire, a great guy. I'm really excited about what he's doing and what he's going to do."
"Nebraska was recruiting me very hard -- Colorado, Texas A&M, Texas, OU as well. I played quarterback in high school, so I was an option quarterback. Those were the primary schools that were really getting me. Texas A&M was really the one that -- I told them I wanted to play defense. They were the only one that really allowed me to. They said, 'Okay, look. We'll give you a chance at defensive back.' Then Jackie Sherrill was probably the main factor or one of the main factors when I decided to come to Texas A&M. I thought he was a great coach, a player's coach. He shot you straight. He told you what you needed to do, what you could expect, and that's what I wanted. I wanted somebody to give me an opportunity, and Coach Sherrill was that guy. It turned out that he ended up leaving a year later, but Coach Slocum was just the same way."
"Other schools told me, ' A&M is getting ready to go on probation. They're getting ready to do this. They're getting ready to do that.' I just didn't listen to it. I followed my heart. I followed what I wanted to do. Ironically, my last two schools that I narrowed it down to were Colorado, which is where I live now, and Texas A&M. Like I said, I liked Jackie Sherrill and I liked R.C. Slocum who was the defensive coordinator at the time. I just thought that was the best opportunity for me. Plus, I wanted to stay close to home with my family and friends. I don't think I could have made a better choice, because it's turned out great. I had a great time walking on Kyle Field, playing on Kyle Field, playing with some of the players that I played with, being a part of the Wrecking Crew at that time. You couldn't pay for that experience."
"I wanted to play defense. I knew if I stayed in Texas, which I wanted to do, I was going to Texas A&M strictly because of their defense and how they played defense. How they were always flying to the ball, how they always had the crowd behind them -- things like that. I enjoyed it. I attended a Texas and Texas A&M game on my recruiting visit, and I just didn't want to leave the game. I was just so excited for the environment, for the people. It was a great, great atmosphere, and I wanted to be a part of it."
"I tell people all the time that I was blessed. I was blessed to play with -- let's not forget our front four. We had Sam Adams up there in the front who played in the NFL for 12 or 13 years. I played with Kevin Smith who I learned a lot from. He played for the Cowboys for years. You can go on and on. Aaron Glenn and Ray Mickens -- Mickey Washington was there the year before I started playing. And then the linebackers -- Quentin Coryatt, William Thomas, Marcus Buckley, Roper, Wallace -- just think about it. All of those people I just named played at the next level, and we were all on the same field together. It's hard to realize it now, but at the time we were just having fun. We were just playing together, having fun and seeing who could outdo each other on the football field. I think that's what made us. We competed with each other as well as with other teams week-in and week-out."
"It's interesting, because Kevin Smith was the youngest, but he was the one that played first. Out of all our class with Aaron Glenn and Ray Mickens and myself, Kevin was the freshman that was out there before everybody. He set the tone, so we had to follow and do as well or try to do better. He set the tone, and look at it. Look what he did at A&M, then look what he did at the Cowboys for years. That kid was a great player and great friend to me -- still is to this day. You enjoy playing with guys like that. They raise your level and raise the whole team's level. I would say Kevin set the tone, initially."
"Kyle Field was pretty tough. We took great pride in protecting our own field. Let me tell you about this Arkansas game. I don't know if y'all witnessed it, and I'm sure a lot of y'all listening weren't even around yet. They cheated us. I'm going to get to that. We had them stopped on fourth-and-goal, and they called a pass interference penalty on us that was not -- we won that game too, as far as we were concerned. It was a great time. We took a lot of pride in someone walking into Kyle Field and walking out a loser. We thought it was tough, and obviously, our record stated over the years that it was tough to come in and win. We had some great teams that we played, and they weren't all cakewalk games. We had to mix it up and strap it on every week that we played."
"First of all, the week we played BYU -- you go up to a bowl game and you go up for the entire week. I think BYU had beated Miami that year or some top-ranked team, and they were ranked 3 or 4 in the nation. We came in ranked 12 or 11 -- I can't remember the exact number, but they said we weren't good enough to play them all throughout the press conferences. 'We need somebody higher ranked. This team isn't on our level.' All their players are saying this, and we just kind of stayed quiet about it. We said, 'We'll just take it out on the field.' Coach Slocum was even a little bit upset about that. I don't know if y'all remember. I think we were up 58-7, and we ran a double-reverse pass just to let them know that we were a for-real team. We had the guys that could play with them. That put the nail in the coffin, so to speak. We played well. Offense played well. Defense played well. Special teams -- we had it all clicking that day. That just goes to show you what we were capable of back then. They should have been quiet through the week."
"Bucky Richardson had a hell of a game that day. That was a game that dreams were made of. Bucky had a great game. Like you said, that defense -- I remember Ty Detmer breaking his left shoulder in the first or second quarter. I think it was William Thomas or Anthony Williams -- I can't remember. Then I think Quentin (Coryatt) broke his right shoulder right after halftime. I kind of felt sorry for the kid, but I remember thinking in my head, 'Why would you come back in? You know we're coming after you.' We were up by 35 or 40, but that's what it was. We had fun playing football. That defense -- we had a great time going to the ball nonstop."
"Ty Detmer's Heisman trophy was mentioned in the meetings during the week, but when they started talking about how we weren't good enough, that kind of challenged our manhood. I don't think Coach Slocum or Coach (Bob) Davie really had to tell us anything after that. Once you challenge us and individuals and as unit, it takes precedence over everything else. I think, on that day, we had something to prove. More than just being in a bowl game and enjoying ourselves, we had something to prove. You know what? We're going to show you just who we are. Ty Detmer just so happened to be the Heisman trophy winner that got in the way of it. "
Aggie Flashback with former A&M DB Derrick Frazier
Key quotes from Derrick Frazier interview
"I'm really excited that my daughter, Tia, is getting to work with you guys. She's excited as well. She's been calling me day and night and telling me about it. Like I said, I'm really excited about that opportunity for her.""I actually live in Denver, Colorado. I do a little work with the Broncos. I do a lot of their spring and summer camps for kids across the state. That's what got me up here. and that's what got me into Denver. It's a different environment. It's no Aggieland. I'll say that, but I like it up here. This time of year is awesome, but when January or February roll around and it's negative five degrees or negative fifteen, that's are the days I'd like to come back to College Station."
"I keep up with the Aggie football team every week. I was telling my daughter, and I was talking to some former players -- we haven't been this excited about A&M football in years. I can't remember -- probably since I played. I just think Kevin Sumlin's taking them in a great direction. I'm super excited. I think he has a great coaching staff. I think he made a great hire with Coach Chavis as the defensive coordinator. I'm really excited to see what happens in this upcoming season."
"Coach Sumlin was -- I don't want to say he was the perfect hire. I don't think anybody's ever perfect, but he was a great fit for what Texas A&M needed at the time and what they need in the future. He's a great recruiter. He's a player's coach. I think he's put a staff around him that kids want to come play for. With the uniforms and things, it's a different environment from when I was coming up. I was with Jackie Sherrill. Jackie Sherril and R.C. Slocum -- those were the guys that brought us in. We were the 'it' school at the time. People say that we lost it sometime inbetween the years, but I've never believed that. I always think we're the 'it' school in Texas. I think Sumlin's a great hire, a great guy. I'm really excited about what he's doing and what he's going to do."
"Nebraska was recruiting me very hard -- Colorado, Texas A&M, Texas, OU as well. I played quarterback in high school, so I was an option quarterback. Those were the primary schools that were really getting me. Texas A&M was really the one that -- I told them I wanted to play defense. They were the only one that really allowed me to. They said, 'Okay, look. We'll give you a chance at defensive back.' Then Jackie Sherrill was probably the main factor or one of the main factors when I decided to come to Texas A&M. I thought he was a great coach, a player's coach. He shot you straight. He told you what you needed to do, what you could expect, and that's what I wanted. I wanted somebody to give me an opportunity, and Coach Sherrill was that guy. It turned out that he ended up leaving a year later, but Coach Slocum was just the same way."
"Other schools told me, ' A&M is getting ready to go on probation. They're getting ready to do this. They're getting ready to do that.' I just didn't listen to it. I followed my heart. I followed what I wanted to do. Ironically, my last two schools that I narrowed it down to were Colorado, which is where I live now, and Texas A&M. Like I said, I liked Jackie Sherrill and I liked R.C. Slocum who was the defensive coordinator at the time. I just thought that was the best opportunity for me. Plus, I wanted to stay close to home with my family and friends. I don't think I could have made a better choice, because it's turned out great. I had a great time walking on Kyle Field, playing on Kyle Field, playing with some of the players that I played with, being a part of the Wrecking Crew at that time. You couldn't pay for that experience."
"I wanted to play defense. I knew if I stayed in Texas, which I wanted to do, I was going to Texas A&M strictly because of their defense and how they played defense. How they were always flying to the ball, how they always had the crowd behind them -- things like that. I enjoyed it. I attended a Texas and Texas A&M game on my recruiting visit, and I just didn't want to leave the game. I was just so excited for the environment, for the people. It was a great, great atmosphere, and I wanted to be a part of it."
"I tell people all the time that I was blessed. I was blessed to play with -- let's not forget our front four. We had Sam Adams up there in the front who played in the NFL for 12 or 13 years. I played with Kevin Smith who I learned a lot from. He played for the Cowboys for years. You can go on and on. Aaron Glenn and Ray Mickens -- Mickey Washington was there the year before I started playing. And then the linebackers -- Quentin Coryatt, William Thomas, Marcus Buckley, Roper, Wallace -- just think about it. All of those people I just named played at the next level, and we were all on the same field together. It's hard to realize it now, but at the time we were just having fun. We were just playing together, having fun and seeing who could outdo each other on the football field. I think that's what made us. We competed with each other as well as with other teams week-in and week-out."
"It's interesting, because Kevin Smith was the youngest, but he was the one that played first. Out of all our class with Aaron Glenn and Ray Mickens and myself, Kevin was the freshman that was out there before everybody. He set the tone, so we had to follow and do as well or try to do better. He set the tone, and look at it. Look what he did at A&M, then look what he did at the Cowboys for years. That kid was a great player and great friend to me -- still is to this day. You enjoy playing with guys like that. They raise your level and raise the whole team's level. I would say Kevin set the tone, initially."
"Kyle Field was pretty tough. We took great pride in protecting our own field. Let me tell you about this Arkansas game. I don't know if y'all witnessed it, and I'm sure a lot of y'all listening weren't even around yet. They cheated us. I'm going to get to that. We had them stopped on fourth-and-goal, and they called a pass interference penalty on us that was not -- we won that game too, as far as we were concerned. It was a great time. We took a lot of pride in someone walking into Kyle Field and walking out a loser. We thought it was tough, and obviously, our record stated over the years that it was tough to come in and win. We had some great teams that we played, and they weren't all cakewalk games. We had to mix it up and strap it on every week that we played."
"First of all, the week we played BYU -- you go up to a bowl game and you go up for the entire week. I think BYU had beated Miami that year or some top-ranked team, and they were ranked 3 or 4 in the nation. We came in ranked 12 or 11 -- I can't remember the exact number, but they said we weren't good enough to play them all throughout the press conferences. 'We need somebody higher ranked. This team isn't on our level.' All their players are saying this, and we just kind of stayed quiet about it. We said, 'We'll just take it out on the field.' Coach Slocum was even a little bit upset about that. I don't know if y'all remember. I think we were up 58-7, and we ran a double-reverse pass just to let them know that we were a for-real team. We had the guys that could play with them. That put the nail in the coffin, so to speak. We played well. Offense played well. Defense played well. Special teams -- we had it all clicking that day. That just goes to show you what we were capable of back then. They should have been quiet through the week."
"Bucky Richardson had a hell of a game that day. That was a game that dreams were made of. Bucky had a great game. Like you said, that defense -- I remember Ty Detmer breaking his left shoulder in the first or second quarter. I think it was William Thomas or Anthony Williams -- I can't remember. Then I think Quentin (Coryatt) broke his right shoulder right after halftime. I kind of felt sorry for the kid, but I remember thinking in my head, 'Why would you come back in? You know we're coming after you.' We were up by 35 or 40, but that's what it was. We had fun playing football. That defense -- we had a great time going to the ball nonstop."
"Ty Detmer's Heisman trophy was mentioned in the meetings during the week, but when they started talking about how we weren't good enough, that kind of challenged our manhood. I don't think Coach Slocum or Coach (Bob) Davie really had to tell us anything after that. Once you challenge us and individuals and as unit, it takes precedence over everything else. I think, on that day, we had something to prove. More than just being in a bowl game and enjoying ourselves, we had something to prove. You know what? We're going to show you just who we are. Ty Detmer just so happened to be the Heisman trophy winner that got in the way of it. "
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