Texas A&M Football
“Millican Sports Complex is coming along really well. It’s coming along, we have some great people involved. We doing a deal out there south of town that's called Field House Sports BCS. It will be a community center where, for different sports, field sports, there be youth leagues going on. It’ll be indoors and we’ll be able to do some things and unique deals in terms of having league play out of season, so to speak and stuff."
“We want to serve the community and also have a different aspect where kids can come out and can train specifically. There are some different deals I’m working on with former players, trying to get them back down here. A&M was always known for like Linebacker-U and it was always a big deal for the Wrecking Crew and stuff so looking and doing something like that, like a spinoff of that deal where we kind of from a football aspect, have different guys come from different positions and different times of the year and have kids come out and have like a special clinic that we kind of watch film. Me being a defensive lineman, I want to get a lot of defensive linemen out there and getting them going. I want to turn a bunch of kids into a bunch of All-State, All-American type players locally and in the surrounding areas and stuff and kind of share some of the stuff that’s been shared with me.
My cup is pretty full but we also want to be leaning on other Aggies and other guys that have gone off and done well. I haven’t talked to them yet but you know getting a guy like a Tannehill or you know those guys down here during the offseason getting down here with aspiring quarterbacks would be big. There are a lot of resources throughout the University of guys have gone off and done well. We have a softball aspect to it, a lady named Tara Archibald, she’s the daughter of the hitting coach here at A&M and so she has a lot of knowledge and she coached at Georgia and she has a lot of knowledge of the game. She has three sons and so this is kind of her speed where she’s going to be able to be involved with the game but also raise her kids and couldn’t have a better person doing that. We've been talking to some MLB people as well to get them involved too.”
“I mentioned I was in Denver this past weekend, went to go watch the Denver Broncos pull out that game which was neat. Before the game I’m sitting there talking to Von, and you know he was pretty pumped up about the game and he was really pumped up about the possibility to go on and maybe win the Super Bowl. I don't mean to be mean when I say this but they don’t pay me to care any more, I just like watching my friends and I just want a see a good game. That’s all, that’s what I like to see. On top of that to magnify it a little more I want to see guys like Von go out and do well and some guys on the Patriots that were there when I left do well. I watch it from that aspect, and you know with kids it’s kind of hard to watch anything I probably catch more stuff on repeat than anything.”
“I saw him Von Miller out there moving a little bit. I think Dancing with the Stars might be a next career for him. He got some moves, he got some wiggle. I think that bend that he uses for turning the corner transfers over to his dancing ability.”
“When I was with the Patriots, we went out and we played in the Super Bowls. I think it stemmed from 2001 when they won the Super Bowl when they all went out as a team and kind of as underdogs and you know Brady was taking over for Drew Bledsoe. People didn’t know if it was fluke deal or not. So it kind of stemmed from that 2001 season and it spilled out over 2003, 04, 07 the years I played in the Super Bowl. We all just went out there as a team and it was like an unwritten rule, nobody really talked about it we never went out individually anything like that. In terms of the atmosphere, I mean it’s electric when you get out there. I mean, you talk to anybody who knew me personally when I played here at A&M, I probably wasted half of the energy just off of jubilance alone before I even stepped onto the field because I was just so hyped because just the build up leading up to it. It’s an electric atmosphere. You fast forward to when the ball is snapped for the first time and I don’t hear anything else. I never heard anything else until after the game. When you have 600-700 pounds sitting across from you, I mean that’s enough to concentrate on in itself you know.”
“My perspective on A&M football is a unique perspective because I grew up here so there is a deep level of passion and a love that I have for the University. I’ve been on the player side of things and I've also been on the spectator side of things. So I can understand all levels of it, but it’s has been difficult to watch at times. You would kind of like to see things be in a better state than they are and you hope that’s the case going forward but it’s hard to put a finger on it. From the outside looking in, the elephant in the room is the quarterbacks leaving and stuff like that. A&M is in the SEC and is four seasons into it. I remember watching the Arizona State game and I was talking to a buddy of mine, I’m not a coach and I’m trying to pretend like a coach, but when Allen was pulled out of the game I was like 'Oh no, here we go.' I saw Jake Spavital's face and I just kind of saw some body language on the sideline and I personally feel like the season was lost and the locker room was divided that game, that first game.
"I mean Allen is gone and he’s an afterthought now and Kyler and all that stuff and he was a talent, both were talents, but Allen was young in his own right. It was one of those things were it was his job to lose, but when that happened and Kyler went in and then Allen came back in and had to basically bring it home or what not, it was just a jockeying deal that probably shouldn’t have happened. Here’s where I’m coming from with that -- when I came in, back in the day we really held each other accountable. It didn’t matter. I came in a five star athlete, but when I came into training camp they weren't going to take it easy on me. I knew they weren’t, so I knew I had to prove myself. I had to earn my spot. It was just a different deal.
When I look at things when we were in the Big 12 and you tried to land a big time recruit or something like that you almost had to bend over backwards to get a five star athlete or get the athletes that A&M is getting now to come back then. The SEC has helped with that. Look, we're the only team in Texas that is in the SEC. So to land 25-28 top recruits now shouldn’t be a problem. It seems kind of like one of those things where from the outside looking in, we are stuck in that Big 12 mentality. A person shouldn’t have to do anything but sell a kid on A&M and A&M alone with all the stuff that’s going on around here with the nice facilities and all that other stuff that’s tangible during recruiting but not really tangible when it comes to putting that work in and getting on the field and stringing together some wins. From the outside looking in you get all these five star athletes and then they come in and then you got to ask yourself are getting a five star athletes or a five star pre-madonnas.
How do you distinguish the recruiting process and the Swagcopter and all this other stuff from when it comes to getting to nut and bolt time. That’s where I feel there’s a gap in accountability because when I’m watching the games I really don’t see guys that are really getting after each other when they make mistakes. This game is a short term memory type of game, but it’s also an accountability type of game. You do all the things to get a kid here then once they're here, it’s time to go to work. That’s one thing I always appreciated about Coach Slocum. He didn’t have all these facilities and stuff. He was disadvantaged when it came to that stuff and that was a big reason why I think Texas had a notch over us recruiting wise at that time, but in terms of just straight up being brutally honest, if your five pounds over weight he would let you know you were five pounds over weight. He'd let you know amongst your peers and you know nobody want to be called out in front of their peers.
It’s really just an overall mindset. I don’t think we have to bend over backwards to get those top recruits to come here anymore. If kids have aspirations to play in the league later on, then the opportunity it couldn’t be any bigger than what it is now. I feel like we’re stuck in that same mentality like we have to bend over backwards when really we don’t. What better place to be. I mentioned Slocum and I appreciated his honesty. I remember when he came into my living room while recruiting me and I had people promising me, 'You come in and you’ll do this and that' and I remember very clearly he came in and said I’m going to provide you with an opportunity to play and your job is to come in and do the best you can do and you will have the opportunity to graduate. It was pretty cut and clear what the situation was going to be, and he’s a big reason why all the things that have happened here now, all that stuff happened on his back and the players back that played for him and there was a lot of other parts that played a part in that deal. It’s more of just a mindset. I just see a gap in the recruiting and the taking the field and the accountability that takes place between there.”
“The toughest guy that we played against in high school was Rock Cartwright. He played at Conroe and he was their everything. He was like 250 pounds and he was a running back, he was a quarterback, he kicked field goals and he was tough to bring down. I think I played him in college too but then when he got to the league he was like 215 pounds. He trimmed up a whole lot it was like night and day, but ya he was one.”
“Chavis is like, he’s a mastermind on the defensive side of thing. He’s obviously a big piece of the puzzle and his adjustments and putting the guys in the right positions are huge. It’s just some people, they just roll the kids out there and they’re going to do what they’re going to do, but the ability to adjust and put guys and different positions even if that position on paper doesn’t really seem like that’s the position the kid should play. Sometimes it’s a game of matchups and he does real well with that and I can only imagine it getting better with some of the guys they have coming in. They continue to develop over there, so I mean Chavis is doing a great job. It’s funny story, he recruited me when he was at Tennessee and we got to talking and laughing about that in the fall. We go back a little ways.
"Daylon Mack is a beast. To be that big and have that fast a twitch and use his hands the way he uses them, I mean defensive line is about lower body strength and leverage and all that good stuff but you got to have good hands and some twitch and he has it. I was in New England over the break and up at the facilities with the Patriots and stuff. I was talking it Bill Belichick and I brought him up, it was kind of out of the blue, but you know we were just kind of talking about Aggieland and the quarterbacks and all that stuff. He’s not a hermit so he knows and sees what’s going on. I brought Mack up to him. I think a lot of that kid and got to meet with him camp in the fall. He’s a yes sir, no sir type of guy, a grass root country boy and strong as all outdoors. Like I said, he’s got a lot of traits that’s are going to do him well and serve him well in the future."
Ty Warren shares his thoughts on the A&M program, Chavis, Mack & more
Key quotes from Ty Warren interview
“I just came back from Denver, Colorado and they had the big Denver livestock show there. You know I like to go to those deals, it’s kind of exciting you get to see what’s up and coming and stuff. While I was up there I got to go see Von Miller and I actually saw Cyrus Gray up there too. I've just been doing livestock stuff and we're doing some stuff here in the community that will be jumping off here pretty soon, later in the spring.”“Millican Sports Complex is coming along really well. It’s coming along, we have some great people involved. We doing a deal out there south of town that's called Field House Sports BCS. It will be a community center where, for different sports, field sports, there be youth leagues going on. It’ll be indoors and we’ll be able to do some things and unique deals in terms of having league play out of season, so to speak and stuff."
“We want to serve the community and also have a different aspect where kids can come out and can train specifically. There are some different deals I’m working on with former players, trying to get them back down here. A&M was always known for like Linebacker-U and it was always a big deal for the Wrecking Crew and stuff so looking and doing something like that, like a spinoff of that deal where we kind of from a football aspect, have different guys come from different positions and different times of the year and have kids come out and have like a special clinic that we kind of watch film. Me being a defensive lineman, I want to get a lot of defensive linemen out there and getting them going. I want to turn a bunch of kids into a bunch of All-State, All-American type players locally and in the surrounding areas and stuff and kind of share some of the stuff that’s been shared with me.
My cup is pretty full but we also want to be leaning on other Aggies and other guys that have gone off and done well. I haven’t talked to them yet but you know getting a guy like a Tannehill or you know those guys down here during the offseason getting down here with aspiring quarterbacks would be big. There are a lot of resources throughout the University of guys have gone off and done well. We have a softball aspect to it, a lady named Tara Archibald, she’s the daughter of the hitting coach here at A&M and so she has a lot of knowledge and she coached at Georgia and she has a lot of knowledge of the game. She has three sons and so this is kind of her speed where she’s going to be able to be involved with the game but also raise her kids and couldn’t have a better person doing that. We've been talking to some MLB people as well to get them involved too.”
“I mentioned I was in Denver this past weekend, went to go watch the Denver Broncos pull out that game which was neat. Before the game I’m sitting there talking to Von, and you know he was pretty pumped up about the game and he was really pumped up about the possibility to go on and maybe win the Super Bowl. I don't mean to be mean when I say this but they don’t pay me to care any more, I just like watching my friends and I just want a see a good game. That’s all, that’s what I like to see. On top of that to magnify it a little more I want to see guys like Von go out and do well and some guys on the Patriots that were there when I left do well. I watch it from that aspect, and you know with kids it’s kind of hard to watch anything I probably catch more stuff on repeat than anything.”
“I saw him Von Miller out there moving a little bit. I think Dancing with the Stars might be a next career for him. He got some moves, he got some wiggle. I think that bend that he uses for turning the corner transfers over to his dancing ability.”
“When I was with the Patriots, we went out and we played in the Super Bowls. I think it stemmed from 2001 when they won the Super Bowl when they all went out as a team and kind of as underdogs and you know Brady was taking over for Drew Bledsoe. People didn’t know if it was fluke deal or not. So it kind of stemmed from that 2001 season and it spilled out over 2003, 04, 07 the years I played in the Super Bowl. We all just went out there as a team and it was like an unwritten rule, nobody really talked about it we never went out individually anything like that. In terms of the atmosphere, I mean it’s electric when you get out there. I mean, you talk to anybody who knew me personally when I played here at A&M, I probably wasted half of the energy just off of jubilance alone before I even stepped onto the field because I was just so hyped because just the build up leading up to it. It’s an electric atmosphere. You fast forward to when the ball is snapped for the first time and I don’t hear anything else. I never heard anything else until after the game. When you have 600-700 pounds sitting across from you, I mean that’s enough to concentrate on in itself you know.”
“My perspective on A&M football is a unique perspective because I grew up here so there is a deep level of passion and a love that I have for the University. I’ve been on the player side of things and I've also been on the spectator side of things. So I can understand all levels of it, but it’s has been difficult to watch at times. You would kind of like to see things be in a better state than they are and you hope that’s the case going forward but it’s hard to put a finger on it. From the outside looking in, the elephant in the room is the quarterbacks leaving and stuff like that. A&M is in the SEC and is four seasons into it. I remember watching the Arizona State game and I was talking to a buddy of mine, I’m not a coach and I’m trying to pretend like a coach, but when Allen was pulled out of the game I was like 'Oh no, here we go.' I saw Jake Spavital's face and I just kind of saw some body language on the sideline and I personally feel like the season was lost and the locker room was divided that game, that first game.
"I mean Allen is gone and he’s an afterthought now and Kyler and all that stuff and he was a talent, both were talents, but Allen was young in his own right. It was one of those things were it was his job to lose, but when that happened and Kyler went in and then Allen came back in and had to basically bring it home or what not, it was just a jockeying deal that probably shouldn’t have happened. Here’s where I’m coming from with that -- when I came in, back in the day we really held each other accountable. It didn’t matter. I came in a five star athlete, but when I came into training camp they weren't going to take it easy on me. I knew they weren’t, so I knew I had to prove myself. I had to earn my spot. It was just a different deal.
When I look at things when we were in the Big 12 and you tried to land a big time recruit or something like that you almost had to bend over backwards to get a five star athlete or get the athletes that A&M is getting now to come back then. The SEC has helped with that. Look, we're the only team in Texas that is in the SEC. So to land 25-28 top recruits now shouldn’t be a problem. It seems kind of like one of those things where from the outside looking in, we are stuck in that Big 12 mentality. A person shouldn’t have to do anything but sell a kid on A&M and A&M alone with all the stuff that’s going on around here with the nice facilities and all that other stuff that’s tangible during recruiting but not really tangible when it comes to putting that work in and getting on the field and stringing together some wins. From the outside looking in you get all these five star athletes and then they come in and then you got to ask yourself are getting a five star athletes or a five star pre-madonnas.
How do you distinguish the recruiting process and the Swagcopter and all this other stuff from when it comes to getting to nut and bolt time. That’s where I feel there’s a gap in accountability because when I’m watching the games I really don’t see guys that are really getting after each other when they make mistakes. This game is a short term memory type of game, but it’s also an accountability type of game. You do all the things to get a kid here then once they're here, it’s time to go to work. That’s one thing I always appreciated about Coach Slocum. He didn’t have all these facilities and stuff. He was disadvantaged when it came to that stuff and that was a big reason why I think Texas had a notch over us recruiting wise at that time, but in terms of just straight up being brutally honest, if your five pounds over weight he would let you know you were five pounds over weight. He'd let you know amongst your peers and you know nobody want to be called out in front of their peers.
It’s really just an overall mindset. I don’t think we have to bend over backwards to get those top recruits to come here anymore. If kids have aspirations to play in the league later on, then the opportunity it couldn’t be any bigger than what it is now. I feel like we’re stuck in that same mentality like we have to bend over backwards when really we don’t. What better place to be. I mentioned Slocum and I appreciated his honesty. I remember when he came into my living room while recruiting me and I had people promising me, 'You come in and you’ll do this and that' and I remember very clearly he came in and said I’m going to provide you with an opportunity to play and your job is to come in and do the best you can do and you will have the opportunity to graduate. It was pretty cut and clear what the situation was going to be, and he’s a big reason why all the things that have happened here now, all that stuff happened on his back and the players back that played for him and there was a lot of other parts that played a part in that deal. It’s more of just a mindset. I just see a gap in the recruiting and the taking the field and the accountability that takes place between there.”
“The toughest guy that we played against in high school was Rock Cartwright. He played at Conroe and he was their everything. He was like 250 pounds and he was a running back, he was a quarterback, he kicked field goals and he was tough to bring down. I think I played him in college too but then when he got to the league he was like 215 pounds. He trimmed up a whole lot it was like night and day, but ya he was one.”
“Chavis is like, he’s a mastermind on the defensive side of thing. He’s obviously a big piece of the puzzle and his adjustments and putting the guys in the right positions are huge. It’s just some people, they just roll the kids out there and they’re going to do what they’re going to do, but the ability to adjust and put guys and different positions even if that position on paper doesn’t really seem like that’s the position the kid should play. Sometimes it’s a game of matchups and he does real well with that and I can only imagine it getting better with some of the guys they have coming in. They continue to develop over there, so I mean Chavis is doing a great job. It’s funny story, he recruited me when he was at Tennessee and we got to talking and laughing about that in the fall. We go back a little ways.
"Daylon Mack is a beast. To be that big and have that fast a twitch and use his hands the way he uses them, I mean defensive line is about lower body strength and leverage and all that good stuff but you got to have good hands and some twitch and he has it. I was in New England over the break and up at the facilities with the Patriots and stuff. I was talking it Bill Belichick and I brought him up, it was kind of out of the blue, but you know we were just kind of talking about Aggieland and the quarterbacks and all that stuff. He’s not a hermit so he knows and sees what’s going on. I brought Mack up to him. I think a lot of that kid and got to meet with him camp in the fall. He’s a yes sir, no sir type of guy, a grass root country boy and strong as all outdoors. Like I said, he’s got a lot of traits that’s are going to do him well and serve him well in the future."
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