Coach Sherrill's Blog: Baylor win, home finale & Emory Bellard

Let’s start by talking about the win over Baylor. The best thing that happened in this deal was the patience that Mike Sherman showed in the game. You’re looking at him on the sideline and when all of the penalties were taking away score after score, you certainly saw the frustration, but he showed a lot of patience. And that was exhibited in the second half, with the team coming out and playing very well and correcting their mistakes. Any time you are able to come back and dominate the second half, that’s extremely important because it means that you are certainly a very solid football team. The team has been showing that from Texas Tech moving forward. They were able to stop Texas Tech from scoring in the red zone and the same thing with Oklahoma, but the team has shown that they are playing for 60 minutes and that’s the trick of the trade for a very good football team, but also for the head coach, who keeps them in the game for literally 60 minutes. Seeing that and seeing the team get better and better each week, that’s a plus.

A&M has the players. Offensively, you have Ryan Tannehill making plays, along with the defenders and especially Jeff Fuller at wideout, with the plays that he has made. You don’t see that kind of catch very often, and it takes a great athlete to make that kind of catch. What that type of play does ... it infiltrates all the way through your football team. Then you see Cyrus Gray and how hard he is running and what’s happening there. So you’re eliminating a lot of the problems that you had during that three-game losing period and your players are now making plays defensively. They’ve given up some yardage at times but, when it counts, they’re able to put up a wall. That’s very important because you have a feeling that, when it counts, you’re not going to let your opponent in the end zone.

Good backs get stronger as the game goes along. When you watch Cyrus, some of his best runs come at the end of the game, which means that he’s not just a running back that can only get things done in the first or second quarter. When the clock winds down and the players get tired, you’re still able to make things happen. If you look at the history of all great running backs, they all have the ability at the end of the game to outperform and outlast the defenders. Cyrus Gray is showing that unique ability.

It was amazing watching this A&M defense give up 30 points in the first half and shutting out the Bears in the second half. That’s a great sign of the players beginning to understand the defense, but it’s also attributed to the defensive coaches and DeRuyter. They’re making the necessary adjustments during the game, taking away things that the team was doing well earlier in the game. So you have to give credit to the coaches and you certainly have to give credit to the players because it doesn’t matter how smart the coaches are, the players are the ones that have to go on the field and make plays. So there’s a very good connection between the flow and understanding of what you’re doing and trying to do and what you have to do to stop your opponent.

The story about Caleb Russell is certainly a special one and I’d like to look at that situation through the eyes of the head coach. It starts with Mike. Mike Sherman is a very sincere individual and he’s also a very caring individual. The players are very important to him, but when you have a kid who has had a tragic loss, it can affect him in a lot of ways. It was so important for that kid to do something to honor his grandmother and he was able to do that. We can all say that was divine power and intervention, but he also made the play and he made it because, deep down inside, he was given the confidence and Mike said, ‘I’m going to play you.’ And when he said that, he also told him to make plays. Through the years, I’ve had players that have had tragic moments and I remember players coming back from that on Saturday morning and playing, and just demolishing people right in front of you. It’s how you handle the players. You give them that assurance and you give them compassion. That’s how Mike handled the situation, and this is something that you’re seeing with the team. You’re seeing the players and Mike putting the pieces together. You’re seeing their responses, and this game is so important that once you’ve accomplished it, you’ve turned the train around and you’re in a great position. Now, just go out and have fun.

This week, we’re playing Nebraska in a highly anticipated game at Kyle Field. The Aggies are going to play with confidence and desire because this team knows that they can do that. Now, just go out and have fun. If the players can go out on the field and play with the same intensity and the same emotion that they played with in the last two weeks, and have fun doing it, they will beat Nebraska. The two things in this game that you are looking at are, of course, the rushing offense and the rushing defense. Nebraska is not going to throw the football all that much. They’re going to pound the football and set up the pass with the run. And on defense, they’re going to put eight in the box and play man coverage. We’re playing Nebraska, and you have to be more disciplined than you have all year because of the option game and how well they run the option. So you’ve got assignments and you’ve got a play technically sound, but you have the quarterback and you need to string him out and make sure you’re at the right place at the right time. Because if you’re not, everybody else has assignments and that quarterback is running down the field untouched.

Friday night at the Zone Club at Kyle Field, we’re having our annual 12th MKOT scholarship banquet. And this year, we’ve turned it into a night of tribute to legendary former A&M head coach Emory Bellard. The big story line is that, one, you’re helping a former Aggie coach in his fight with ALS. And two, you have all of these great former players and coaches at Kyle Field ... many of the greats from the Southwest Conference, like Spike Dykes, Frank Broyles, R.C. Slocum and I will be there as well. You will never have that array of coaches at Kyle Field again. So the storyline is how they feel about Bellard. They feel so good about him, meaning that they think he is one of the good guys in our business. They all feel the same way, that he is such a good person. Every one of them unequivocally didn’t hesitate to be there when they found out about the dinner. These guys are not coming to the football game ... they’re coming to College Station for one reason and that is because of Emory Bellard.