Quentin Coryatt on the A&M defense, the 'Hit' and his life after football

Key quotes from Quentin Coryatt interview

“The first part of what I’m doing now is truly rewarding for me. I work with young athletes here in the Houston area on a lot of sports performance and training, but on the mentorship side is where I find the greatest reward. Giving them a greater insight outside of whatever their respective sport is and showing them what the meaning of true success is. True success is within those four walls that they’re in on a daily basis in their high school. I didn't have someone come to my school, someone to tell me, ‘Hey, you know what, football is great but what are you going to do after that career is over? You can be a doctor, an attorney, a CPA. Whatever you choose to do, be passionate about it and stay focused. Don’t think you’re going to be a professional athlete because the odds are slim. I’m not discouraging you. Go after it passionately and be driven, but plan A should be your education.”

“When I retired, I didn't watch much football, but I gravitated more towards basketball. I’d always hear the announcers say, ‘The pure-shooters of the game no longer exist and the art of shooting has been lost.’ So I thought about what I could create to help someone’s shooting accuracy and the first person I thought of was Shaquille O’Neal. The Hack-A-Shaq was big and he couldn't shoot a free throw, so I wondered, ‘how can I create a better shooter?’ I came up with the perfect jumper. It’s a tool that focuses on the center of the basket and forces you to create a better trajectory. In doing so, you’re able to remove the product and it’s almost like cheating because you reduce the diameter of the basket. When you remove the product, it is like taking a stone and throwing it into the ocean - it’s that easy. You build muscle memory, increase your depth perception and it’s humbling, but is a great tool to become a better jump shooter and free throw shooter. It has four components and can really increase your shooting ability.”

“Several professional teams use it and about 30 universities across the country use it. We currently have iconic names such as Bobby Knight, Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, Lisa Leslie and Nick Van Exel that have all endorsed my product over the last few years. It’s at perfectjumper.com.”

“I have followed the A&M defense closely. I love the enthusiasm and the effort that they are playing with. It’s been a long time, in my opinion, since we’ve had a good secondary to be able to defend the top receivers in the country in the SEC. When you look at Terry Price, who was my teammate at A&M, he has done a great job with that defensive line. I think the missing component right now is the ability to stop the run from a linebacker’s point of view. The line is solid and the secondary really impressed me last season. They have truly created an identity on the defense, which is really impressive compared to years past. That takes a few guys on defense, from a leadership perspective, to say, ‘Hey, I’m going to take control of this defense. This is my defense.’ Pretty soon, it will be all 11 guys going after the ball and playing defense the way it is designed to be played. That’s really important in order to be a well-rounded defense that plays cohesively as one unit. In years past, they haven't been able to achieve that, but I think the defensive coordinator is headed down the right path and I’m starting to see what next year holds for this A&M defense.”

“The ‘Hit’ was years ago and that was the old Quentin Coryatt. I’m a different person today. I’m very thankful that I had a great coaching staff and a great head coach in R.C. Slocum and defensive coordinator Bob Davie was amazing. My teammates were not just teammates or friends, they were family. I think that is what A&M has missed in the last two years - that family atmosphere. I didn’t just play the game for myself, I played it for my teammates and for that great Aggie nation. I know, as a team, we didn't want to let our family that came to watch us down. We didn't want to let our teammates down. But I think we all took pride in wearing that ATM on the side of our helmet and the maroon jerseys. We loved it all and played for Texas A&M, it wasn't an individual effort, it was a family effort. If A&M can ever get back to that family atmosphere, they are going to win a lot of championships because they have a great head coach and are getting the right coaching staff in place to be successful.”

“The play wouldn't continue to live on if it wasn't for the fan base, so I have to thank the fans for keeping it alive. Any other player on my team would have done the same thing. Bob Davie put us in the right place, every single game, to be able to make big plays. I have a lot of gratitude to the fans because without them it would have died long ago. Was it the hardest hit of my career? I’d have to say no because when you go to the next level, you’re bigger, faster, stronger and your adversary is equally as strong, if not stronger. People always ask me the difference between college football and professional football. In college, you’re in second or third gear. In the pro’s, you’re in sixth or seventh gear on every single play. The game changes.”