Texas A&M Football
Key quotes from Spencer Nealy interview
“Oh, my gosh! That was one of the most awesome games. I feel so bad now for that 2011 year, because the heartbreak and the stress that I had during that game – I was like, ‘Wow, so this is what it’s like every game.’ Six games in that 2011 year, people had to feel that. I felt so bad. We were sitting right next to the Arkansas – we were in the cut-off from Aggies to Arkansas. It got a little – we were right there, man. We were at the last point near the last yell leader. Then you had the Arkansas people on their endzone, and it got confusing sometimes. You’d hear their roars, and then you’d hear our roars. I’m like, ‘Wait. Wait. What’s going on?’ It was beautiful.”
“Everyone was like freaking out, and I was like, ‘Dude, we didn’t play the same Arkansas team that played Toledo or Tech, because it’s kind of like one of those bird dogs that went through two owners that beat it. You’re going to have a pretty fidgety dog. It’s not the same dog.’ Arkansas had been beaten twice, and they were a little aggressive. Technically, we beat a really good team. Oh man, I was so jacked up. I lost my voice. I still have yet to get it back.”
“I remember that I always wanted to be a power forward in the NBA, but before Coach Snyder told me that I was about as athletic in a closet, my dad was calling me a spaz since I was five. I mean, I couldn’t – I averaged more fouls a game and probably missed more easy layups – It’s like my hands would cross going up. I always wanted to play in the NBA, man, but reality hits and you can’t be a 6’4” center in the NBA anymore.”
“We have a signed and autographed jersey from Michael Jordan, and it’s the #45 jersey. There’s a big, long note. It’s really awesome, because Michael Jordan wrote this to my dad, and it says, ‘This number suits you better.’ I couldn’t understand it, because it’s written in cursive. Whenever I tried to read it, I was like, ‘I’m going to lie and tell you I was 11 and couldn’t read cursive.’ Maybe I was 24. It’s almost like if Johnny Manziel wrote on a jersey for me, saying, ‘#2 fits you better.’ Aw thanks, Johnny.”
“I had to hear (about my dad being Phil Jackson’s favorite player) as a child. That definitely drove you to want to work really hard, especially when you’re not the world’s most athletic basketball player, and when your dad is your coach, you tend to get treated a little harder. That was definitely a big thing. I played with all my buddies, and my dad was always nice to them. I never understood why, but you hear all these things. It’s like, ‘Well, I guess you can get in trouble if you’re mean to other people’s kids, but if it’s your own, you only get in trouble from the momma.”
“(My dad) busted out (his NBA Championship) ring for me when I was in high school. We were in the state quarterfinals playing Smithson Valley, and he busted it out. It’s really cool, but he’s such a humble guy. I’ve probably only seen that thing three times. Granted, he probably thinks me or my brother, Hunter, will go out and pawn it or claim it for ourselves. He keeps that thing locked up, man.”
“I was never recruited by (A&M). I filled out a questionnaire, and at two o’clock at night -- two o’clock or three o’clock – I’ve got to keep it consistent. It was just something that itched me. I was talking to my mom, and she was like, ‘Honey, don’t you want to play? TCU is offering you a scholarship. A&M just came in two weeks ago, and they’re making you pay your first way.’ I remember looking at her – when I’m talking to my mom, she’s got that treadmill in there. Because she’s such a hard critic, I tend to sometimes walk on that treadmill. Before she tells me not to break the treadmill, I say, ‘Mom, I just want to go to school at A&M, because I know I won’t get in with grades. I want to get a good education and enjoy being the scout team guy.’ She was like, ‘Alright. Whatever. It’s up to you. We’ll support it. We’ll pay for school.’ It just felt right. It felt right, and then Coach Sherman told me this could be the best investment of my life. At 18 years old, making the best investment of my life – holy crap! That’s one for the records.”
“(I earned my scholarship) in my second semester. Being the first child, I didn’t know anything about this. I never experienced anybody – the way a true grayshirt works, you sit out a year and you never pay. I was like, ‘Screw that. Let’s get it going. I want to go to college.’ It was awesome. It was awesome, because I started out just wanting to go to school and play scout team football. Whatever. That was my thing. I knew I was an undersized guy. That didn’t bother me. I just wanted to look good. That was my thing. I never wanted to put weight on. In the end, as history will tell you, I had to put weight on, and I got to 300 pounds. My 18 year-old self would have kicked the crap out of me. He would have said, ‘You never would have done that. You thought you were a Laguna Beach guy.’ If I could go back, I probably would have whipped the shells out and the Quicksilver board shorts and said, ‘Screw the NFL.’”
“I remember thinking (Sherman burning the playbook in 2010) was awesome, but remember I had that restraining order on me, so I couldn’t be too close to the fire. I was freezing. I had to cuddle up with some of the scout team guys in the back, because the Lord knows they were to scared to sit up front with Sherman.”
“I actually did not start playing more in (2010). That was the year that I was – I played a little, because Tony Jerod-Eddie got hurt. I was a true – after Sherman burned the playbook, I was like, ‘You know what? This is just awesome. It’s time to become a bona fide cheerleader, because winning is just awesome in general whether you’re playing or not.’ So I became the special teams’ best cheerleader I could be on the sideline. Shoot, Sherman doing something as bold as that – I’m pretty sure it broke some regulations. Obviously, burning paper on a practice field may piss some liberals off, but you know how it goes. It just shows that you see that somebody with such higher authority cares so much. He was like, ‘Well hey, (screw) it, guys. Look, I messed up. Obviously, I’m not making the right calls. It’s time to change it up.’ We were like, ‘Heck yea, man. I appreciate that.’ That’s just when everyone just wants to get together and rock on.”
“(The collapse in 2011) is the question of the year. I couldn’t tell you. We lost so many close games that it was just unbelievable. Everything was put into place. We must have angered somebody up in the heavens. Maybe it just wasn’t the time or we replaced it for an awesome 2012 year, which I would take any time of the year.”
“I remember when Sherman got fired, we were all pre-gaming when they called a team meeting at 9:30. Half the team was so drunk, we were like, ‘Oh, crap.’ We’re sitting in the meeting room with red eyes like, ‘Who’s driving? Do we have a driver? Oh Randy, you’ve got a pledge guy picking us up? Okay, perfect.’ All of a sudden, Sherman drops this bomb on us, and I just start crying like a damn baby. Granted, I’m a crier. It happens, man. It’s like on Varsity Blues. Billy Bob cried. Here’s Billy Bob the crier. It just sucks so bad, because somebody who gave you the opportunity of the lifetime and is like your grandpa – it’s just really hard, because that’s the type of guy that he was. There’s always a silver lining everywhere. Everyone ended up turning out awesome. Sumlin handled it even more awesome, because he came in and was like, ‘I know y’all are sad. A lot of you probably don’t like me.’ We’re like, ‘Well, I like you a whole lot better now. Thank you.’ He said, ‘We’re going to play the best players. Seniors, don’t be worried if you’re better.’ That’s usually how it goes, and he was like, ‘We’re going to win this year. I don’t care.’”
“My favorite moment from 2012 – I would have to say at our ring dunk after Kansas State lost to Baylor. That’s when we all realized that Johnny Manziel was going to win the Heisman. Everyone on the team that was at the ring dunk. We’re all just so pumped up, because we had two games left. We were all pretty well rested after Sam Houston, except Sam Houston was dirty as crap. We’re all like, ‘Johnny’s going to win the Heisman!’ Oh, my gosh. Somewhere, every Aggie in heaven was just kicking back with a nice, straight bourbon, going, ‘There you go, guys. Let’s get revenge on OU.’”
Aggie Flashback: Edition #99 with Spencer Nealy
Key quotes from Spencer Nealy interview
“Oh, my gosh! That was one of the most awesome games. I feel so bad now for that 2011 year, because the heartbreak and the stress that I had during that game – I was like, ‘Wow, so this is what it’s like every game.’ Six games in that 2011 year, people had to feel that. I felt so bad. We were sitting right next to the Arkansas – we were in the cut-off from Aggies to Arkansas. It got a little – we were right there, man. We were at the last point near the last yell leader. Then you had the Arkansas people on their endzone, and it got confusing sometimes. You’d hear their roars, and then you’d hear our roars. I’m like, ‘Wait. Wait. What’s going on?’ It was beautiful.”“Everyone was like freaking out, and I was like, ‘Dude, we didn’t play the same Arkansas team that played Toledo or Tech, because it’s kind of like one of those bird dogs that went through two owners that beat it. You’re going to have a pretty fidgety dog. It’s not the same dog.’ Arkansas had been beaten twice, and they were a little aggressive. Technically, we beat a really good team. Oh man, I was so jacked up. I lost my voice. I still have yet to get it back.”
“I remember that I always wanted to be a power forward in the NBA, but before Coach Snyder told me that I was about as athletic in a closet, my dad was calling me a spaz since I was five. I mean, I couldn’t – I averaged more fouls a game and probably missed more easy layups – It’s like my hands would cross going up. I always wanted to play in the NBA, man, but reality hits and you can’t be a 6’4” center in the NBA anymore.”
“We have a signed and autographed jersey from Michael Jordan, and it’s the #45 jersey. There’s a big, long note. It’s really awesome, because Michael Jordan wrote this to my dad, and it says, ‘This number suits you better.’ I couldn’t understand it, because it’s written in cursive. Whenever I tried to read it, I was like, ‘I’m going to lie and tell you I was 11 and couldn’t read cursive.’ Maybe I was 24. It’s almost like if Johnny Manziel wrote on a jersey for me, saying, ‘#2 fits you better.’ Aw thanks, Johnny.”
“I had to hear (about my dad being Phil Jackson’s favorite player) as a child. That definitely drove you to want to work really hard, especially when you’re not the world’s most athletic basketball player, and when your dad is your coach, you tend to get treated a little harder. That was definitely a big thing. I played with all my buddies, and my dad was always nice to them. I never understood why, but you hear all these things. It’s like, ‘Well, I guess you can get in trouble if you’re mean to other people’s kids, but if it’s your own, you only get in trouble from the momma.”
“(My dad) busted out (his NBA Championship) ring for me when I was in high school. We were in the state quarterfinals playing Smithson Valley, and he busted it out. It’s really cool, but he’s such a humble guy. I’ve probably only seen that thing three times. Granted, he probably thinks me or my brother, Hunter, will go out and pawn it or claim it for ourselves. He keeps that thing locked up, man.”
“I was never recruited by (A&M). I filled out a questionnaire, and at two o’clock at night -- two o’clock or three o’clock – I’ve got to keep it consistent. It was just something that itched me. I was talking to my mom, and she was like, ‘Honey, don’t you want to play? TCU is offering you a scholarship. A&M just came in two weeks ago, and they’re making you pay your first way.’ I remember looking at her – when I’m talking to my mom, she’s got that treadmill in there. Because she’s such a hard critic, I tend to sometimes walk on that treadmill. Before she tells me not to break the treadmill, I say, ‘Mom, I just want to go to school at A&M, because I know I won’t get in with grades. I want to get a good education and enjoy being the scout team guy.’ She was like, ‘Alright. Whatever. It’s up to you. We’ll support it. We’ll pay for school.’ It just felt right. It felt right, and then Coach Sherman told me this could be the best investment of my life. At 18 years old, making the best investment of my life – holy crap! That’s one for the records.”
“(I earned my scholarship) in my second semester. Being the first child, I didn’t know anything about this. I never experienced anybody – the way a true grayshirt works, you sit out a year and you never pay. I was like, ‘Screw that. Let’s get it going. I want to go to college.’ It was awesome. It was awesome, because I started out just wanting to go to school and play scout team football. Whatever. That was my thing. I knew I was an undersized guy. That didn’t bother me. I just wanted to look good. That was my thing. I never wanted to put weight on. In the end, as history will tell you, I had to put weight on, and I got to 300 pounds. My 18 year-old self would have kicked the crap out of me. He would have said, ‘You never would have done that. You thought you were a Laguna Beach guy.’ If I could go back, I probably would have whipped the shells out and the Quicksilver board shorts and said, ‘Screw the NFL.’”
“I remember thinking (Sherman burning the playbook in 2010) was awesome, but remember I had that restraining order on me, so I couldn’t be too close to the fire. I was freezing. I had to cuddle up with some of the scout team guys in the back, because the Lord knows they were to scared to sit up front with Sherman.”
“I actually did not start playing more in (2010). That was the year that I was – I played a little, because Tony Jerod-Eddie got hurt. I was a true – after Sherman burned the playbook, I was like, ‘You know what? This is just awesome. It’s time to become a bona fide cheerleader, because winning is just awesome in general whether you’re playing or not.’ So I became the special teams’ best cheerleader I could be on the sideline. Shoot, Sherman doing something as bold as that – I’m pretty sure it broke some regulations. Obviously, burning paper on a practice field may piss some liberals off, but you know how it goes. It just shows that you see that somebody with such higher authority cares so much. He was like, ‘Well hey, (screw) it, guys. Look, I messed up. Obviously, I’m not making the right calls. It’s time to change it up.’ We were like, ‘Heck yea, man. I appreciate that.’ That’s just when everyone just wants to get together and rock on.”
“(The collapse in 2011) is the question of the year. I couldn’t tell you. We lost so many close games that it was just unbelievable. Everything was put into place. We must have angered somebody up in the heavens. Maybe it just wasn’t the time or we replaced it for an awesome 2012 year, which I would take any time of the year.”
“I remember when Sherman got fired, we were all pre-gaming when they called a team meeting at 9:30. Half the team was so drunk, we were like, ‘Oh, crap.’ We’re sitting in the meeting room with red eyes like, ‘Who’s driving? Do we have a driver? Oh Randy, you’ve got a pledge guy picking us up? Okay, perfect.’ All of a sudden, Sherman drops this bomb on us, and I just start crying like a damn baby. Granted, I’m a crier. It happens, man. It’s like on Varsity Blues. Billy Bob cried. Here’s Billy Bob the crier. It just sucks so bad, because somebody who gave you the opportunity of the lifetime and is like your grandpa – it’s just really hard, because that’s the type of guy that he was. There’s always a silver lining everywhere. Everyone ended up turning out awesome. Sumlin handled it even more awesome, because he came in and was like, ‘I know y’all are sad. A lot of you probably don’t like me.’ We’re like, ‘Well, I like you a whole lot better now. Thank you.’ He said, ‘We’re going to play the best players. Seniors, don’t be worried if you’re better.’ That’s usually how it goes, and he was like, ‘We’re going to win this year. I don’t care.’”
“My favorite moment from 2012 – I would have to say at our ring dunk after Kansas State lost to Baylor. That’s when we all realized that Johnny Manziel was going to win the Heisman. Everyone on the team that was at the ring dunk. We’re all just so pumped up, because we had two games left. We were all pretty well rested after Sam Houston, except Sam Houston was dirty as crap. We’re all like, ‘Johnny’s going to win the Heisman!’ Oh, my gosh. Somewhere, every Aggie in heaven was just kicking back with a nice, straight bourbon, going, ‘There you go, guys. Let’s get revenge on OU.’”
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