John Chavis on his charity golf tourney, A&M defense going into '17

Key notes from John Chavis interview

• I look forward to my golf tournament benefiting the Tennessee Children's Home each year. It's all about the kids and they do a wonderful job of taking in kids that don't get placed anywhere. They have a really high success rate of kids who make it through the program and back into society. They do a tremendous job and it touches my heart to see those kids and know they have a chance to be productive citizens.
  
  
• If you can't make it out to the tournament, you can still donate. Lori handles the donations and she can be reached at 865-470-0894. Last year it was well attended by Aggies and it will be this year, too. There are a great number of Tennessee and LSU people that got involved and still come out as well. When you see what's going on with the Tennessee Children's Home it makes you feel good and makes you want to support the cause.
  
  
• I've got my plate full in College Station right now, but I found a similar situation in Baton Rouge to support. I'm going to find something in College Station to support as well. I went out to Coach Blair's tournament last week. Tennessee is home for my kids, but College Station is home for me so I want to find something that may not be as well known but still can benefit people. It's a blessing to be able to do that and draw attention to something and give back to the community.
  
  
• I feel good about the defensive personnel. I'm always going to be optimistic, but I won't be blind. We'll look a little different when you lose two defensive ends like we did to the draft. I think we've grown and taken strides in the right direction. I love the guys we have inside and we still have some defensive ends that can play. Jarrett Johnson was our sack leader last year, and that gets lost when you start talking about Myles and Daeshon.
  
  
• I go back to the Tennessee game last year and we were only going to play Myles on third down. When that thing got into overtime he wouldn't come off the field. It will be tough to replace him but there will be 10 other guys around the guy who fills in that spot. We finally have some depth at linebacker and even though we lost Evans at safety, there won't be much of a drop off there with Wilson. We now have to find out who is our nickel and we have several guys competing for that spot. I'm not going to mention names, but we feel like we have the personnel we need there.
  
  
• Charles Oliver got a lot of experience at corner and it's time for him to really grow up. He had an excellent spring and Priest Willis is finally back healthy. We've got some good corners, but you can't just play with two. We have competition and that makes you better. I feel good about our personnel.
  
  
• Ron Cooper is a tremendous coach. We've been in battles together before and he does a tremendous job in preparing guys throughout the week. He understands exactly what we're looking for and it makes it easier when you've got someone who has coached in the scheme in the past. He's going to add to what we can do and being able to adjust on the fly on game day is great. It didn't take us long to get back on the same page together because when you've worked together you can tell what the other person is thinking.
  
  
• We've got a basic defensive philosophy that we're not going to get away from. A lot of times its about how you approach it. There are a lot of different ways to do it and we want to make sure we stay on the cutting edge. You may see some more multiple looks because of the personnel we've got, and we'd be wise and smart to find the things our guys can do best and let them go do it.
  
  
• I came here to help Coach Sumlin and do what I can to help build a championship team. That's easy to say, but it's the truth. When I don't have the burning desire to go out and be the best I can be, then it's time for someone else to do this. I say nice things about the A&M fans and College Station because they're true. I love it there and my wife loves it there. We have to keep pushing the envelope and keep getting better. I think we've made progress, but A&M should be one of the top programs in the country and my goal is to help get it to that point. We've had moments, but we're looking for the opportunity to play and compete for championships.