Q&A with Aggie inside linebacker Michael Hodges

Billy Liucci: Talk about the struggles of the defense on Saturday.
Michael Hodges: “That’s attributed to their offense. Blaine Gabbert is a dang good quarterback and there’s no doubt that he has a future for himself [in football]. He really found spots on us ... he found our weak points and we didn’t adjust. Myself particularly, because I didn’t make an adjustment that I needed to make. He took advantage of that, hitting several 15-yard passes. Not only was it a 15-yard catch, but they also got yards after the catch, which was detrimental to our defense. I don’t think we came out flat. I think we came out pretty fanatical. The disappointing thing is that we lost. We couldn’t get it all together. They beat us and, obviously, we gave them some stuff. They outplayed us on Saturday.”

BL: Is the defense being hard on themselves after watching the tape?
Hodges: “Yeah, for the most part. Thankfully, our coaches are really critical and they don’t sugarcoat it. If I ever had a coach that sugarcoated it, I’d have a real issue because you have to know what you have to work on. Going into practice, I hate not having one thing to work on. This afternoon, there’s one goal that I have ... in big, bold letters on my note sheet and that’s ‘depth.’ I’m up on the line and that helps our d-line, but I can’t let that affect my pass coverage. Getting out into coverage is something I’ll focus on. I know the guys aren’t going to look to the guy on their left and look at what he did wrong. They’re going to look at themselves and say, ‘What can I fix?’.”

BL: What is it about depth that seems to cause the defense problems ... is it mental or physical?
Hodges: This week, I settled to early. I thought I was deeper, and I think maybe I attributed that to how deep Gabbert was in his drop. I say it’s all on me, but those were good throws too. There wasn’t much of a window, but I could’ve closed that window more. Physically, I can get back there, but I didn’t make that adjustment on the field to say, ‘Hey, you’re not getting as far as you need to.’ It’s something that we discussed on the sideline, but we didn’t make the adjustment on the field.”

BL: Is you’re strength identifying what teams are doing, and what has attributed to your interceptions this year?
Hodges: “I’m not, by any means, the most athletic guy on the team. I can hold my own, but the mental aspect is my strong point. That’s why I think it’s so disappointing that I didn’t make that adjustment because I should’ve seen what they were doing to me, and I didn’t. That’s something I can fix ... it’s not something out of my game. I can fix it and work on it. All of my picks this year have been deflected or tipped, not to take away from the interception, but it helps that I’m in the right place. Coach always talks about, ‘If you recover a fumble, it’s not because you were in the right place ... it’s because you were working.’ That’s what I attribute my interceptions to this year. I study the other team as much as I can. We talk about on-the-field adjustments that need to be made, and we have made some that worked. I thought we played pretty well in the second half, but there are still certain things that we didn’t fix that they took advantage of.”

BL: Through six games, what is the biggest weakness of the defense that you need to work on?
Hodges: “The most recent game sticks out the most. Really, we need to work on execution. We’re flying around, and we’ve had more guys in the frame every tackle this year than we’ve had in some time. The scheme is good, but executing the scheme is sometimes where we lack. I can’t pinpoint what that reason is right now. We’ve played really well and, when I say ‘execution,’ I’m talking about this week and those few quarters. When you look at it, we gave them that. Why weren’t we there? Why weren’t we in that seam when we were supposed to have someone there? That’s the disappointing factor there. We can fix those things ... that’s the positive thing to come out of this.”

BL: Is the defense ahead of where you thought it would be when you started the year?
Hodges: “No. We have all of the tools and, athletically, we’re there. The scheme has helped a little bit. With the size we have, it helped. We’re able to use more linebackers by getting four of us on the field. It’s no real surprise. The fact that we took a step back last week is surprising because of how good we’ve been playing. I’m not surprised by any means and, in fact, I’m shocked we took a step back this week.”

BL: As a senior, how gratifying is it to be playing at Texas A&M and for a good defense that you can be proud of?
Hodges: “It was a personal goal of mine to leave my senior year with a defense that puts up numbers that we’re proud of, and that the fans and school would be proud of us. I’ve been through a lot to get to where I’m at, and it just makes it all that much sweeter. I wouldn’t change it because it’s made me the player and person that I am. We still have a lot of work to reach my goal.”

BL: What’s the attitude of the team, and how do you feel about your chances going forward in the Big 12?
Hodges: “At the beginning of the season, I thought we could go 12-0. I firmly believed that. Going into Saturday, there wasn’t a bone in my body saying we were going to lose that game. I would’ve bet the house on it. As a team, I think we’re a little more somber than the last two games because of our defensive play. That’s going to be the biggest challenge, to get out of that rut that we’re in right now. Quit feeling sorry for ourselves. It happened and it’s over ... let’s learn from it and build on it. Obviously, number one teams can be beaten every week. There are several examples of that these past few weeks. I’m hoping OU stays number one until we play them. I want to be the team to upset them. That’s the good thing about playing in the Big 12 ... there are a lot of good teams that we can still compete with. Because of how the college landscape is, it can change week-to-week. I hope we’re that outlier that shocks the world.”

BL: Anything could happen if you win out in the Big 12.
Hodges: “You’re right. We lost to a Big 12 North and South team, and anything can happen. We still have six games left.”

BL: As a football team, do you feel like you’re still close to being very good?
Hodges: “Yes. That sense of reaching all of our goals is still there. Obviously, we made it difficult for ourselves. The fans aren’t drinking as much Kool-Aid as the used to, but we still have each other. We believe in each other, and we still know that having a 6-0 rest of the season isn’t impossible.”

BL: Talk about Tim DeRuyter and what’s the strength of his 3-4 defense?
Hodges: “There are a lot of 3-4 defenses out there, so I’m not sure if it’s the scheme or not, but it’s obviously a huge factor. I was talking to another player and, sometimes, his calls are just on point. That interception I had at Oklahoma State, he called the perfect play to get the quarterback hit in the back. That factor is huge. Another factor is his intensity. It’s really contagious, and he’s truly passionate about everything he says and does. That rolls over and bleeds over to us.”

BL: What’s it like playing for Dat Nguyen?
Hodges: “I didn’t grow up a big Aggie fan. I didn’t have a college team ... I just focused on myself, but I knew about him. You couldn’t turn on sports without hearing about him when I was younger, so it was extremely exciting to get to play for him. I think the biggest part that I was going to take out of it was that he was going to open up my vision. I’ve been playing the same position my whole life, and I kind of feel like I got a bit of tunnel vision. Watching film, he’ll say, ‘See what I’m looking at,’ and that’s opened up the way I play and look at things. He has a wealth of knowledge at the inside linebacker position, which has really giving me the upper hand in growing this year.”

BL: You’re ranked first in the Big 12 against the run. What’ been the key to stopping the run?
Hodges: “Those front guys are playing great. When a lineman gets to me, it’s rarely because of what they did ... it’s because that lineman was free in that position. That’s made it a lot easier for Garrick and me. That aspect has made a big difference, so we’re able to fly around. I think what it comes down to, though, is our ability to disguise. The offensive line just doesn’t know which way we’re coming from. There are times that they’re pointing at Von Miller, thinking he’s coming. You know Von’s always playing around anyway and, if he is, there’s a pretty good chance he’s not coming. You can never tell with him, though, because he’s such an influential player on the team. He’s such a factor that helps free up the other end, so there are plays being made all over the field. The front seven has really leaned on each other and said, ‘Let’s put this on us.’ In camp, we really emphasized that this is our defense, this is our box and no one’s going to get through it. With the exception of a few big runs, we’ve really shut down a lot of teams.”