It’s no secret that Brian Smith left CLU during the winter to join CLU alum Doug Semones’ first staff at Occidental. Since that time, I have been inundated with questions from folks about what it is like to lose a staff member to such a close competitor. Here’s my take:
Q: Do you have to change everything in your offense?
A: Pretty much.
Q: Does it make you mad?
A: No, I really like and respect Brian and wish him and his family the best of luck. He needed a full-time job and I didn’t have one. If I did, I would’ve offered it to him.
Q: How will it affect your offensive line?
A: It won’t. That’s not a knock on Coach Smith, but change is inevitable in college football and kids are resilient. We return four starters, two other potential starters, and to date, have deposits from some big, outstanding freshmen with more to follow and a select class of transfers. We’re all about players here, and we’re going to be good up front. Not to mention, the two offensive line coaches I hired have been terrific thus far.
Q: Are you worried about them stealing your stuff?
A: No. We have plenty of people in the conference that have seen us long enough to know what we do. Teams take stuff from each other all the time, and we are no different. Our system is radically different than what they’ll want to do.
Q: Won’t they know your signals?
A: If they have time to pick our signs and communicate to their defense, they’re a lot more efficient than we are. And it’s like baseball, we all know what happens when you get caught stealing signs. It is almost pointless to attempt it.
Q: Dad, can you still be friends with Coach Smith?
A: Yes, 364 1/2 days a year!
WEEK IN REVIEW
I appreciate how our veteran players will coach each other-up, then compete like mad with each other on the next rep. I’ve commented on that at times in the past, but it is something you don’t see a lot of places and our guys are great about it;
Defensive secondary was dominant today. Consistency is the issue, but that will come with experience. I really like some of the wrinkles I’ve seen on that side of the ball;
I’ve been singing the praises of our Tight End group, but that should be Tight End / H-Back / Fullback group. Big, fast, athletic weapons and several more on the way. Coach Rich is like a mad scientist finding ways to utilize those monsters!
Recruiting Update:
I’m going to wait to release specifics until after May 1, but the incoming freshman class is shaping-up to be among our best. We’re addressing needs and building for the future. Expect the number of freshman starters to increase to well north of 40. The “Be 41” campaign has been exciting for young players. After May 1, we intensify the transfer efforts.
MAKE THE BIG TIME WHERE YOU ARE
On Friday, legendary former Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) football coach Frosty Westering passed away at the age of 85. His son, Scott, is the current Head Football Coach at PLU, and our thoughts and prayers are with the Westerings and the entire PLU Football family.
I had the opportunity to spend a day with Frosty back in 1996 when he came to speak to the CLU Football coaching staff and a select group of others at the Reagan Library. He was towards the end of his career (but still had another national championship up his sleeve, the incredible 1999 run through the NCAA Division III playoffs where the Lutes won all five of their playoff games on the road) and came down to Ventura County to talk about the principals of his philosophy. The thing that has stuck with me over the years since that meeting, is the title of his book: Make the Big Time Where You Are. Simply, be the best at what you’re doing at that particular moment. Wherever you are in life, make it the Big Time with your approach and your attitude. Great advice. The grass isn’t always greener. Make the most of what God has given you.
305 wins. Four national championships. Four NAIA championship game appearances. Appeared in the NCAA playoffs every year that he was the Head Coach. Elected to the College Football Hall of Fame and NAIA Hall of Fame. Honors upon honors. But the last time I spoke with Frosty, before we played PLU back in 2008 I think it was, he asked me about my family, and told me how proud he was of his son Scott and the job he was doing. He raved about his family, his kids and his grandkids. While there is nothing that I can say that will help the Westering family through this difficult time of saying goodbye, I will tell you what I know; you are loved!
LESSONS FROM MY OLD MAN
It was seven years ago yesterday that my dad passed away. It was a short, somewhat shocking process to all of us, but, like he always told me in tough times, “the suns gonna rise tomorrow”, and it has. Every day! I’ve sat down on several occasions to pen some of his words of wisdom but have never done anything with them except throw them away or lose them, but they resonate in my mind. Last night I said something to one of my girls and thought to myself, “you sound like your old man”. I find myself talking to recruits and their families about our core values and what we expect from our players, and constantly think, “you sound like your old man”. So, with yesterday coming and going, and the sun rising this morning, I thought I’d share a couple of pearls of wisdom, passed down from my dad to me, and passed down to my kids and our football team every year.
“You make your own bed, you have to sleep in it.” Meaning: You’re accountable for your actions, what you do and what you don’t do. You’re going to make mistakes. Own them, get it fixed, and move on. Don’t repeat the same mistakes.
“The sun’s gonna rise tomorrow.” Meaning: Keep on truckin’. There’s nothing you can do about the past, take advantage of what you were given today.
“Don’t ask ‘why?’ The good Lord will never give you more than you can handle.” Meaning: Suck it up and don’t feel sorry for yourself.
“Hit somebody!” Meaning: Blow guys up. Don’t stand around pushing and shoving. Ask questions later. Yelled at every kickoff of every game I played or coached that he saw.
This is only a sampling of what I was raised with. There were other things that would probably get me into some hot water today, but that could really be useful to today’s young men. I was blessed to have known my father and by the fact that he was always there for me, whether it was to congratulate me or to hold me accountable for some knuckleheaded action. A lot of him goes into who I am and what I do, and as a father, that is the greatest compliment a son can give.
Practice 8 review
Things were pretty spirited out there this morning, especially towards the end of practice. We are over halfway through practices, and things are setting-up pretty nicely. A lot of the players and position groups that I’ve mentioned in earlier posts are continuing to grow and improve. The Offensive Line is as good as any we’ve ever seen at this point in time, the Tailback and Tight End groups are deep, and Christian Bradley and a few others are everywhere, making plays on defense. There have not been a lot of surprises, but there is still competition out there at certain spots. As I told the team today, there will be competition in the fall from new players. All they can control is their attitude and effort, what they’re focused on, and the choices that they make. If my experience has taught me anything, it is that it will all sort itself out in August when the helmets and pads come on. We play the best players, we don’t care what they look like, where they’ve come from, how long they’ve been here, etc. COMPETE!
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