Tonight, at the club level of Sun Devil Stadium (where the Edwards introductory press conference took place) there was a get together of around 60 former players and the football coaching staff. Heard some good feedback from that event that I wanted to share.
For starters, I got the impression that events like this were not commonplace at all under previous coaches, so the person I talked was impressed by this even taking place to begin with and the effort to build a good rapport between this new staff and the former players.
To no one’s surprise, I was told that the same Herm Edwards we saw so far in his two ASU press conferences, is the same one demeanor wise that spoke to the players whether in a group setting or one on one. He came off very genuine. Hard not to get fired up by what Edwards says and the manner in which he delivers his words. He says all the right things and makes some in the audience want to run through a wall for him.
He endeared himself to the former players reiterating that this is a stadium that they built and that this is their program. Which is why his door is always open to interacting with them and that he wants them to also interact with the current players and talk about their transition from football to the “real world” and how to successfully handle this.
Edwards repeated the point he made in his introductory press conference, that the success of this program will come first and foremost by the players that will be recruited. He said: “The players you saw out there on Monday (in the championship game) are the type of players we need here.”
Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales spoke to the group to and made a deep impression as well. He talked about recruiting players who would favorably project as NFL players when their college playing days are over, and that only with that caliber of players can you play at a higher level than the last few years here.
The former players also took a tour of the football facility and met new strength and condition coach Joe Connolly who said that he was impressed with the weight room etc. but also said “it smells too nice in here.” So that gives you a hint that he’s a blue-collar coach wants to change the culture to one he sees more conducive to success.
Hope this gives you a little taste of what the new staff is like and what kind of impression they are leaving on some former players.
For starters, I got the impression that events like this were not commonplace at all under previous coaches, so the person I talked was impressed by this even taking place to begin with and the effort to build a good rapport between this new staff and the former players.
To no one’s surprise, I was told that the same Herm Edwards we saw so far in his two ASU press conferences, is the same one demeanor wise that spoke to the players whether in a group setting or one on one. He came off very genuine. Hard not to get fired up by what Edwards says and the manner in which he delivers his words. He says all the right things and makes some in the audience want to run through a wall for him.
He endeared himself to the former players reiterating that this is a stadium that they built and that this is their program. Which is why his door is always open to interacting with them and that he wants them to also interact with the current players and talk about their transition from football to the “real world” and how to successfully handle this.
Edwards repeated the point he made in his introductory press conference, that the success of this program will come first and foremost by the players that will be recruited. He said: “The players you saw out there on Monday (in the championship game) are the type of players we need here.”
Defensive coordinator Danny Gonzales spoke to the group to and made a deep impression as well. He talked about recruiting players who would favorably project as NFL players when their college playing days are over, and that only with that caliber of players can you play at a higher level than the last few years here.
The former players also took a tour of the football facility and met new strength and condition coach Joe Connolly who said that he was impressed with the weight room etc. but also said “it smells too nice in here.” So that gives you a hint that he’s a blue-collar coach wants to change the culture to one he sees more conducive to success.
Hope this gives you a little taste of what the new staff is like and what kind of impression they are leaving on some former players.
