@OldAggieAlum, thank you for passing that article along. Always good to have the Aggie lineage and philosophy published on a national scale. After four years in the woods with Gould, I think we are back on the track Sochor laid out. And as a former player, I really hope Hawkins re-instates the no helmets on the ground rule referenced in the article. Seems like a small thing, but trust me, it is not.

Did Gould not continue the helmet rule?

Did not appear so. I remember helmets laying about. Disgraceful!

Link:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/at-washington-chris-petersen-is-making-noise-with-a-quiet-approach/2016/12/28/59dde0be-c882-11e6-bf4b-2c064d32a4bf_story.html?utm_term=.2e4c2ca4cc70

I could be misremembering the helmet thing during the Gould era based on results-clouded memory though - I have no photographic evidence.

You also omitted the back2back 4-7 seasons just prior to Gould being hired. I believe everyone is disappointed in the results of the last "six (6)" seasons, but there are a few on this board that are over-the-top in their distain for Gould. He's gone; time to get over it and move forward!

This is an outstanding article that really shows the brilliant influence of Coach Sochor on the Aggie coaching tree. It sums up what we do here in Aggie Athletics and why it is special. I think it should be required reading for all Aggie athletes and could be used to acquaint potential recruits with what we are all about.

Great point @BlueGoldAg, and you are right @NewGuy, I do have some of that bias. I think while Gould was here I was like a UM fan wishing for a UCD equivalent to a "Michigan Man." I think that's why I and so many others on this board are excited to see what Hawk can do.

We need to get some alums to comment on this article. Very good article, no mention of Foster and Arp.

If you read this article and your eyes aren't just a little moist, or you don't hear the Band-Uh playing, then you don't belong on this board.

This is Aggie Pride.

Peterson, O'Brien, etc. played offense and had little contact with Foster, Arp, Young, etc. We were all under Coach Sochor however those on D worked with Foster et. al. throughout 90% of each practice. We were usually brought together to run plays against each other toward the end of practice but we stood with our position coach. On defense you would only hear from Coach Sochor if you did something wrong like when I as a freshman chased OB onto the track and he fell. OB was cool with it but, needless to say, Sochor wasn't!

Great article that truly captures what it means to wear the blue and gold.

Foster was a key part of our success, and I just read UW articles that said CP was actually closer to Foster. FYI.

Question. Since we ran the Flex and later the 54, how did our scout team operate? Did they just run generic 3 or 4 man fronts?

Movielover...I was replying to a question and in response to one article. The entire staff made for a very successful program. Foster, Arp. Biggs, Sochor, Coach V, Young, etc. had a great chemistry.

The scout team ran the opponent's defense which were on note cards. Offense scout team did the same.

I'm pretty sure I saw helmets on the ground at the Aggie games I saw this year.

Really?

Curious, is scouting opponents practices common, or considered unethical?

Way, way back I recall reading an article where a coach complained that opponents were scouting his team's practices...(Why do I think it was someone across the Causeway doing the complaining???)...I don't recall the details, though something tells me it was by standing in a wooded area or on a hill from where the alleged spies, er, scouts, could view the practice...and the story went on to say that it was a violation of some rule. Can't scout a team's practice but you can if there is an admission charge. Who charges to attend practices?? My assumption was that it's OK to scout something like a Blue & Gold game if admission is charged. That was a LONG time ago, and my memory is not a great resource for much.

More recently, if I am remembering correctly, Gould closed his practices to the public after he lost his first game at North Dakota because he believed that ND knew too much about the Aggie play calling during the game. He said he believed that they had scouted our pre-season practices but offered up no proof.

@BlueGoldAg I remember that well. It was a pathetic move and an early sign we we're in for a rough patch.

I bet it comes into play most often for the opening game if there has been a coaching change, and there is no current film. I know back in the day when we exchanged film, we knew exactly what was on, and not on, film.

Coach Gould got a late start, that wasn't his fault. It doesn't' look like he ever planned to be a HC. It kind of fell in his lap. He gave it 110 percent, it just didn't work out.

We need to solve the injury riddle.

I never questioned Gould's effort or how much he cared for the kids. He and his staff were good recruiters. He just wasn't good at his job and assembled a very inexperienced staff. It's a results business. No "A" for effort.

I found these in the course of my Saturday morning Googling:

A couple of links to lengthy articles about Coach Peterson’s career and the UCD connection:

http://archive.kitsapsun.com/sports/washington-huskies-petersen-picked-football-coaching-over-being-a-school-psychologist-ep-584616847-355337251.html

http://www.si.com/college-football/2014/08/11/inside-read-chris-petersen-washington-als-challenge

A short excerpt from an interview:

In what ways is your coaching influenced by what you learned from Jim Sochor at UC Davis?

PETERSEN: I think you talk to the Davis guys, all the Davis guys that have come out over the years that have been into coaching, and there’s a lot of them, and all-stars with Coach Sochor, Jim Sochor, and Bob Foster, both those guys. Unique place. I know I wouldn’t be into coaching today without question had I not gone there.

http://www.seattletimes.com/sports/uw-husky-football/uws-chris-petersen-on-husky-hype-jeff-tedford-jake-browning-and-more-at-pac-12-media-day/

Petersen and UW lost ... sounds like they hung close for one half, and then a big pick hurt them bad.

Beyond their TD drive...they really didn't have anything going at all on offense.

What's with 'Bama players not shaking hands after the coin toss? They need a little dose of the helmet rule.

I can appreciate the level of talent and execution that a program like Alabama has but I have a hard time being a fan of a college football program that has a budget and facilities that rivals some NFL teams. I find it hard to believe that they care at all about academics and the overall well-being of the players. They seem more like a professional team and the players are there to play football first and foremost and academics are pretty much just an annoyance at best.

I agree with you 100%.

On another note...hard to pick sides in an argument between Saban and Kiffin. Kind of like the 2016 elections. And what kind of coaching staff argues, or hands out old fashioned a$$-chewings, on the sidelines during a game and then makes light of it. Down the road a lot of these Alabama players will make some money playing on Sundays, but it will be interesting to see where they are when playing football is behind them. Will they work with families and co-workers? Or will they figure winning is the only important thing, and winning by a lot is better than winning by a little, and that good ol' fashioned a$$-chewings are proper conflict resolution?

You're correct, 72Aggie, some players form the biggest of the big power programs will go on to make big bucks in the pros, but what happens to many of the other players (their supporting cast) who may leave school without the ability to read at a middle school level?

I remember the fairly recent North Carolina scandal where some basketball players were reading at something like the 3rd grade level but were "magically" passing their college courses with a "little help from some supportive counselors." Those athletes were just being used to bring W's and $$$ to the university and the pockets of the coaching staff.

I think it is disgraceful and a travesty to college athletics when that kind of stuff happens and, honestly, I think there may be more of it taking place among the "elites of the elite programs" than any of us would like to think. Maybe I've become too skeptical and cynical in my old age but big money talks loudly at the top of the elite programs and, unfortunately, often times to the detriment of the well being of the athletes.

Sorry...end of rant!!! 8-)

I was a teaching assistant at a major ACC university for a year and it was a markedly different experience than Davis. There were a number of male athletes in one of lectures and each was provided a (gorgeous) female "tutor" that accompanied them to each class. For the most part the homework was all done correctly (in seemingly feminine handwriting) and then they all laid an egg on the tests. But in the end it didn't matter because the lead professor was notified by the president of the university that said students would be assigned B's and to make it look justifiable by any means necessary. Maybe isolated to that school, but I highly doubt it.

Keep in mind that in a lot of markets, the big time NCAA teams are in essence the local professional team of choice as far as fans are concerned because there are either a lack of true professional teams in the market or they are irrelevant. Many SEC and ACC teams have huge fan bases of people with really no affiliation to the university and sometimes no college degree at all. But even among alumni, the "good ol' boy network" runs much deeper than we see at Davis, with Ole Miss guys only hiring other Ole Miss guys and the like. These groups don't care about the academic integrity of the athletes as much as they care about the win column because they either have no personal investment or they are so plugged into their respective bro network that they don't care what the outside world thinks of their school. These groups buy the season tickets and merchandise, so university presidents are willing to overlook things.

I would like to say that your experience would be shocking but, unfortunately, it's the sad truth too often in big time college athletics. When college athletics become a huge business with deep corporate dollars feeding the university kitty, the only things that are going to ultimately matter are the number of W's and championship banners.