We like to sell when we're recruiting the idea that it is our hope that at least twice per year, you're going to play in an NFL venue.

We told him last spring that he shouldn't come here unless he thinks he can [contribute]. He moves well. He's got a good work ethic. Somewhere on that defensive front, he should be playing because he's a pretty good talent.

For a long while, people didn't give scholarships for special teams. But now, it's understood. You're not looking for a walk-on. You're looking for a guy because he is a weapon.

As soon as Dad got a taste of it, that's all he could think of.

Dad wasn't a daredevil, but he lived his life to the fullest.

There are four or five plays every game that will determine the outcome, and those plays are (usually) special teams. There's nothing worse than your offense going eight or nine plays for a touchdown, and then you kick off and see the other team go all the way with one play. That's demoralizing. We've come to understand the importance of special teams.

At this level and above, when teams are evenly matched, normally the difference makers are special teams. There's nothing like taking an eight- or nine-play drive and scoring and then the other team gets in the end zone with the kickoff return - those are momentum swingers. We tell our guys, be the reason we won, not the reason we lost.

In the first game of the season, you never know what to expect. Now we know what we have to work on before our next game. We made enough plays to win, but we have to be better than this.

We really try to use that as a recruiting strategy that hopefully will help us in landing some of those top guys.