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 Wednesday, August 8, 2001
Q&A with Oregon State's Dennis Erickson
By Terry Bowden
Special to ABC Sports Online
Bowden's Weekly Chat Show
ABC college football analyst Terry Bowden chatted with Oregon State football coach Dennis Erickson about the new success of the Beavers, OSU's Heisman candidate and what it will take to reach the Rose Bowl.
Terry Bowden:
Looking at Oregon State's accomplishments over the last two years, does it surprise you, or did you foresee this?
Dennis Erickson:
|  | | Jonathan Smith and the Beavers crushed Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl 41-9. |
You almost have to pinch yourself sometimes. When we took this club over, to go 7-5 was kind of monumental. And then all of a sudden to go 11-1 and ranked in the top 5 of the country, you almost have to pinch yourself. Particularly, last year we started early. We could have gotten beat by Eastern Washington and New Mexico. We barely got by them, but we stayed healthy and continued to improve, which is what good football teams do.
The bottom line is our players believe now that they can be successful. As you know, that's a big part of it.
Terry Bowden:
Oregon State has always had a tough time recruiting. How difficult was it to recruit them to Corvallis and has it changed after your recent success?
Dennis Erickson:
Recruiting is getting unbelievable now. What has happened is that our president and athletic director have made a commitment. Facility-wise, we have a great facility. We have a new indoor facility that should be done in the next month. All of that is because of the success we had early.
We brought some junior college players to help us the first couple of years, which made a difference. And there were players here (Mike) Riley recruited and Jerry Pettibone recruited. You put them together, and all of a sudden they started jelling. The recruiting class we have coming in this year as freshmen is unbelievable. It's obviously the best class that's ever been here, but it's one of the better classes on the West Coast.
Terry Bowden:
Your name was mentioned for other jobs, but you stayed at Oregon State. Is it because of the commitment from Oregon State?
Dennis Erickson:
There's no question about it. To me, it's the opportunity for me to put a signature on a program. I have moved around, been to different places. This is a tremendous opportunity for us to take a program that was down as low as it could be and hopefully make it consistent. You don't do it over two years, you do that over a period of time. Hopefully, we can do that. That's why I decided to stay here. I like this area, and I can see us building a solid program for a long time.
Terry Bowden:
As a head coach, you were successful at Washington State, Miami and now at Oregon State. You had a tougher time with the Seattle Seahawks. What's the difference between running a college program and an NFL team?
Dennis Erickson:
I don't think there is much of a difference X and O wise at all. Obviously, college football and high school football is more of a coaches' game. You have more influence on the players themselves and how they play. In the NFL, it's more of a players' game. That's probably the biggest difference.
I feel, in Seattle, it took us four years to build something, and then obviously they let us go that fifth year and they ended up winning the AFC West. Sometimes people are very impatient, in all of football, but particularly in the NFL.
Terry Bowden:
Oregon State's prospects start at the wide receiver/tight end position. What newcomers have to come in and step up?
Dennis Erickson:
Those are two areas of concern for us because we lost great players. At wide receiver, James Newson, who played some last year, has really stepped up. Sean Trimmer, who has been around and played quite a bit. Shawn Kintner has been here and played some. Those are three guys who have to step up. We have a couple of freshmen who have to come in and help us, and JC guys have to come in. That's an area of concern, and somebody has to step up to the plate and play well. I really believe they will.
Tight end is the same situation. We lost two really good players, but we have Tim Euhus, Tyler Ross, Jermaine Jackson, Mark Walsh. We have some guys who have been around in the system and they have to step up and play.
In college football, those freshmen and sophomores who don't play, all of a sudden, they have to step up and play the next year. Hopefully, they have been in the system enough to really make a difference.
Terry Bowden:
Ken Simonton is one of the leading candidates for the Heisman Trophy. You've seen a lot of great backs. What makes him special?
Dennis Erickson:
|  | | Ken Simonton has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of his three seasons. |
A couple of different things. He's got great lower body strength and he breaks tackles. His legs are unbelievable. He's got great feet, and makes people miss. And probably one of the biggest things is that he has tremendous vision. Being a back and having vision is a key and he can see things. A lot of times, at 5-foot-8, he hides behind those offensive linemen well. That makes a difference. He's the best back I have ever been around in college football and just makes things happen. Without a doubt, he is a Heisman candidate and one of the best players in the country.
Terry Bowden:
Is QB Jonathan Smith the one who makes your offense go?
Dennis Erickson:
The thing about Jonathan is that he knows the offense as well as I do. That's what you have to have your quarterback do. He's one of the smartest guys I have been around. He really knows where to go with the football. He doesn't make mistakes, he's a very accurate thrower and has a good arm. When they start playing Kenny in the running game, the play-action pass becomes big for us. He knows that. He audibles at the line of scrimmage a lot. He'll make up for the physical stature that he doesn't have. He's smart. As far as college football goes, he's one of the better quarterbacks around.
Terry Bowden:
You lost three starters on the offensive line. Do you have a nucleus ready to step in?
Dennis:
I like our offensive line. Chris Gibson is the leader of it, and Vince Sandoval is back. We've moved him from left to right tackle. Then we have some guys who have been around: Mike Kuykendall and Tyler McClaughry at guards, Lee Davis at tackle.
We're much more athletic in the offensive line than a year ago. Maybe not quite as big and physical, but we're a little bit more athletic. We pass protect and do good things as far as the zone blocking and being athletic and pulling. We may do some different things in our running game because we're a little more athletic and not as physical.
Terry Bowden:
In the Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame, Oregon State's speed was evident. You employed a similar philosophy when you were at Miami. Is that emphasized in your recruiting?
Dennis Erickson:
The No. 1 thing is speed for us on defense. I call it downsizing. We may take a strong safety who can run, maybe a 4.6, 4.7 and move him to 'backer, where he's fast. We've done that for years, ever since I was at Miami. Take a 'backer that's 240 pounds, move him down where instead of average speed at linebacker, he's a very fast defensive end. That's always been our philosophy. It's really worked, and obviously a lot of people are doing that now. The key to us defensively -- you can do that, downsizing, get guys who can run -- but you better have two good defensive tackles.
Terry Bowden:
Talk about your front four.
Dennis Erickson:
We have Eric Manning, who I think is one of the better defensive tackles around. And then we have another player, Dwan Edwards, who played a lot last year. We're pretty solid there. We need to develop some depth at defensive tackle. We need to get a third and fourth guy.
We lost two great ends. I don't know if you ever replace them, but we have some guys who can run and play well. We may have to play a little different at defensive end. Maybe not make the big plays there, but we have awfully good linebackers coming back. So we will have to do it differently.
Terry Bowden:
You have talked about middle linebacker Richard Sigler. Who has the talent and who is the leader at linebacker?
Dennis Erickson:
They have great speed. James Allen is probably as talented a guy as I have had in a long time. He's 240 pounds and can run. Richard Sigler is a middle linebacker, that's not real big, but he can run. Nick Barnett is an outside linebacker who started last year some of the time. He is an ex-strong safety, who's now up to 225 pounds and can really run. Overall probably one of the faster groups I ever had at linebacker.
Bowden:
The best well-rounded guy, academically and athletically, on the team is cornerback Dennis Weathersby. What kind of leadership does he give you?
Dennis Erickson:
Dennis Weathersby is a big corner. He's 6-foot-2 and can cover. He's one of the better man-coverage guys. He's got long arms. He's a key. One thing you can do with him is that you can man him up on somebody and do some other things because he can take guys out of the game. He's a real key to what we do, there's no question about it.
Our safeties are pretty darn good. Calvin Carlyle is back, Jake Cookus, so we have some returners. But with Dennis, you can do a lot of things because he can eliminate a part of the field.
Terry Bowden:
You have played in great rivalries, including Miami-Florida State. This year, people are talking about the possibility of what the Civil War could mean between Oregon and Oregon State. How does this matchup rank around the country in terms of intensity?
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I have been in a lot of heated rivalries, but in a state like Oregon, it's even more heated. It's like any rivalry: You don't know what it's like until you are involved in the first game. I wasn't sure about this one until we got beat last year in Eugene. But I will tell you -- it's one of the greatest rivalries I have ever been around.
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— Dennis Erickson, on the Civil War |
Dennis Erickson:
It's unbelievable because we're only 40 miles apart. It's really close. In a state like this where there are two schools, you're either a Beaver or a Duck. When it comes down to the football game, it's unbelievable. I have been in a lot of heated rivalries, but in a state like Oregon, it's even more heated. It's like any rivalry: You don't know what it's like until you are involved in the first game.
I remember being involved in the first Miami-Florida State game when your Pops beat us up there in Tallahassee. I didn't know anything about that thing until that game was over with. I wasn't sure about this one until we got beat last year in Eugene. But I will tell you -- it's one of the greatest rivalries I have ever been around.
Terry Bowden:
What's the one thing your team needs in order to get to the Rose Bowl?
Dennis Erickson:
It's so difficult to go through this league undefeated. In my mind, to win the national championship, you have to be undefeated somehow. I don't know if you will ever see a national champion come out of here because of that. Everything is equal. You have to get some momentum going. We open with UCLA here in the first Pac-10 game, and you have to get on a roll and stay healthy. If you stay healthy, you have a chance.
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