Q & A With Linebackers Coach Brad Sherrod
7/2/2015 10:04:00 AM | Football
GoBearkats.com presents the fourth in a series of question and answer sessions with Sam Houston's football coaching staff.
Today's interview features co-defensive coordinator and linebacker coach Brad Sherrod.
Team captain and an All-ACC selection at Duke, Sherrod worked as an assistant to Bearkat head coach K. C. Keeler for three years at the University of Delaware. He spent 11 seasons on the staff at his alma mater Duke and also has coached at Elon, Massachusetts and East Tennessee.
Question: After a year here at Sam Houston and in the state of Texas, how would you compare it to other places you have been?
Answer: It's challenging to compare the places I worked against the others because each place is unique in what it has or had to offer to me, my family and student-athletes. I will say this - Sam Houston has a strong passion for its student-athletes and its football team. We have outstanding leadership for the school with our president Dr. Dana Hoyt and in the athletic department with Bobby Williams as athletic director.
My family and I love it here. The opportunity to do great things here are unlimited and we look forward to great success in upcoming season and years to come.
Question: How do you feel about the Bearkat linebacker corps for the upcoming 2015 football season?
Answer: We will have a very experienced group coming back this year. Tristan Eche, Myke Chatman and A J Davis played a lot of football for us last year. So our goals in the spring were to focus on playing with better fundamentals and limiting our mental mistake.
More importantly, our young players and those that played in a limited role last season had a great spring. We were able to get them a lot of reps and hopefully they will be able to help us more this fall.
I am really excited about red shirt freshmen Collins Okotcha and Hunter Brown who have transferred in from West Virginia. I'm looking forward to seeing them have a major contribution to our team along with Kevin Jackson, Terrell Jackson, and Austin Campbell.
Question: What do you like most about your linebackers?
Answer: Our linebackers really love and respect the game. They are always striving to become students of the game which make them a pleasure to coach.
Question: Can you talk about your incoming freshmen and what role they may play this fall?
Answer: We believe we really got some good athletic linebackers in this recruiting class. We signed three high school players and one junior college transfer. Two out of the three freshmen attended our football camp. When it came time to offer we had a lot of information on them. All four run extremely well and are very knowledgeable football players.
Currently, all of our freshmen and returning players are here this summer working out together. We will see in pre-season camp how fast they pick up the system and see where our needs are. If they can help us, they will play.
Question: You are going into your 20th year of coaching and I assume you have coached various defenses, most recently in a 4-3 scheme. Can you talk about your defensive philosophy?
Answer: Yes, I have coached in a lot of different schemes in 20 years but the philosophy has always been the same, stop the run. I strongly feel that if you can't stop the run then you are in for a long day as a defense. We have to force the opponent to become one dimensional and attack them once that has been defined.
Question: What are the advantages of playing 4-2-5 defense and especially Sam Houston's 4-2-5?
Answer: With a lot of spread offenses in today's football, a 4-2-5 defense gives you a better chance to match the speed on the field but to also dedicate an extra guy to the run when needed. Our defense really gives each player a chance to be very productive and to have an impact on the game. It allows players to play fast and react without a lot of thinking. It also gives us an opportunity to create big plays that could possibly change the momentum of a series or game.
Question: Having worked under Coach Keeler for 4 years, can you talk about your experience working for him?
Answer: I have learned a lot from working for Coach Keeler. He gives you a lot of autonomy to do your job which allows you to learn. He's been a great mentor, helping me reach my goals as an assistant coach, but more importantly he has helped me start to work towards my long-term goals.
The most interesting thing about K.C. is that he has won or competed for a National Championship at every level he has coached. So he has a blue print on how to win. More importantly, he always has a positive outlook on a situation where others may see it differently.
Question: When most people think of a Duke graduate, they don't think of football coaches. Why did you decide to coach?
Answer: Good question—the simplest answer I can give you is that I'm the son of a high school coach and all of my coaches, high school or college, have had an impact on my life. They didn't just teach me about how to become a better player but how to dig deep and get the best I could out of myself, not just on the field but off the field as well. I would like to do the same for my players.
Question: What plans do you have for this summer?
Answer: I'm a big history buff and we love going to the beach. So this summer my family and I plan to visit both Bush presidential libraries and to visit other historical sites in Texas, along with visiting the Gulf.
Coach Sherrod and the Bearkat linebackers will start preseason camp in early August in preparation for the season opener Saturday, Sept. 5, at Texas Tech.
Season tickets for all five Sam Houston home games in 2015 at Elliott T. Bowers Stadium plus the 90th “Battle of the Piney Woods” presented by H-E-B at NRG Stadium are now on sale online at www.gobearkats.com .
