BOULDER - Ask Brad Bedell for an assessment of Mike Sherman and don't expect to be led in circles.
On Monday, in between large bites taken from a large sandwich, Bedell grinned and called himself "a truth guy" - and we're guessing some of that was instilled in him during his time around Sherman, now Texas A&M's head coach but a former NFL coach who had Bedell as a player at two pro stops (Green Bay, Houston).
Bedell, in his third season as an offensive technical intern for the Buffaloes, hasn't been surprised at the Aggies' turnaround after a wretched showing at Kansas State three weekends ago.
(For the record, A&M lost 62-14, and even that 48-point kick-in-the-teeth doesn't reflect how poorly Sherman's team played.)
The following Monday, Bedell assured me that Sherman would have his players' full attention by mid-week. Furthermore, he said an immediate A&M turnaround wouldn't be surprising, with much of that prophecy based on what he knows about Sherman.
"He's straight to the point . . . a man I respect very much," Bedell said. "He shot you straight, and in the NFL - I won't say names - that's not always the case. He demands your respect, but personally, he earned mine."
Bedell can only guess what Sherman told his players after they were mauled in Manhattan, but this is a guess is based on Sherman being his head coach (Green Bay) and his offensive line coach (Houston).
"I think he probably told them, 'You'll start winning once losing really hurts,'" said Bedell, an All-American guard at CU in 1999. "That's just him; he takes everything hard.
"He's the kind of guy who's going to keep grinding and grinding and grinding, knowing eventually it's going to turn. That's the kind of guy he is.
"The NFL is different; players take a lot more ownership because it's their career. But he's the kind of guy, if he's unhappy, (players) are going to know he's unhappy. And I respect that.
"He'll say, 'We're losing because of this, this and this . . . we're going to change that and we're going to win.'"
And that's what's happening in College Station, where Sherman has nudged past the halfway point of his second season and already has one more win (five) than he managed in Year 1 (4-8). The Aggies are a mere victory short of being able to bank on a postseason appearance.
Since the debacle at K-State, A&M has won two in a row, defeating then-No. 21 Texas Tech (52-30) in Lubbock before ripping Iowa State (35-10) in Kyle Field last Saturday.
"Now they've got it going again," Bedell said. "Mike is a great guy . . . it's no slam on anybody else I've played for, but (Sherman) and Tom Cable (former CU assistant, current Oakland head coach) are two guys I respect greatly because they tell it straight.
"I'm a truth guy; if something is on my mind, you're going to know it. I related to them quite a bit."
The Aggies visit Folsom Field Saturday (11:30 a.m., FCS) and Bedell will preach to the Buffs this week that unless they're prepared to match the intensity of Sherman's team, this weekend won't be much more enjoyable than last.
"We have to play physical," said Bedell. "Yeah, I'm sure (Sherman) is telling their players, 'They've (the Buffs) done great at home . . . they haven't been so good on the road. But we're going up there.'
"This can still be a tough place to play - the altitude and when our students get it going. We're going to have to take every good shot from them. I know it's coming, but that's why you play the game."
Bedell, whose NFL career included stops at Cleveland, Washington, Miami, Green Bay and Houston, played it to the hilt. He now jokes (I think) that what he did on the field would have gotten him arrested on the street.
Being physical - starting and finishing that way - is a part of the game the young Buffs haven't done with much consistency in Year 4 of the Dan Hawkins era. But an abundance of youth on their two-deep chart apparently hasn't hamstrung the Aggies (5-3 overall, 2-2 Big 12 Conference) in the area of getting physical.
Ponder this: A&M's two-deep chart for the Iowa State game showed 16 sophomores and 18 freshmen (true/redshirt). CU's two-deep chart for last weekend's Missouri game showed 18 sophomores and nine freshmen (true/redshirt).
Sherman, speaking on Monday's Big 12 coaches teleconference, said his younger players generally came from successful high school programs, where winning big was expected and usually delivered. When big losses occur at the collegiate level, confidence can take a huge hit.
But "a lot of that stuff (the confidence to rally after a disheartening loss) is how the head coach handles it, how he passes it on to his staff and players," Sherman said.
"Our approach is the same after wins and losses . . . we evaluate the tape and move on. We handle wins and losses the exact same way."
That's identical to what the Buffs are hearing from Hawkins and his staff, but they haven't matched the Aggies' turnaround this season.
Prior to the ugly afternoon at K-State, A&M had lost consecutive games to Arkansas (47-19) and Oklahoma State (36-31). That constituted a three-game losing streak, but Sherman contended confidence in his team never waned and his players' confidence never shattered.
A "bad second quarter" doomed the Aggies against the Razorbacks and the game against the Cowboys turned on one play.
Said Sherman: "Then we go into Kansas State and get our butt spanked. We were brutally critical of ourselves after that game, but our kids bounced back.
"I told them that Bret Favre has had bad games, I've had bad games . . . we didn't allow them to hang onto the loss."
Still, Sherman conceded the 48-point thrashing "set us back a couple of steps . . . Then the last two weeks, we go back and pick up two steps. The last eight quarters, we've played pretty good football.
"Just because you lose a game, you don't lose confidence. But certainly getting your butt spanked is a blow for a young football team."
How it's dealt with is the key. A&M, at least over the past three weekends, is Exhibit A of rallying after a whipping. During the same span, with a home win over then-No. 17 Kansas (34-31), a road defeat at K-State (20-6) and last weekend's disturbing home loss against Missouri (36-17), CU is Exhibit A for inconsistency.
If it's not the best body of work to push a team into the season's final month, it's not irreparable. Time for the repair job, though, is escaping. Quickly.
ONE HOT QB: In Jerrod Johnson, A&M boasts one of the league's most effective quarterbacks.
Johnson ranks among the Big 12's Top 3 in nine statistical categories, including No. 1 total offense (328.9 yards a game), total touchdowns (26 - 20 passing, 6 rushing) and touchdown passes (20, with only three interceptions).
"I think he's making good decisions and not forcing the ball," Sherman said.
When training camp ended, said Sherman, "I was very hard on him (because) the decisions he makes are more critical than those I make.
"He understands that, so he's very careful with what he does with the ball."
Hawkins called Johnson, who passed for 214 yards and three TDs last season in a 24-17 Aggies win against CU, the player who "stirs the whole drink. He's very electric, very mobile. They know what they're doing on offense, but their quarterback makes it go."
KASA OUT: Freshman defensive end Nick Kasa, CU's top 2009 recruit, will miss the rest of the season, Hawkins said.
Kasa, sidelined earlier this season with a partially torn knee ligament, has mononucleosis and a possible enlarged spleen.
"I'm sad for him," Hawkins said. "Hopefully, he can get his year back . . . we'll just have to love him up and get him through it. He was getting better (after returning from the knee injury), you bet."
IOWA STATE TIME: CU's game at Iowa State on Nov. 14 was not selected for TV and will kick off at noon MST. It will wind up being the Buffs' only 2009 regular-season game that is not televised.
Contact: BG.Brooks@Colorado.EDU
