Just Another Game (Yeah, Right!)
Coach June Jones and his UH Warriors say their Sugar Bowl matchup with Georgia is just another game. Though wide receiver Jason Rivers
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ticket buyers and pay-per-view subscribers. But for those who actually had to get the job done, the four-month odyssey was anything but a foregone conclusion.
“No athletic person ever says that we can win every game,” says Jones. “In the 45 years I’ve played organized sports, I have never had an undefeated season. Doesn’t matter what it was, even Little League. The chances of being on an undefeated team are very, very, very small.”
Jones does, however, admit the point of the season when he thought it possible.
“After Washington,” laughs the coach.
Although the offense lost impact players from last year’s squad - center Samson Satele (who would go on to start as a rookie for the Miami Dolphins), Tala Esera, Dane Uperesa and Nate Ilaoa - the real area of concern coming into the season was the defense that lost NFL draft choices Ikaika Alama-Francis and Melila Purcell, and hard-hitting safety Leonard Peters. As strange as it seems, the defense actually got better, much better, leaping from No. 94 in total yards surrendered in 2006 to No. 34 this season.
Evidently, the cupboard was hardly bare, and the return of a former coach helped push things along.
“It doesn’t surprise me as much since Greg (McMackin) was with me in ‘99, so I knew exactly what I was getting,” says Jones. “Basically, Jerry (Glanville) really got us going playing physical, tough football, hustling and doing the things we needed to do. I knew physically we were going to be the best that we’ve been coming into this year, and Greg has the touch to put it all together, and he’s done a great job of doing that.”
And though it wasn’t easy or always pretty, that’s exactly what they did. The Warriors turned back every opponent while at the same time doing the one thing that their coach felt no need to do - prove themselves to a doubting nation.
More importantly, the 12 wins gained the attention of people who the head coach feels can really make an impact.
“What this season has done is brought the attention of people who can change the way things are around here,” says Jones. “We need help, and we need people making decisions to help us. I think the people who have the power to make those decisions in this community now realize the potential of this place, and I don’t think they even imagined it before.”
The one-word answer to the coach’s concerns is money. UH is in a better situation than it was a few years ago, but the Warriors still fall short of the schools against which they compete. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that the university is looking at a $4 million payday for its BCS game, and the money couldn’t come at a better time.
The coach is soon to become a free agent and due a major pay raise, the facilities twice took hits nationally, the dorms are outdated, and the recruiting budget allows for very little recruiting.
Taken as a whole, the 12-0 mark is even more impressive.
“What we have accomplished here has been nothing short of a miracle to be quite honest,” says Jones. “My coaches have been unbelievable, all of them. Even the ones that have left. So the commitment they have made has been the same commitment that everyone has made to get it done.”
Jones went on to say the goal is not to compete with Ohio State or other large institutions with seemingly unlimited resources, but to be on an equal footing with WAC rivals.
“I’m talking about competing against Fresno, I’m talking about San Jose, New Mexico State,” he said. “We’ve got to be on par with those guys. We’re not asking for a lot.”
While Jones has never been one to shy away from comments about the effectiveness of his offense or the state of facilities at the university, the tone changes when the topic turns toward his players, not as athletes, but as people. Gone are assured comments laced with bravado and instead comes a much slower and emotional response that barely hides the slight wetness that covers his eyes.
“I think they are ... I think about the type of kids they are, the love they have for each other, the spiritualness that they show,” says the suddenly quiet, introspective coach, who says he has paid the tuition for a number of players whose eligibility has ended. “They are really a great group of kids. That’s what I’m proud about. We’ve got a great group of kids. They love each other, they’re family. It’s 105 guys that are brothers. They are unique kids from all walks of life.”
Right now that band of brothers has one common goal in mind - a win in the Big Easy.
As Ah-Soon says, “Everything we’ve done so far - WAC champs, going 12-0 - it does-n’t mean anything to me.”
A win over Georgia, he says, would give extra value and meaning to everything he and his teammates have already accomplished. “If we win this game that’s Merry Christmas for us. That’s my holiday gift,” he says.
Turns out the Sugar Bowl really isn’t just another game.
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