BlackGold4vr
05-07-2007, 11:28 AM
Exerpt from a Q&A with Mitch Browning who was formerly the offensive coordinator for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and before that the tight-end coach.
Q. What was your favorite moment with Matt?
A. The thing that sticks out in most people's minds about Matt Spaeth is when we lined him up at wide receiver and brought him in motion to crack defensive ends, and those defensive ends - Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin - he'd flat KO them. And you'd see that they would stand up and start looking for him the next time around, or in the next game they'd game plan for that specific formation when they knew he was out there. We actually called it "Spaeth motion" when defensive ends would actually stand up and start looking for him in that particular formation. Guys on the sideline would just be laughing because, man, they knew what he was capable of doing. He's wipe them out! This year, I mean, he was devastating.
Q. The Steelers think the injury caused his stock to fall and that they got a steal. Could Matt have been a higher draft pick had he been healthy his senior year?
A. I don't think there is any question about it. I tend to agree with them. Here's a guy that, considering he was injured, played exceptionally well. He won the John Mackey award. That says something. That's the kind of competitor he is. Nobody put a gun to his head to make him play. He played. He'll play through pain and he'll play injured. I guarantee you that's unheard of in this day and age.
Reading this article from SteelCityInsider made me laugh when I thought about some of the conversations that musta took place between Lamar Woodley and Matt Spaeth at the rookie mini-camp. :hilarious:
Q. What was your favorite moment with Matt?
A. The thing that sticks out in most people's minds about Matt Spaeth is when we lined him up at wide receiver and brought him in motion to crack defensive ends, and those defensive ends - Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin - he'd flat KO them. And you'd see that they would stand up and start looking for him the next time around, or in the next game they'd game plan for that specific formation when they knew he was out there. We actually called it "Spaeth motion" when defensive ends would actually stand up and start looking for him in that particular formation. Guys on the sideline would just be laughing because, man, they knew what he was capable of doing. He's wipe them out! This year, I mean, he was devastating.
Q. The Steelers think the injury caused his stock to fall and that they got a steal. Could Matt have been a higher draft pick had he been healthy his senior year?
A. I don't think there is any question about it. I tend to agree with them. Here's a guy that, considering he was injured, played exceptionally well. He won the John Mackey award. That says something. That's the kind of competitor he is. Nobody put a gun to his head to make him play. He played. He'll play through pain and he'll play injured. I guarantee you that's unheard of in this day and age.
Reading this article from SteelCityInsider made me laugh when I thought about some of the conversations that musta took place between Lamar Woodley and Matt Spaeth at the rookie mini-camp. :hilarious: