BeaversEdge Q&A with Gary Andersen - Part II

Are there any guys you’ve seen since the end of the 2016 season that have stepped into new leadership roles?

Andersen: “Manase (Hungalu) has done a really good job with that and it’s expected of him. You can’t force leadership and you can’t just ask someone to all of a sudden be a leader. It has to naturally happen and start to take place. (Hungalu) has done a nice job of that and it’s good to see. He’s a more of a leader on the field but he will be more vocal at times off the field now too. Ryan (Nall) is also moving into that category also. He was a very talented player obviously, and I think now he does have a voice. His expectations of where his team is going is important. Those two would definitely jump out to me as leaders.”

What's different about how you coach the Beavers now as opposed to when you were hired?

Andersen: “They know who I am, and I know who they are for the most part. There’s things about me that I told them at the very beginning. I’m the most paranoid head coach in America, just like I was the most paranoid father in America. And I am. I’m going to address many things that sometimes maybe seem over the top. I’d rather talk about them, than have them come out and be a problem. It allows them to know who I am, and I know who they are, which in turn gives them more of a voice. It gives them more of an opportunity to bring things to the table. I will bring more things to them, and more options to them because I know them and can get their real answer of how they feel. For instance, today I talked to the kids about future training. I had the thought process of maybe changing some lifting and running times, and move it to more of a free schedule for them to be able to pick a time for them to lift. They came back and to their credit, they didn’t want that. They want to stay exactly where they are and so we will stay exactly where we are. I expect more ownership, and I expect more out of them and police the team more so than they ever have. I expect them to be more bought into the program."