Northwestern University Athletics
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The Skip Report: The Grind
11/25/2015 3:00:00 PM | Football
By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor
THE GRIND is the thing. It is there when the alarm rings in the morning, there when each rep is run at practice, there when the crucible of a game arises, there when one Saturday moves on to the next. But it is not the only thing. Important too is the approach to the grind. "It's just having that positive attitude each day," explains the defensive end Dean Lowry. "For example, we had some hiccups mid-season, losing to Michigan and Iowa. But we responded very well to adversity after that. We fought back. When you have a close team like we do, it's easy to come to work each day ready to work. That's been one of the keys to our success in staying consistent and winning games late in the fourth quarter."
"For us, as an offensive line, we have a poster in our room that says, 'Embrace the suck.' We really try to embrace that," says the right guard Matt Frazier. "Honestly, the first five minutes after you wake up at 5:30 or whatever it is, it is gonna suck. But you have to get that attitude around and just embrace it and come in with a positive attitude and focus on the values we have. You just have to enjoy it."
THE GRIND was not the thing for the 'Cats in the previous two seasons. That is what the defensive end Deonte Gibson said back in late August. "We gained talent and lost grind, you know what I mean? A real urge to win," he said then. "Like me personally, I took for granted what success looked like. It got to a point where you had to look in the mirror and say you have to improve."
"It was a kind of fight-or-flight deal," he will say this week when reminded of that quote. "With me being a senior, it's my last go-round, the last time I get to play with the guys I came in with and also with the young guys. So I had to take this opportunity and cherish it. For me, cherishing it as an athlete, cherishing it as a football player, it's the grind. The best way I can pay respect to the game, pay respect to this team, is by giving it all I have. That's the approach I took at the beginning of the year in the competitions in the weight room (during winter workouts) and then during the off-season, and also in the competitions within the D line in pre-camp. So it's a mentality that's been brewing since January and I think it's starting to show now."
But he was grinding the previous three years as well, wasn't he?
"Yeah. I don't think I was grinding any less," he agrees. "It's the cherishing aspect of it. It's cherishing this game. You just don't know. Sometimes you just don't know when something's going to happen. It's a precious game, and it's also a game that can bring you down. There's so many dips and turns. But for me, I've been really grateful for what's gone on this year and grateful for the guys on this team. That's where my approach is at."
He is told that approach recalls his freshman season of 2012, that season when the defensive linemen Quentin Williams and Brian Arnfelt talked of the 'Cats riding The Fun Train, which they did all the way to a Gator Bowl victory.
"When you gain that respect and love for the game again, it's fun. It's exciting," Gibson says. "Every day you're going to have fun with your friends. That's the mentality I try to hold. Especially when things get tough, I just look at the D line. If you'd get to hang around with us a little bit, you'd understand how much fun football can really be. When you've got guys like that, that sort of group, it helps me play."
DEONTE GIBSON'S play this season has most-certainly respected his game, respected his team. Consider, first of all, the numbers.
In 35 games through his first three seasons, he totaled 45 tackles. This season, in just 11 games, he has totaled 35.
In 35 games through his first three seasons, he totaled 12.5 tackles-for-loss. This season, in just 11 games, he has 12.5.
In 35 games through his first three seasons, he totaled six sacks. This season, in just 11 games, he has nine.
Now consider this sequence of plays that unfolded late in the second quarter of the 'Cats win last Saturday over Wisconsin, where he played so well he was named the Big Ten's co-Defensive Player of the Week. On first down he stuffed Badger running back Corey Clement for a one-yard loss. Then on second down he sacked Badger quarterback Joel Stave for a seven-yard loss. Finally, on third down, he raced from one hashmark to the other to hold Dave Ogunbowale to a nine-yard gain after that Badger running back had taken a pass from Stave. "So his motor is running at a high, high level. That's what he's always been," Pat Fitzgerald will say after recounting that sequence.
"He's been productive his entire career. But you hope as a coach, by the time the guys get to their senior year, that the game has slowed down, that there's no more thinking, it's just cutting it loose, and he's played relentless all year. He's just been absolutely lights out, playing at I believe an All-Big Ten level. He's done all that, and been a terrific, terrific leader. That started this off-season. I challenged, as you know, the defensive line and secondary to step up from a leadership standpoint. Deonte was one of those guys who took that to heart, and he's been outstanding all year. It's been fun, and an honor and a privilege to be his coach."
"Yeah, the game slows down for you a little bit," Gibson himself will later say when asked about his coach's observation. "And if you really knew me outside of football, you'd know I'm not like this crazy, aggressive guy. But in games like that, where things start to open up a little bit, that's where my aggression picks up. It was something I saw, and the way our D tackles played-- you go back and watch that film. They made it a lot easier for me to pass rush and a lot easier for me to play the run. I can't give those guys enough credit. A big shout out to the D tackles."
And just how much fun is it to be in a game like that?
"It's awesome. It's just a great vibe," he says with a soft smile. "You just understand that no matter what happens on offense, what happens on special teams, the defense has it, the defense is in control of the game. It's a great feeling. It's very comforting."
DEONTE GIBSON embraces and enjoys the grind even now as he prepares to face Illinois Saturday at Soldier Field in the last regular-season game of his 'Cat career. "For me, it's the same sense of urgency I had going into (the season opener against) Stanford," he will finally say, considering that stark reality. "You've got to treat every week as the same. Me being a senior, I could put a lot of emphasis on, 'Oh, man, this is the first game of my senior year' or 'This is the last regular season game of my senior year.' I could do that and wallow a little bit. But I'd rather not.
"I'd rather take the same approach as a junior would, and just be ready to play, just be ready to grind, and just be happy to be out there."
NUsports.com Special Contributor
THE GRIND is the thing. It is there when the alarm rings in the morning, there when each rep is run at practice, there when the crucible of a game arises, there when one Saturday moves on to the next. But it is not the only thing. Important too is the approach to the grind. "It's just having that positive attitude each day," explains the defensive end Dean Lowry. "For example, we had some hiccups mid-season, losing to Michigan and Iowa. But we responded very well to adversity after that. We fought back. When you have a close team like we do, it's easy to come to work each day ready to work. That's been one of the keys to our success in staying consistent and winning games late in the fourth quarter."
"For us, as an offensive line, we have a poster in our room that says, 'Embrace the suck.' We really try to embrace that," says the right guard Matt Frazier. "Honestly, the first five minutes after you wake up at 5:30 or whatever it is, it is gonna suck. But you have to get that attitude around and just embrace it and come in with a positive attitude and focus on the values we have. You just have to enjoy it."
THE GRIND was not the thing for the 'Cats in the previous two seasons. That is what the defensive end Deonte Gibson said back in late August. "We gained talent and lost grind, you know what I mean? A real urge to win," he said then. "Like me personally, I took for granted what success looked like. It got to a point where you had to look in the mirror and say you have to improve."
"It was a kind of fight-or-flight deal," he will say this week when reminded of that quote. "With me being a senior, it's my last go-round, the last time I get to play with the guys I came in with and also with the young guys. So I had to take this opportunity and cherish it. For me, cherishing it as an athlete, cherishing it as a football player, it's the grind. The best way I can pay respect to the game, pay respect to this team, is by giving it all I have. That's the approach I took at the beginning of the year in the competitions in the weight room (during winter workouts) and then during the off-season, and also in the competitions within the D line in pre-camp. So it's a mentality that's been brewing since January and I think it's starting to show now."
But he was grinding the previous three years as well, wasn't he?
"Yeah. I don't think I was grinding any less," he agrees. "It's the cherishing aspect of it. It's cherishing this game. You just don't know. Sometimes you just don't know when something's going to happen. It's a precious game, and it's also a game that can bring you down. There's so many dips and turns. But for me, I've been really grateful for what's gone on this year and grateful for the guys on this team. That's where my approach is at."
He is told that approach recalls his freshman season of 2012, that season when the defensive linemen Quentin Williams and Brian Arnfelt talked of the 'Cats riding The Fun Train, which they did all the way to a Gator Bowl victory.
"When you gain that respect and love for the game again, it's fun. It's exciting," Gibson says. "Every day you're going to have fun with your friends. That's the mentality I try to hold. Especially when things get tough, I just look at the D line. If you'd get to hang around with us a little bit, you'd understand how much fun football can really be. When you've got guys like that, that sort of group, it helps me play."
DEONTE GIBSON'S play this season has most-certainly respected his game, respected his team. Consider, first of all, the numbers.
In 35 games through his first three seasons, he totaled 45 tackles. This season, in just 11 games, he has totaled 35.
In 35 games through his first three seasons, he totaled 12.5 tackles-for-loss. This season, in just 11 games, he has 12.5.
In 35 games through his first three seasons, he totaled six sacks. This season, in just 11 games, he has nine.
Now consider this sequence of plays that unfolded late in the second quarter of the 'Cats win last Saturday over Wisconsin, where he played so well he was named the Big Ten's co-Defensive Player of the Week. On first down he stuffed Badger running back Corey Clement for a one-yard loss. Then on second down he sacked Badger quarterback Joel Stave for a seven-yard loss. Finally, on third down, he raced from one hashmark to the other to hold Dave Ogunbowale to a nine-yard gain after that Badger running back had taken a pass from Stave. "So his motor is running at a high, high level. That's what he's always been," Pat Fitzgerald will say after recounting that sequence.
"He's been productive his entire career. But you hope as a coach, by the time the guys get to their senior year, that the game has slowed down, that there's no more thinking, it's just cutting it loose, and he's played relentless all year. He's just been absolutely lights out, playing at I believe an All-Big Ten level. He's done all that, and been a terrific, terrific leader. That started this off-season. I challenged, as you know, the defensive line and secondary to step up from a leadership standpoint. Deonte was one of those guys who took that to heart, and he's been outstanding all year. It's been fun, and an honor and a privilege to be his coach."
"Yeah, the game slows down for you a little bit," Gibson himself will later say when asked about his coach's observation. "And if you really knew me outside of football, you'd know I'm not like this crazy, aggressive guy. But in games like that, where things start to open up a little bit, that's where my aggression picks up. It was something I saw, and the way our D tackles played-- you go back and watch that film. They made it a lot easier for me to pass rush and a lot easier for me to play the run. I can't give those guys enough credit. A big shout out to the D tackles."
And just how much fun is it to be in a game like that?
"It's awesome. It's just a great vibe," he says with a soft smile. "You just understand that no matter what happens on offense, what happens on special teams, the defense has it, the defense is in control of the game. It's a great feeling. It's very comforting."
DEONTE GIBSON embraces and enjoys the grind even now as he prepares to face Illinois Saturday at Soldier Field in the last regular-season game of his 'Cat career. "For me, it's the same sense of urgency I had going into (the season opener against) Stanford," he will finally say, considering that stark reality. "You've got to treat every week as the same. Me being a senior, I could put a lot of emphasis on, 'Oh, man, this is the first game of my senior year' or 'This is the last regular season game of my senior year.' I could do that and wallow a little bit. But I'd rather not.
"I'd rather take the same approach as a junior would, and just be ready to play, just be ready to grind, and just be happy to be out there."
••••••
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