Inside the Huddle With Justin Crooks - Sept. 6
9/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Football
Sept. 6, 2004
Starting off a new football season on the right foot is usually the best approach to having a successful year. The expectations of Baylor football's 2004 season are to have a season we can be proud of. From the time Oklahoma State defeated us, 38-21, last November until Sept. 3, 2004, we have committed ourselves both mentally and physically to having the type of season that we have hoped for. I am very proud and fortunate to be able to play with the guys that I play with. We have come together more as a family than any other time since I've been here. To go into the type of places that we play and from the outside attention that we get, all we have is each other. This is what will give us the edge in winning football games this year. On Sept. 4, 2004, we opened up on the road in Birmingham, Ala., against UAB. In defensive preparation for the game, we knew we had to focus on stopping their quarterback, Darrell Hackney, and we also wanted to make the Blazers turn to the run. The results from the game obviously did not turn out the way we had hoped. We did not execute very well on defense and made way too many mental mistakes. Things just seemed to snowball on us and it looked like a Baylor football team from years past. The effort that we gave was fair, but all in all, we played well enough to get beat. The good thing is that we have another week ahead and another week to get better. We have Texas State this week and I'm sure they are going to be pumped up to play a Big 12 team. This is a bowl game for them in a way, and we must not underestimate them. They have good athletes and have passion for the game just like everyone else that plays. We need to have more intensity in practice this week and not make so many mistakes as we did last week. We can not play the way we did against UAB and expect to beat Texas State. We expect great things from this football program and I hope that everybody that is outside of it just believes in us and knows that we play and win games for you. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to seeing everyone at Floyd Casey on Saturday night for the Texas State game. - Justin
