Eckwood43
05-10-2004, 10:23 AM
Croom talked about attitude......he needs to talk about how tje Bulldogs have 54 lettermen and 15 starters returning from last season's 2-10 squad.....but that team also was ranked dead-last in Division I in scoring defense (39.2 points a game) and 110th in scoring offense (18.8).
Croom out to set a new attitude first at Miss. State
Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom has a simple policy regarding the onslaught of questions he has faced since becoming the first African-American football coach in the Southeastern Conference.
As long as anyone asks about his historical hiring, Croom will continue to answer.
"I don't let that bother me," Croom said Tuesday. "It comes with the territory. I am a coach in the SEC. I just happen to be the first African American coach in the SEC and it just goes with the territory."
But Croom also makes it clear he hasn't been hired by the Mississippi State athletic program to simply answer questions about his color.
He is more concerned with reviving a floundering Bulldogs' program holding its breath because of an NCAA investigation into former coach Jackie Sherrill's recruiting practices. The good news is Croom -- a former All-America center at Alabama and long-time NFL assistant -- began laying the foundation for Mississippi State's future during his first spring practice in Starkville, Miss.
Mississippi State doesn't have much to build on even though 54 lettermen and 15 starters return from last season's 2-10 bunch. The Bulldogs were ranked dead-last in Division I in scoring defense (39.2 points a game), 110th in scoring offense (18.8).
Croom said the primary goal this spring was to instill a new attitude.
"I think we started to change our thinking in how we went about things," Croom said. "We worked harder and showed some toughness at times. But we've got a long ways to go as far as our conditioning. We've got a long ways to go at improving our depth. We're very young at a lot of positions. But we have established a work ethic and a positive attitude to how we go about things.
"From that standpoint, I think spring was successful."
South Carolina coach Lou Holtz said Tuesday he hasn't met Croom nor had the chance to match wits with him on the field. But Holtz believes the conference's newest coach will be successful in time.
Croom's background includes stints as an assistant at Alabama (1977-86), offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions (1997-00) and, most recently, as running backs coach with the Green Bay Packers (2001-03). He was a finalist for the Alabama job after Mike Price was fired last spring, but fell painfully short when the Crimson Tide turned to former quarterback Mike Shula.
"I just marvel with his persistence and how talented he must be to overcome all the various obstacles he has faced," Holtz said. "Not getting (the Mississippi State) job, just generally in life. When I look at somebody and say, 'What kind of obstacles did they have to overcome?'
"That's what has impressed me. He has handled it with class."
He's even dealt with off-the-field controversy with relative ease, too.
Earlier this spring, Shula stripped Croom's name off one of the Crimson Tide's most coveted spring awards. The Sylvester Croom Commitment to Excellence Award, which had been handed out the past 16 springs, was renamed after former Green Bay great Bart Starr following a vote by Alabama's staff.
Croom was shocked when he found out and it was "hard to believe (former Alabama) coach (Bear) Bryant would have ever done something like that." Shula re-attached his name on the award after mounds of criticism and Croom has since said there are no hard feelings about a situation that could've been avoided.
Croom is hoping the commitment he displayed at Alabama will rub off on his new team, which is destined to take its share of lumps after floundering to a three-year record of 8-27 and 3-21 in conference play.
But color aside, Mississippi State is confident it hired the most qualified person to place in charge of the team's reconstruction.
"It is historical and significant in a lot of ways," Croom said. "But for me personally, it's just an opportunity to do a job I've prepared for for some time and am looking forward to the first ball game (against Tulane on Sept. 4).
"Whatever anybody else makes out of it, I can't control that. For me, it's just the start of another football season and a chance to get our team back on the winning track."
Croom out to set a new attitude first at Miss. State
Mississippi State coach Sylvester Croom has a simple policy regarding the onslaught of questions he has faced since becoming the first African-American football coach in the Southeastern Conference.
As long as anyone asks about his historical hiring, Croom will continue to answer.
"I don't let that bother me," Croom said Tuesday. "It comes with the territory. I am a coach in the SEC. I just happen to be the first African American coach in the SEC and it just goes with the territory."
But Croom also makes it clear he hasn't been hired by the Mississippi State athletic program to simply answer questions about his color.
He is more concerned with reviving a floundering Bulldogs' program holding its breath because of an NCAA investigation into former coach Jackie Sherrill's recruiting practices. The good news is Croom -- a former All-America center at Alabama and long-time NFL assistant -- began laying the foundation for Mississippi State's future during his first spring practice in Starkville, Miss.
Mississippi State doesn't have much to build on even though 54 lettermen and 15 starters return from last season's 2-10 bunch. The Bulldogs were ranked dead-last in Division I in scoring defense (39.2 points a game), 110th in scoring offense (18.8).
Croom said the primary goal this spring was to instill a new attitude.
"I think we started to change our thinking in how we went about things," Croom said. "We worked harder and showed some toughness at times. But we've got a long ways to go as far as our conditioning. We've got a long ways to go at improving our depth. We're very young at a lot of positions. But we have established a work ethic and a positive attitude to how we go about things.
"From that standpoint, I think spring was successful."
South Carolina coach Lou Holtz said Tuesday he hasn't met Croom nor had the chance to match wits with him on the field. But Holtz believes the conference's newest coach will be successful in time.
Croom's background includes stints as an assistant at Alabama (1977-86), offensive coordinator with the Detroit Lions (1997-00) and, most recently, as running backs coach with the Green Bay Packers (2001-03). He was a finalist for the Alabama job after Mike Price was fired last spring, but fell painfully short when the Crimson Tide turned to former quarterback Mike Shula.
"I just marvel with his persistence and how talented he must be to overcome all the various obstacles he has faced," Holtz said. "Not getting (the Mississippi State) job, just generally in life. When I look at somebody and say, 'What kind of obstacles did they have to overcome?'
"That's what has impressed me. He has handled it with class."
He's even dealt with off-the-field controversy with relative ease, too.
Earlier this spring, Shula stripped Croom's name off one of the Crimson Tide's most coveted spring awards. The Sylvester Croom Commitment to Excellence Award, which had been handed out the past 16 springs, was renamed after former Green Bay great Bart Starr following a vote by Alabama's staff.
Croom was shocked when he found out and it was "hard to believe (former Alabama) coach (Bear) Bryant would have ever done something like that." Shula re-attached his name on the award after mounds of criticism and Croom has since said there are no hard feelings about a situation that could've been avoided.
Croom is hoping the commitment he displayed at Alabama will rub off on his new team, which is destined to take its share of lumps after floundering to a three-year record of 8-27 and 3-21 in conference play.
But color aside, Mississippi State is confident it hired the most qualified person to place in charge of the team's reconstruction.
"It is historical and significant in a lot of ways," Croom said. "But for me personally, it's just an opportunity to do a job I've prepared for for some time and am looking forward to the first ball game (against Tulane on Sept. 4).
"Whatever anybody else makes out of it, I can't control that. For me, it's just the start of another football season and a chance to get our team back on the winning track."