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GOLD AND BLACK ILLUSTRATED VOLUME 27, ISSUE 3 23 they'll take it more serious. Trust me, I try to be as calm as I can. But come game time, it's going to come out of me." Gold and Black: I've heard you've thrown chairs, also. Brohm: "Part of being a coach is you have to be able to motivate. I think you have to be able to relate to your players. It all comes down (to) you practice your tail off, you try to get ready for the game and when the game is getting ready to start, you want to make sure not only are your players ready, but are you ready? I think sometimes you have to prove to your players, 'I'm ready. If you guys are ready, too, let's go do this thing.' Sometimes you can be calm, but sometimes your adrenaline takes over and numerous things happen." Gold and Black: How would you describe your offense? It seems to have spread and pro-style ele- ments and can be multiple. Brohm: "The multiple aspect is really what we try to be good at. I've been exposed to all different types of offenses, everywhere I played, every team I've been cut on, every team I've made. I've seen what works and what doesn't, both at the professional and at the college level. Really when I became head coach, I said, 'I'm going to put my own flavor on this.' As soon as I took over, we went to the no-huddle system. We went to the uptempo. We tried to kind of speed this thing up and get with the times, while doing a lot of the same stuff but trying to improve on that. "The ability to be multiple really helps you in a lot of ways. It's about who's on our team. What are they good at? How can we take advantage of their strengths? We definitely try to do that with the quarterback, whoever it may be, whether he's a runner, a dual threat, just a thrower. I've had all kinds. Then we try to build the of- fense around him and make sure we're getting the ball to our best players. Those things are very important. Obvi- ously I'm a quarterback, I'd love to do it in the air. It's fun and exciting to do. But I think to be a great football team, you have to have balance. When I say balance, it doesn't mean 50-50. It means can you do both? Yes, we'd love to be able to throw the football because you can create big plays, you can create home-run shots, you can get easy scores and you have to find a way to do that. Now, if a team wants to try to take away that, you've got to be able to run the ball. You've got to be able to be physical when you do it. Then hit some play-action shots off it." Gold and Black: How do you leverage your offen- sive reputation on the recruiting trail? Brohm: "I tell them when you are playing in that offense, we want you to have fun practicing in that of- fense. They all want to be involved and get touches, and we want them to be a part of the fun in practice and also in the game. I think when you are recruiting the quarter- back position and the skill positions, you show them the numbers, the brand, the results, and it speaks for itself. If you are talking with a receiver, (you say), 'Do you want to go to a school where you block all the time, or do you want to go out there and catch some balls?' "Having said that, I want our players to play with per- sonality and swagger. I don't want to force them to play a certain way out there. I want them to have their own personal freedom. Let them go out and play the way they want and they will go make plays for you. As long as they are avoiding penalties, being respectful and playing with- in the rules, I want them to bring their own brand and fla- vor. If you let them come play with swagger, other players will want to come play for you." Gold and Black: What do you believe is the head coach's role in recruiting? Brohm: "As you have probably heard, I am very ac- tive in that role. I am going to watch video. I will give our assistants the ability to evaluate talent and make moves quickly with players if they need to. We will catch it through the proper channels, but you can't let that be- come too slow. Nowadays, you have to get on these young men early. You have to get in the game, and then you can evaluate and create a pecking order. I will always have a hit list in order at every position. We will try to stick to it to a certain degree, and we will go after the ones we want, but also have a backup plan and a backup for that and so on. "I think everyone has to be on the same page. I will need the input of assistants and administrators in the room. I think you have to sit with your whole staff and grind through the tape. You have got to get the best play- ers out of all your assistants regardless of who has gotten who in the past. We want everyone to have seen every- one, and it can be tedious, but it has to be done. Do it early and do it constantly." j