Senior safety Devin Gregg lost his starting job after injuring his leg the week before the season. He is healthy now but has yet to regain his spot. Until the Iowa State game, he had seen very little action for a player with 26 starts in a row entering the season. He is still atop the career Aggie tackle chart among active players with 184.
Gregg discusses the emotions he's gone through this season, playing against Iowa State last week, a penalty that was called on him late in the game, his teammate in the secondary and his mentor in high school, who died in a hunting accident.
Q: How has the leg injury affected you this season?
A: I strained my quad the week before the Arkansas State game. We had a scrimmage and I pulled it on a kickoff and I didn't practice that week, trying to get it to heal. I've just been working at it ever since then, just trying to get back my position, playing time.
Just being hurt is disappointing. It's your senior year and you know that your games are definitely numbered now. I was disappointed in being hurt and even more so not getting to be out there with my teammates, and then we lost to Arkansas State, so that was not how I imagined starting the season.
Q: What was it like to be in on a majority of snaps for the first time this season last week?
A: It meant a lot. I was happy to have the opportunity to be out there and be healthy and contributing to a team win. The effort was great. We had some mistakes here and there, but overall it wasn't because we weren't trying. It felt like riding a bicycle once I got in a groove, but you don't want to get out there and try and do too much because that's how you make mistakes. You want to let the game come to you and just keep playing. We are just trying to get guys on the field that can help us win right now, searching, trying to find things that will work best for the defense.
Q: Near the end of the game you had what appeared to be a big clean hit on Sedrick Johnson. How did you feel when they flagged you for leading with your helmet?
A: I didn't know anything until they said "26" and I was like whoa, whoa, whoa. I didn't lead with my helmet or the crown of my helmet. I tried to ask and find out, and they told me to back away when they made the ruling. Looking at it on film, it was pretty much what everyone else felt, that I had led with my shoulder. It's physical game, and I'm going to be as physical as possible. I'm not going to stop doing what I do. Definitely I thought it was clean hit. They made the call. It hurt, but it didn't determine the outcome of the game.
As a defensive guy, you hate to see those kind of penalties called because then you're having to decide can I or can't I hit him. It's a tough decision, but you just have to keep playing and make plays.
The coaches were fighting for me. I saw coach Sherman and Kines on the sidelines jumping up and yelling and screaming for me.
Q: Your high school position coach Cliff Spencer died in a hunting accident when you were at Spring Westfield. How much credit do you give him for your football career?
A: Coach was the kind of person I could turn to and talk to and he helped in my development as a football player. He helped me with the transition from offense to defense going into my junior year. He had a promotion to cornerback coach and he felt like if I wanted to be on the varsity and have a chance to make it and play he wanted me to play cornerback, because he knew my work ethic, passion and drive for the game. He felt I had the ability with him coaching, and he could work on me and coach me up. It was fun, great being around him because he was always energetic. He loved the game. He played with Dante Hall at Nimitz. He also tried to help me with what I wanted to do with aspects beyond football, talking about life and going to college. He never influenced me to come to A&M by saying "go to A&M," but him being an Aggie and asking me about choices, A&M was definitely on the top of my list.
Q: What is your relationship like with freshman safety Trent Hunter and senior Alton Dixon, who was starting in place of you?
A: Trent is funny. Alton, how do I describe him? Sometimes he wants to be the general, definitely tries to run the show. Those two guys keep you laughing. Trent has all the energy smiling and talking. Alton acts like dad sometimes. Alton loves football, and Trent comes from a good football program, so I haven't had to help them much.
-- Richard Croome
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