Majors: Man on the Move

it's November 24th 1956 Tennessee playing Kentucky in trailing seven to six early in the fourth quarter number 45 Johnny Major starts left pivots Minh saves the play with five yards of em right in at the Kentucky 42 yard line Majors flows on second and 12 complete for 24 yards personal foul call against Kentucky draws another 15 yards second and goal majors dives into the end zone to put the balls ahead the all-america tailback puts it out of reach majors drives over his own left tackle and rambles for 22 yards and a first down and in the next play same thing majors cuts off left tackle then pours it on 31 yards for the score and a 22 sex victory majors accounts for six of the nine fourth-quarter first down temperatures symphonies take two steps hey Sammy John just just give it up take two steps we're going for his feet so you don't see me eating it so just just tell me why yes to this John said hey all right just give him two steps all right here we go hey is an X give it time did you rock on the time in a way Sam is just creepy he just don't like this as a collegiate star Johnny majors was selected as an all-american in 1956 at the University of Tennessee he twice gained more than 1,000 yards in a season majors was the third ranked punter in the nation in 1956 the Erie capped his college playing career you shouldn't have this on fire how to get down that low anchor you want alright somebody getting up a little anchor gotta have it this week on that wing team we come in here with a young football staff I I know this that we're gonna loosen football games would we not coaches have not try to convince our football but it's gonna be a tough struggle we try to convince the fans and the people of interesting cyclone football that we're not going to win overnight and we have a difficult struggle but we've got to believe and think that as long as we work with a positive approach as long as we work in think if we work harder than the other people we were playing against if we work harder and preparing with supreme practice we work harder in recruiting and particularly regarding our football team if we work harder in offseason in spring practice and in summer months preparing for our football season is gonna be much less difficult for us to give up or quit in the fourth quarter and as long as you have a chance to win in the fourth quarter as long as you're close in the fourth quarter you've got a chance to win and that's what we've tried to do this year and try to instill I'll say this and we have an all season program we call the fourth quarter class this year I may change the card the first half class and maybe they'll help us get started a little quicker but I still believe as long as you've got a chance as long as you're close in the fourth quarter you got a chance to win and we try to build Congress along that line you majors as coach to Tennessee the University of Arkansas and in December 1967 he assumed his first head coaching job at Iowa State University he brought with him a young staff and a tremendous desire to produce a winning team we enough listen up secondly I think we had a good session last night I think everybody knows we had our mistakes corrected and I think well look at their DUI offenses people and defensive people realize the few out here playing football and trying to get better every week and they know this we've got tremendous football team coming up this week and I'm missing last night to tell you were tossing throws I think possibly all we use the word great and great I meant that tonight today I don't want to be over all my opponents because I think we learned a good lesson last week we played one half of football and his children when we play to have a football however we can play against one of the so-called great teams in the league and the thing we gotta make up my mind a bit this week from now if we're gonna play 60 minutes or one in football and 60 minutes and dedicated football will get finished and we don't close that gap great football teams and everything we feel good we did good now I'll get better and one thing with play 60 minutes 60 minutes a good football and we can close that gap men complete we've got to make some please go they're a good football team but you saw last night which included I've never been satisfied but Britain beat 7 to 6 and for god sakes not 42 to stem and I've never had a heavy expression on my face as long as it happens I'll tell you this we did learn something the second half I'm not rice and eyes with getting beat we learned something and it's freezing last night I took a whole squad offensive and defensively we are always broken down my offensive coaches grade to fame in short to their offensive people defensive people that are defensive people last night took the to the film and got the whole squad in there I went through era the whole film I showed them people who were blocking with two minutes to go I showed him taking about seven minutes damn feeling because ten people do their job ten people can do the perfect job and one man can make mistake and cause you to lose Ibaka or college you're not score cause not have a great play and it's something you gonna have you're gonna have mistakes we've had too many and you're gonna have mistakes with any football team particular young but just show them how close we are to have look good I said we're not gonna be great but we got a chance to have a good football team and I said they talked about great teams but doing surely these things we can close again and this I said this is a team at the nucleus of the the team want a Big Eight championship last year and one that the Orange Bowl championship and I said we weren't that far away they had greater athletes we've got but look at everything and in water game look how much better he got I said look at best key buckle miss play watched Jeff Valin who's a good ball care watch even block downfield I says what's John water fight for his live-in scrambler and what's Tisdale when he's in there well he's got a chance to hit what's win here in the future he did a good job when he's in there I said we've got a chance if we continue to close again I said as long I said the next week's gonna be toughest Hector a next change but I said as long as we continue to continue to close the gap we've got a chance we're gonna get better we think we're gonna get better I'll say this I believe this this is the toughest two ball games and in my opinion the toughest five ball games really that I've ever been confronted where there's a player or coach anywhere I've ever been in all my life high school college plan and college coaching assistant coaching head coach this is the most formidable opposition that I've ever seen a team have to face and all thing I hope it we can continue to improve we can be aggressive on defense and that we can continue to our offensive line are blocking some people at times I mean fit I say 90% betting I thought they'd ever do we're still getting pretty wonderful pass protection some things but we've got a tough schedule but we've got a fat for allies and hope we got a chance to win one or two down the road we'll be lucky to do it but we got a chance to be close again and play almost mistake-free football we've got a chance maybe to look up on one or two and we'd be very fortunate but we got to change it and we're gonna fight for that chance I'll tell you that right now I appreciate the efforts of some people coming out to meet our team Saturday night I was confusing a return schedule we'll get that straightened out this week I've talked to or people to charge that will try to get that straightened out and I want to make this clear I don't want any plans settle celebrations or speeches when we come back and get beaten I don't have expected as I mentioned before I'm gonna say we appreciate the people coming out and greeting the football team anytime yeah if we win win a big and I'd like you to have the last figures are introduced the players have the band everything else anytime you wanna come out to meet the players we're pleased to see you I'll say that but there'll be no speeches we don't expect a big celebration thank you very much the Cyclones have not enjoyed tremendous success in their first season under coach majors that is if you only judge a team by its one loss record the 33 year old majors has taken a team that was given little chance to win any games won three games and maybe more on a given Saturday they have played their hearts out always giving their fans that money's worth not only do the players give their all on the field but coach majors puts in a strenuous 60 minutes each week on the sidelines I wouldn't hit on option next play with you I think man throw back I've heard many different remarks about the apathy and lethargy regarding the Iowa State alumni and students and fans but I think that our young football team is really some excitement I think that I've seen a tremendous response from the student about it since I've been here I shouldn't a minute response from the Alumni Association show Association meetings and I've attended the Sacramento meetings I know the first one or two I went to and I initially took the job we held up a restaurant booth our meetings but then there's just some went along and it floats football season the Cavs got bigger the enthusiasm was shown and I football team a young team I think gave them something to yell about a tent we had a tremendous and I think support from the student body I think we sold 11,000 two tickets for an all time high we broke the the attendance record for one single game and I hope for the season this year so this is encouraging and I hope it would continue to improve because great fan support is a carryover it certainly carries over to the football field I think with our football team that has enthusiasm on the field my coaching staff and I have enthusiasm if we see that the fans also and the student body has enthusiasm this carries over now think that they have a better performance fans supporting winning team think of their season in terms of days happy days when their team was marching from Saturday to Saturday downing opponents the fans behind a team that is losing think of their season in terms of moments moments when the team scores long passes good runs blocked kicks Iowa State had its moments this year more than any cyclone fan dream the team would have the season are they paying covering for all the way are they paying cover for all the way yeah but every time that's what I thought that's been wonderfully in the rock and dancing let's go Jim we got to use a little imagination now we're going first then we got to come with him to imagination our first asking in the dressing room at halftime Johnny majors is still a man on the moon nervously puffing on a cigarette he moves among players and coaches asking technical questions about first half play of the coaches raising individual players exhorting others to play harder at halftime ahead or behind the coach must gauge the spirit of his players collectively and individually the message must be just right Johnson you you start second half yeah we're they dark stop it what are we doing all right and you a starts a nice offensive line you're doing a good job playing protecting keep it up we just drop cover phrases you're doing a good job John dumb again 150th 774 we're pretty worried only good day if it's aliens code we're going on we may run the wagons come on out around the snap I don't have to tell you this we're doing a lot of good things out there we're doing a lot of good things look like a football team and a missed assignment here mr. time up there drop players here there when we care and continue a drive and we know what we can do we learned a great lesson last week what we're doing the second half and you know that you play against them for 30 minutes then not that much better fact I don't whether it better than you are right now and I don't think you're convinced that they are you know what you're doing the second half we gotta decide we're gonna hang on that ball we're going to do our salmon we're protecting the Padgett we're blocking them let's go out there play thirty minutes of football this Jeremy let's go let's go what did it have a chance on the kickoff return in with the chapter in the middle on the return at all head to the right with them you left your wedge take it right up in there man the man man the man in the second day now gamble on fourth day and I'll kick twist on third man I ever thought it would in my life but I think modern day football forces you to do some of these things but I don't believe this and I think that first that we try to convince our staff meetings we try to talk about these things we try to convince our squad that you practice like you play if you practice with enthusiasm you practices with effort this will Norma care which is Saturday and you play with effort and play with enthusiasm if you believe that you're going to have a chance to fourth quarter you're going to practice like you got a chance to fourth quarter you'll play like this I also think it we try to stress this that more football games are lost and won so we strive to not beat ourselves and you'll see the ball games we've lost this year and the ball games that people have lost to us and I'll say this they've more they've been have been more than have been lost then we have worn our stairs by the opponents of won against us we have stopped ourselves offensively when we got into when we were beat and the other team stopped themselves when we won Bobby so you beat your says and we strive to make a minimum of mistakes the team that makes the fewest mistakes normally wins in the close ballgame with fairly equal material and we try to impress upon our football players this okay even this Hey again okay good good good Johnny majors is a man on the move and Iowa State University football has started to move with him recruiting is the most important single factor I think in winning in college football today it's how to competitive it cost money you must have facilities you must have a coaching staff that can sell your product you must show that you're improving and what you're trying to do other teeth are that you are excelling in football to pressure States and I'll say this I think that if we decide we want to strive for excellence in college football our state I think we can get excellence in the college football field I think we can maintain because even though there aren't a great deal of real good football presence state there are some very good ones but I'd say 15 to 20 each year and we have to share some of them with our quite a few of them with our but we are centrally located in the middle part of the country and this is a real good factor in that we can go east south north and west and recruit to a standing football players and if we decide the people who want to win we have the power to win and I would say if all-out decide that we won't have excellence and we want to strive for excellence in football we can get the job done if we continue to improve our facilities we have another kitchen ippity from this standpoint if we want to have a facilities it attracts the good football player the good student athlete I should say and we've got a chance to win good and win big and win consistently we have a lot of catching up to do because our facilities are probably banned everywhere in the big 8 colleges and we were playing and we'd play catch-up game with these people today but I think in our football team has shown that they want to get you our coaching staff has worked very hard very diligently and improving and we've had