Aug. 30, 2010

By Skip Myslenski
NUsports.com Special Contributor

Hog Pride, says the offensive tackle Al Netter, is one factor that motivates his line.

Does that have anything to do with The Hogs that once played for the Washington Redskins, we wonder.

"I don't think so," he says. "It's our own thing."

But it is also, he and his mates should well know, a proud heritage they have draped around their shoulders, a heritage that stretches back to those 'Skin lines in the '80s that protected Joe Theismann and opened holes for John Riggins and led their team to a pair of Super Bowl victories. The Head Hog was their position coach, a hard (in the good sense) guy named Joe Bugel, who once explained the name's origin by recalling, "They are short guys with big bellies. I started to say to the whole line at practice, 'OK you hogs, let's go down to the bullpen and hit those sleds.' Some guys might have resented it. But these guys loved it."

Those guys also loved Bugel, who was still coaching the 'Skins last season when he told the Washington Post: "I love to watch the competitiveness, the explosion, the blocking, the tackles. That's my turn on, that's my entertainment: violence."

That, we can then safely say, is also what Hog Pride is all about.

• • • • • •

One other principle propounded by his line, says Netter, is PMA, Positive Mental Attitude. "It was," he explains, "something we came up with when camp started. Just take every day positively. We just went with it and it was the thing we focused on in camp."

Who came up with it?

"I think it was Colin Armstrong, our backup center."

Is he a psych major or something?

"Nah. He just came up with it. Actually, I think it kind of started as a joke. But then we carried it on, we ran with it."

How'd that help?

"When I say it started as a joke, a lot of times in camp it's a grind. It's going to be hot everyday. You're banging heads against your own guys. But when we have positive mental attitude, we go to every period and yell, 'Ye-a-a-a-ah!' We're screaming, 'Let's go. Stay positive.' It just helped us get through camp and get better."

• • • • • •

The spotlight, through so much of August, has shined on quarterback Dan Persa and the committee behind him at running back and the anonymous array of receivers he has in his arsenal. But now September looms, and with it the 'Cat season opener Saturday at Vanderbilt, and so here attention must be paid Hog Pride and PMA and that group that is nothing less than the foundation of all things offense.

That fact is too often ignored in this age given to glitz, glamour and garishness. But it was the great futurist R. Buckminster Fuller who long ago advised, "We should look on our society as we look on the biological world, where the fungi, the manures and the worms make an extraordinary contribution. We tend to applaud the football player who makes the touchdown and overlook the lineman who does the heavy blocking. We should not only applaud the flower, the fruit and the ball carrier."

His words alone explain the importance of Netter and Brian Mulroe and Ben Burkett and Doug Bartels and Patrick Ward, the current starters on the 'Cat line. But then their coach, Pat Fitzgerald, threw more pressure their way on Monday by declaring he was anticipating a rushing attack better than the one that last season averaged a mere three yards per carry. Why?

"Number one, we put an emphasis on it and you typically achieve what you emphasize," said Fitzgerald. "Number two, we've got very good players. . .and it's been our focus the whole off-season. When you do that, you get improvement. Now here comes our first test. You believe you know the information and you get tested on it and we'll have a better evaluation on it Saturday night, Sunday morning, a week from today."

How do you make it the focus?

"Number one, you look at what you did a year ago and see the areas that you can improve. We were close in a bunch of games to what we'd call a much more efficient run game. I thought we had good balance. But we'd like to be more efficient. Four-or-more on first down. Second-and-six, get half or more. Third down, pick it up. Fourth down, pick it up. On the goal line, score.

"With that being said, we could be much more efficient. We've just worked our tails off. It's just one of those (areas) where we put more reps in. . .and put ourselves in a position to run more efficiently."

• • • • • •

Netter, the left tackle, and Burkett, the center, have started 26 games in their careers. Bartels, the right guard, has started 22, and Mulroe, the left guard, has started one (the Outback Bowl). Ward, then, is the only starter without previous experience in that role. But last season, as a true freshman, he did appear in a dozen games, and behind this quintet are Neal Deiters with seven starts and Keegan Grant with six starts and Armstrong with appearances in a dozen games a fall ago. "We have eight or nine guys who would be able to play in the (Vanderbilt) game," says Netter, and that is not the only reason why this group appears prepared for the shout out it is now receiving.

The others are its cohesion and collective health, which are both far better than they were last August. That is why, on Monday, Fitzgerald would also say, "I think we're a little further ahead today than when we were sitting here at this point last year. I think it's more injury driven. Last year we came out of camp a little beaten up on the offensive line and put a couple combinations out there early and it showed. We were able to solidify it maybe mid-year and we started playing pretty well on offense."

And this year?

"We've focused a lot more on being real physical, finishing our blocks, focusing on the little things, the fundamentals, making sure all five guys are on the same page," says Netter. "I think we've made a lot of progress."

But just how do you get more aggressive?

"I think it's just a mindset we created in the o-line room. It's not any magical thing you can say or do. It's just the mindset we've created."

A Hog's mindset. A mindset suffused with PMA.

Check out the full Skip Myslenski NUsports.com Archive!

••••••

Be the first to know what's going on with the 'Cats -- Follow @NU_Sports on Twitter and become a fan of Northwestern Athletics on Facebook! Get the latest news, schedule updates, video and interact with NU. For more information on following specific Northwestern teams online, visit our Social Media page!

Tickets/Future Schedules

BOWL CENTRAL

The Team

2011 Ryan Field Fan Guide 

Coaches' Corner

Camps and Clinics

Ryan Field

Multimedia