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University of Minnesota Athletics
Coach's Corner - Thomas Hammock
5/29/2007 12:00:00 AM | Football
Gophersports.com had a chance to talk with running backs coach and assistant recruiting coordinator Thomas Hammock, who helped build a running tradition at Northern Illinois as both a player and coach, and who will now help sustain the same great tradition at Minnesota. Audio from the interview is available in the Gold Zone.
GS.com: What were your impressions of the offense and more specifically the running backs following the spring season?
TH: It was a season of transition with the staff and with the players, but we got a tremendous amount of work done installing our new offense and our new defense. The players became more comfortable with [the coaches] and vice versa. It was fun and we had a chance to see what some guys could do and access their ability level and how they fit our system. We’re tremendously excited about the opportunity with what we have going into the fall.
GS.com: You have been able to move up the ranks of the coaching ladder rather quickly. What do you attribute that to?
TH: Hard work. Everything I’ve done, I’ve just done it with 100% effort, not always worrying about what’s next, just taking care of the job at hand. I’ve been fortunate to work with some great guys Coach (Barry) Alvarez, Coach (Joe) Novak and now Coach Brewster. I’m just excited about the opportunity to be at the University of Minnesota and to help us win a Big Ten championship.
GS.com: Almost the entire staff had some connection to Coach Brewster before coming to Minnesota. How do you feel the cohesion of this coaching staff has been?
TH: It’s good. It’s a competitive group it’s a group of guys who want to do a great job for Coach Brewster. It’s a great opportunity for all of us and we want to make sure that we take advantage of the opportunity that’s presented to us.
GS.com: This group of coaches is earning the label of real go-getters and aggressive in their approach to everything they do. That has to be something that you guys are proud of?
TH: Definitely. That starts with Coach Brewster and his attitude of recruiting 24/7, 365, we just take that perspective in everything we do. The environment here is really conducive for competition and it raises everyone’s level of play.
GS.com: You were the position coach for Northern Illinois star Garrett Wolfe, who the Chicago Bears drafted in the third round and have already signed. What was your relationship like with Garrett and how proud are you of his progress as a player considering the work and time you put in with Garrett?
TH: We had a very unique situation; when I was a senior at Northern Illinois, Garrett was an incoming freshman, and he was a guy that kind of wanted to hang with the older guys and he thought he was one of the older guys. I left that program for two years and went to Wisconsin to coach. When I came back, we definitely had a different relationship. As a player and coming back in my early stages of development as a coach, we were able to have an open relationship and talk. I could critique him hard and he took it and knew that what I was saying was coming from a perspective of having done it, and not as “you need to do this or that.” It worked best for the team and worked best for us. If I can have a relationship like that with some of my players, I think I can be a great coach at some point in time.
GS.com: For those that may not know, you rank as one of the best backs in Northern Illinois history despite the fact that you missed the final 11 games of your senior season due to a severe heart condition. Did you know that you wanted to go into coaching when you were forced to the sideline due to your condition?
TH: To be honest, I had some friends that I played with like P.J. Fleck, who played at Northern Illinois and is one of my best friends, and he always knew that he wanted to be a coach. I always told him that he was crazy. It was just one of those things. I was a business major and my focus on playing football was that if I could play professionally, then great, and if I can’t, then my plan was always that I could go into business and make millions. I had the big hopes and dreams. I graduated early and I started working at a great company and I found out that wasn’t the path I wanted to take. With the way my career ended, I felt that I had something more for the game of football. An opportunity presented itself for me to work my way in from a very low level, and I jumped on it and said, If I can just work hard and do it the right way, I can make this happen.’
GS.com: Who has been the biggest influence on your coaching career?
TH: I would probably say two people. I would probably say Coach Novak, just because I played for him. To learn from a guy that you played for there’s a lot of things you don’t realize when you’re playing that coaches are trying to teach you during your development as a young player. As I stepped away from playing and moved into coaching, a lot of the principles he instilled in me as a player, I am now trying to instill in my players. Coach (Rob) Ianello from Notre Dame was another guy, having been a GA for him, who I learned from in terms of what it takes to recruit and what it takes to be a good guy in that field. And then obviously Coach Alvarez he was a big help in my early stages. I used to always tell people that what you learn as a GA you learn more about what not to do than what to do.
GS.com: What is your favorite aspect of coaching?
TH: I really like the competition aspect. Whether it is the competition of playing the game, the competition of recruiting, the competition of saying that I’m a better coach than this coach. That’s the one aspect that I can never live without. Working in business, it was good to work and see different things, but you can never get that gratification of beating somebody out in competition. That’s been something that has always been a part of me I competed against (current San Diego Charger) Michael Turner for three years straight. If I didn’t have him to compete against, I wouldn’t nearly be the player that I was. Having to compete for everything else has forced me to raise my level of play.
GS.com: Northern Illinois has a tremendous running tradition and Minnesota has been known for its great running game as well. How ironic is it that heading into 2007, NIU and Minnesota are the only two schools to have a back tally at least 1,000 yards the past eight seasons?
TH: I think it’s very ironic. I like to tell people that I am the main cause of both of the streaks which I’m not, but obviously at Northern Illinois I was a part of it as a player and part of it as a coach. Just watching the University of Minnesota from a distance, I noticed the success they had with the tremendous backs they had with guys like Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney and you could see why they had the success they had running the football. As far as myself being a link between the two schools, I just think that it’s pure irony.
GS.com: What are the biggest challenges heading into the summer before getting to fall camp?
TH: As a coach, its hard during the summer because you have no contact with your players, so you are constantly worried about them and making sure that they’re doing the right things physically, mentally and academically. The summer is a time when you have absolutely no idea what is going on that’s the most challenging thing. Once the season starts, you have contact with all the players and updates to find out how they’re doing and how they are progressing toward both academically and athletically to winning a Big Ten championship.
GS.com: What were your impressions of the offense and more specifically the running backs following the spring season?
TH: It was a season of transition with the staff and with the players, but we got a tremendous amount of work done installing our new offense and our new defense. The players became more comfortable with [the coaches] and vice versa. It was fun and we had a chance to see what some guys could do and access their ability level and how they fit our system. We’re tremendously excited about the opportunity with what we have going into the fall.
GS.com: You have been able to move up the ranks of the coaching ladder rather quickly. What do you attribute that to?
TH: Hard work. Everything I’ve done, I’ve just done it with 100% effort, not always worrying about what’s next, just taking care of the job at hand. I’ve been fortunate to work with some great guys Coach (Barry) Alvarez, Coach (Joe) Novak and now Coach Brewster. I’m just excited about the opportunity to be at the University of Minnesota and to help us win a Big Ten championship.
GS.com: Almost the entire staff had some connection to Coach Brewster before coming to Minnesota. How do you feel the cohesion of this coaching staff has been?
TH: It’s good. It’s a competitive group it’s a group of guys who want to do a great job for Coach Brewster. It’s a great opportunity for all of us and we want to make sure that we take advantage of the opportunity that’s presented to us.
GS.com: This group of coaches is earning the label of real go-getters and aggressive in their approach to everything they do. That has to be something that you guys are proud of?
TH: Definitely. That starts with Coach Brewster and his attitude of recruiting 24/7, 365, we just take that perspective in everything we do. The environment here is really conducive for competition and it raises everyone’s level of play.
GS.com: You were the position coach for Northern Illinois star Garrett Wolfe, who the Chicago Bears drafted in the third round and have already signed. What was your relationship like with Garrett and how proud are you of his progress as a player considering the work and time you put in with Garrett?
TH: We had a very unique situation; when I was a senior at Northern Illinois, Garrett was an incoming freshman, and he was a guy that kind of wanted to hang with the older guys and he thought he was one of the older guys. I left that program for two years and went to Wisconsin to coach. When I came back, we definitely had a different relationship. As a player and coming back in my early stages of development as a coach, we were able to have an open relationship and talk. I could critique him hard and he took it and knew that what I was saying was coming from a perspective of having done it, and not as “you need to do this or that.” It worked best for the team and worked best for us. If I can have a relationship like that with some of my players, I think I can be a great coach at some point in time.
GS.com: For those that may not know, you rank as one of the best backs in Northern Illinois history despite the fact that you missed the final 11 games of your senior season due to a severe heart condition. Did you know that you wanted to go into coaching when you were forced to the sideline due to your condition?
TH: To be honest, I had some friends that I played with like P.J. Fleck, who played at Northern Illinois and is one of my best friends, and he always knew that he wanted to be a coach. I always told him that he was crazy. It was just one of those things. I was a business major and my focus on playing football was that if I could play professionally, then great, and if I can’t, then my plan was always that I could go into business and make millions. I had the big hopes and dreams. I graduated early and I started working at a great company and I found out that wasn’t the path I wanted to take. With the way my career ended, I felt that I had something more for the game of football. An opportunity presented itself for me to work my way in from a very low level, and I jumped on it and said, If I can just work hard and do it the right way, I can make this happen.’
GS.com: Who has been the biggest influence on your coaching career?
TH: I would probably say two people. I would probably say Coach Novak, just because I played for him. To learn from a guy that you played for there’s a lot of things you don’t realize when you’re playing that coaches are trying to teach you during your development as a young player. As I stepped away from playing and moved into coaching, a lot of the principles he instilled in me as a player, I am now trying to instill in my players. Coach (Rob) Ianello from Notre Dame was another guy, having been a GA for him, who I learned from in terms of what it takes to recruit and what it takes to be a good guy in that field. And then obviously Coach Alvarez he was a big help in my early stages. I used to always tell people that what you learn as a GA you learn more about what not to do than what to do.
GS.com: What is your favorite aspect of coaching?
TH: I really like the competition aspect. Whether it is the competition of playing the game, the competition of recruiting, the competition of saying that I’m a better coach than this coach. That’s the one aspect that I can never live without. Working in business, it was good to work and see different things, but you can never get that gratification of beating somebody out in competition. That’s been something that has always been a part of me I competed against (current San Diego Charger) Michael Turner for three years straight. If I didn’t have him to compete against, I wouldn’t nearly be the player that I was. Having to compete for everything else has forced me to raise my level of play.
GS.com: Northern Illinois has a tremendous running tradition and Minnesota has been known for its great running game as well. How ironic is it that heading into 2007, NIU and Minnesota are the only two schools to have a back tally at least 1,000 yards the past eight seasons?
TH: I think it’s very ironic. I like to tell people that I am the main cause of both of the streaks which I’m not, but obviously at Northern Illinois I was a part of it as a player and part of it as a coach. Just watching the University of Minnesota from a distance, I noticed the success they had with the tremendous backs they had with guys like Marion Barber and Laurence Maroney and you could see why they had the success they had running the football. As far as myself being a link between the two schools, I just think that it’s pure irony.
GS.com: What are the biggest challenges heading into the summer before getting to fall camp?
TH: As a coach, its hard during the summer because you have no contact with your players, so you are constantly worried about them and making sure that they’re doing the right things physically, mentally and academically. The summer is a time when you have absolutely no idea what is going on that’s the most challenging thing. Once the season starts, you have contact with all the players and updates to find out how they’re doing and how they are progressing toward both academically and athletically to winning a Big Ten championship.
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