Utah State football: New coach looking for patience as team rebuilds

"He's very motivating. He keeps us going," Turbin, a 5-foot-10, 200-pounder, said. "He's very energetic and passionate about the game, and that carries over with the players."

Andersen said his "process" is a three-legged approach.

First is the social aspect.

"We are asking them to do what's right every single day," Andersen said.

Second is academics.

"Our goal is to get a 3.0," Andersen said. "I have never had a team that has gotten that as a whole for the semester. We are going to push like crazy to see if we can get that done."

Finally, but not because it's the least important, Andersen expects big progress on the football field.

"From an athletic standpoint, the time commitment is big," he said. "We have asked them to put in time on their own to come in and study film. We ask them to get in another eight hours a week."

If that all happens, Andersen might be the best coach in America.

He's not expecting perfection, he said, but he is asking for effort.

And with effort and commitment, the players are saying, the "process" will end in results.

"It means that we're not going to be good overnight," senior cornerback Kejon Murphy said. "It's going to take time, and we need to be patient."

It will also require a level of trust.

When Andersen arrived he said there was an expected and understandable degree of skepticism in the locker room.

As the new coach, Andersen said he spent considerable time meeting with players and knocking down walls. Four months after moving into the corner office of the new north end zone complex, Andersen said the Aggies are all on the same page.

"The kids walk around the office smiling," Andersen said. "Every young man has a time frame where you have to earn his trust. Some kids it is instantly and others you have to work harder. I think the leaders on this team are really those guys. I think at the beginning the leaders thought I was half crazy, but I think we have gained their trust and they have gained mine."

Where that leaves the Aggies in the "process" is still to be determined.

"I told them we were going to treat them as a big-time Division I football program," Andersen said. "I don't think they believed that at the beginning, but now I think they believe it is big time on both sides of the fence. It is big time in a positive way.

"But if they don't take care of their business it is going to be in a negative way."

email: jeborn@desnews.com