Tark talks shop about college football

Jerry Tarkanian

Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 | 2:45 p.m.

Editor's Note: Legendary UNLV basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian is sharing his thoughts exclusively with the Las Vegas Sun through the course of the college basketball season in the form of columns, podcasts and television interviews, about what he’s up to in his life, what games he’s attending and his general musings of the sports world.

I’m going to Fresno for a few days to work on some sponsorship for my radio show, but then I’ll be going to Arizona to watch Arizona State play Georgia. I’ll see the Chargers play the Jets the next day, then the next week I’ll watch Fresno State play UCLA at the Rose Bowl.

I have always loved college football. When I coached in junior college, I went to every one of our football games. Did the same thing at UNLV. Ron Meyer, who came to UNLV the same year I did, and I are real good friends.

College football is the greatest sports event in the world, except for the Final Four. You can’t beat the pageantry and loyalty in college football. It’s just a great event.

Since I’ve been coaching, I always went to college football clinics. I heard Bear Bryant and Hayden Fry speak, as well as John McKay. My brother, Myron, was a football coach and best friends with Harvey Hyde, who coached the Rebels.

But I probably got more out of the football coach at Redlands High, in California, when I coached there. Frank Serrao lived two blocks away from me, too.

It was a country-club school in a wealthy area, but his teams were outstanding. They were all about pride and commitment and hard work. We drove to school together every day, and one day I asked him if I could go to a game with them. He said sure.

They dressed at the high school and played at Redlands University, a mile away. In the locker room, there was total silence. Players were laying on mats, staring at the ceiling. I said, 'eh, Frank, say something.' He said, 'quiet.' I just followed. They got on the bus. Not one word. There’s a traffic jam, the gates open and he says: 'Put the headgear on.' They were ready to go to combat. I never felt anything like that before in my life.

I wanted to coach the same way. When I went to Redlands, I was one of the few basketball coaches doing that. No talking on the team bus. No talking at the pregame meal. Silence in the locker room.

I wanted that same atmosphere. That’s how you motivate people, making them proud. I did that at UNLV. When my son, Danny, played for me on the Rebels squad, he’d tell me, 'Dad, I think it would be better if we could whisper at pre-game meals and in the locker room.'

That was fine, but no loud talk. Danny convinced me that that was even better. Guys who played for me all joke about that — total silence. It worked. It was total concentration.

After I see the Sun Devils play the Bulldogs, I’ll go to San Diego to watch the Chargers. I’m a big Chargers fan. The Spanos family that owns the team is great. I sit in their box. A wonderful family.

I recruited Chargers tight end Antonio Gates to Fresno State, but Kent State stole him from me at the very last minute. He went home to get his clothes, and Kent State stole him.

I heard he handled the ball well, and we had just lost Tito Maddox in late August. Antonio wanted to come. His AAU coach was behind him. Then Kent State hired his high school coach, who picked him up at his house and took him to Kent State.

It’s illegal to do that, but they did it. I lost him overnight.

I also like A.J. Smith, the Chargers’ general manager. He’s an absolute genius. He found Gates, who hadn’t played football since his freshman year in college. Every guy he drafts makes the team practically.

My granddaughter, Justine, did an internship with the Chargers all summer and it was a great experience. She loved it.

Then I’ll go to the Rose Bowl to watch Fresno State play UCLA. Should be a helluva game. It’s a great time to play UCLA. They’re a little down, but I don’t think they’ll ever be this far down again, not with coach Rick Neuheisel and offensive coordinator Norm Chow there.

They’ll get better and better. Fresno State has a great shot at beating them. I think they will beat UCLA, but Fresno has a big game with Wisconsin this weekend.

I’m not going to that game. I have four season tickets for life, to Fresno State basketball and football games, but I want to watch USC and Ohio State play. I’ll stay home and watch that game and Fresno-Wisconsin on TV.

I don’t know Mike Sanford, the football coach at UNLV, but I really like what I read about him. I like that he’s working his tail off. I hope he gets a few breaks here and there. You have to get some breaks to be successful, avoid injuries. A lot of things have to happen.

The two radio shows are a lot of fun. I stay active and talk with coaches. No one in the country gets the coaches I’ve had in recent years. Bobby Knight comes on every year. He doesn’t do that for many people.

Mike Krzyzewski. Roy Williams. Bobby Huggins. Lute Olson. Every top coach does it and it's very highly regarded.

So it will be a busy next couple of weeks, but it will be a lot of fun and I’m looking forward to all the football. I’ll check back with you when I return to Las Vegas.