Oct. 2, 2015
Past Mick McGrane 2014-15 football features
2014
Kaehler: A Thinking Man's Game (Aug. 5)
Whittaker: Long Time Gone, Never Forgotten (Aug. 6)
Life in the Weight Room: Hall's Strong Suit (Aug. 15)
Roberts: A Career Comes Full Circle (Aug. 21)
The Season's in Session, Take Your Seats (Aug. 29)
How Quickly we Forget (Sept. 7)
Looks can be Deceiving (Sept. 19)
O-Line has Aztecs' Running Game in High Gear (Oct. 23)
Falling Short is no Longer an Option for Aztec Football (Nov. 29)
Winds of Change: "Rise To 25" Fuels New Direction for Football (Dec. 23)
Pumphrey in Need of a Playing Partner (Dec. 24)
2015
Football no Longer Needs Sun to Sell Itself (Feb. 4)
Aztec Football is Flush with Experience in 2015 (Feb. 20)
Regardless of Road, Whittaker's Future is Flush with Success (July 23)
Gordon no Longer Wrestling with Football Future (July 30)
Kazee has the Corner Covered in Aztec D (Aug. 5)
Hageman has Given Boot to Aztec Kicking Woes (Aug. 14)
Life is a Snap for Aztecs' Overbaugh (Aug. 21)
Munson Shines upon Emerging From Shadows (Aug. 28)
Pumphrey Prioritizes Winning in Rush to Stardom (Sept. 2)
Aztecs Positioned to Take Next Step in '15 (Sept. 4)
Aztecs Look to Get Offense in Gear (Sept. 6)
Penny's Stock Rising on Rate of Returns (Sept. 7)
Sorry, No Apologies Forthcoming (Sept. 11)
Seeking a Solution at Quarterback (Sept. 18)
McGrane: Aztecs, Hauck Have Something Special
By Mick McGrane, @GoAztecs Senior Writer (@MickOnTheMesa)
If Rashaad Penny thinks special teams meetings are overly long now, just wait until the Aztecs fall to No. 2.
Because, for at least a week, San Diego State is No. 1. And that's just fine with a man who knows full well that reaching the pinnacle of one's profession means ample time grinding away on the ground floor.
"As a young coach, even as a graduate assistant at UCLA, I kind of saw it as a way to have some input into the game plan," Bobby Hauck said. "I thought it would be a way to be useful other than breaking down game film and making coffee. That was the start of it. Then it became a situation where, well, if I could do that, maybe I could develop a skill to coach something that others might not have an interest in. Between that and coaching the secondary, it kept me employed and I grew to enjoy it a lot."
When Bobby Hauck officially assumed the duties as San Diego State's special teams coordinator in January, he had been a head coach for the previous 12 years. Humility is served in varying degrees, but holding strong in the midst of that particular transition demands as much faith as it does fortitude, the conviction that current rank has no link to established reputation.
So lest one think the Aztecs, per ESPN Team Efficiencies, are the nation's No.1 special teams unit without reason, keep in mind that Hauck has been a special teams coordinator far longer than he's worn the whistle of the big wheel. Since his time as a graduate assistant at UCLA from 1990-92, he has served as special teams coordinator for at least one season at all seven universities for which he's worked, including those seasons as head coach (Montana, 2003-09; UNLV, 2010-14).
"I like (coaching special teams), but a lot of guys don't," Hauck said. "It's an interesting thing, because it can be pretty volatile. On any special teams play, there can be huge chunks of yards exchanged. But when you've also been a secondary coach (at Washington, Colorado, UCLA and Montana) , you tend to become a little flame-resistant. It gets to be old hat. You know you're going to have some things that don't go perfectly, and a lot of guys don't like that, but you learn to deal with it. When you're coaching the secondary, you know there are guys that are going to get beat for touchdowns and you learn to live it.
"When I became a head coach, coaching special teams was a way of keeping my hand in it and a way to coach every guy on the team. I always felt that if I ever became a head coach that I didn't just want to be an administrator, I wanted to coach. Obviously, I had background in (coaching special teams) and I wanted to maintain it."
He's done exactly that at SDSU, where Aztec special teams hold the top spot in the country through the season's first four weeks. Under the direction of Hauck, sophomore kick returner Rashaad Penny enters Saturday's Mountain West opener against Fresno State as one of three players in the nation thus far to return two kickoffs for touchdowns. He leads the nation with a kick return average of 45.1, a ranking also held by SDSU as a team (35.67). Penny had a 97-yard return for a touchdown in the season opener against USD before taking a kick back 100 yards last week at Penn State, where he averaged 68.5 yards per return. His career kick return average of 30.8 leads all active FBS players (minimum 24 returns).
Hauck also had a standout kick returner at UNLV, where Marcus Sullivan concluded his collegiate playing days in 2014 with a career average of 26.3 yards per return, best in school history.
"Penny probably has better top-end speed than Sullivan, but Sullivan could probably get from zero to 50 a little faster," Hauck said. "Penny has the ability to make more cuts in the open field, whereas Sullivan was fearless. He would hit it at 100 miles an hour, whether he was right or he was wrong. In that regard, Penny probably a little better vision than Sullivan did. But they're both pretty good at it."
In addition to Penny's performance, senior kicker Donny Hageman's 54-yard field goal against South Alabama tied for second-longest in school history, while junior punt returner Lloyd Mills, who had a career-long 57-yard return in the same game, ranks fourth in the MW and 29th nationally with an average of 16.0 yards.
"Lloyd has a chance to give us a spark back there, because he has some innate ability and a good feel for where all of the bodies are," Hauck said of Mills, who last season ranked 11th nationally in punt return average (11.4). "He has a good sense of where the blocking is and where the coverage guys are.
"But first and foremost, he has to catch the ball, otherwise you can't be the punt returner. But he knows that, and I think he's developing a sense of urgency in that regard. He has a good mentality back there as a punt returner. He likes it and he has a feel for it."
Much his like his coach, who in the past 25 years has spent only one season away from special teams.
"I think (special teams players) have to be excited to go out there on game day and contribute any way they can," Hauck said. "It's like being a backup quarterback, because whether you play or not you have to be ready to go. But I think the main point of emphasis is that they have to understand that every play counts. It's not just those plays in the fourth quarter and it's not just plays on third down. They all count.
"If I'm a guy whose only time on the field is kickoff return, then the kickoff return, from my perspective, better be the most important play of the game because I'm playing on it. That's something I've always tried to emphasize with guys. If you're on the field-goal team, that better be the most important play of the game because you're on it. I think that's the kind of perspective you need to coach (special teams) with.
"But whether it's being the head coach, coaching special teams, coaching linebackers or coaching the secondary, I really don't care. I just like being around the guys. It's a neat deal to be recognized (as the nation's No. 1 special teams unit) and it would even be nicer if we're able to hang onto it."
Lest the meetings get even longer.