���The bottom line is that
he���s a ball coach. It doesn���t
matter where you put him,
he���s going to excel...his
track record bears that
out,��� Whittingham said.
as assistants at Idaho State in the early ���90s.
���He was an outstanding offensive line coach,������
Whittingham said of Andersen, ���before I personally got him to come over to the dark side (defense),
and he adjusted right away.
���The bottom line is that he���s a ball coach. It
doesn���t matter where you put him, he���s going to
excel. He can obviously handle the defensive side
very well. His track record bears that out.������
Whittingham and Andersen keep in touch
throughout the season and offseason.
���We���ve kind of meshed our worlds together,������
Andersen said.
As a result, Whittingham has been an Andersen
sounding board, and vice versa.
40 �� VARSITY
D EC E M B E R 20, 2012
Apprised of the UW job, Whittingham said, ���It
sounded like a great opportunity. ���These opportunities don���t come along all that often. There are a
lot of good coaches who don���t get them.������
That was his input to Andersen. Despite the discussion on whether Andersen���s recruiting skills
will be diminished on unfamiliar turf, Whittingham doesn���t think it will be an issue.
���Recruiting is recruiting,������ he said. ���There are
geographic differences, but the bottom line in recruiting is being able to sell the player and his parents on your program.
���Gary has that ability. He���s a proven commodity
in recruiting. I don���t care if you recruit on the East
Coast or the West Coast ��� North or South ��� the
basics means everything. And he has those basics.������
Per usual, it starts with passion.
���That���s a common denominator with almost
all good football coaches,������ Whittingham said.
���There���s a passion for the game. You have to have
that. You can���t survive in this profession without
it.������
It would seem to be a part of the ���it������ factor with
Andersen.
���He���s a natural,������ McBride repeated.
