Texas A&M Football
Aggie Flashback with former linebacker Christian Rodriguez
Key quotes from Christian Rodriguez interview
"One of the things the coaching staff did and what I learned through my playing career at A&M was that your education would carry you farther than your body would. That is an important thing for student athletes to understand. Maximize the opportunity to get a degree from a great institution. I was lucky enough to come in with a few hours and finished my undergrad in three and half years and graduated with a master’s degree. Having that on my resume has definitely helped me stand out from others."
"You’re talking to a guy that grew up without running water or lights in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States, unfortunately did not have a strong family background. My mother was sent to jail for 27 years, and I don’t know my father. Through the grace of God and some other things, I had the opportunity to have a high school coach that saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself being a sophomore, not really knowing if I wanted to play football. He said, 'Lets do a two year contract. You come live with me for two years and after that we will figure out how to get you an education and get you into college.'
Luckily for me I had a good junior year and got recruited by a lot of schools. One of the main reasons I came to A&M was Coach Rucker, he was a great guy but more importantly it was the family atmosphere I felt in College Station. We had that cohesion and that family feeling and that is something I personally needed in my life. I needed to have that support system around me."
"It was the third or fourth game of my senior season and they had a big recruit day when Texas played Notre Dame in Austin and I met Brian Westbrook, thought he was the greatest thing ever. I hate to admit this, but I would throw up the horns sign when I made a big play in high school because I really thought that’s where I was going to go. But I did not think that was a place I could mature and become the person I really wanted to be. I had a little affinity for Texas back then, but now I have a very strong disdain for the University of Texas."
"A kid that is 17 or 18 years old that has adulation because of what they have done in high school and being recruited, they get the sense of invincibility and knowing things. I was wise enough and had coaches in my life to know that when you see someone doing the things you want to do in your life, the most flattering way that you can do that is to emulate it. There were people that had been in my shoes and I needed to mimic them and do all I could."
"Dat Nguyen was my host when I took my visit and he shot me straight. When he first got to A&M he wasn’t sure it was the place for him. He was upset that he was redshirted and felt like he should have gone to Michigan, but look what he was able to do for this university and he took me under his wing. It wasn’t the player he was; he was a really good guy. Now when I talk to student athletes, I always tell them that its important to see those juniors and seniors that are already in the program and see if that is someone you would follow and respect and try to emulate."
"My first college football game ever was at Giants Stadium, a place I always dreamed of playing at. I remember Coach Mike Hankwitz, who is Northwestern now, was very intelligent when it came to coming up with zone blitzes and every time he called this particular blitz in practice it would open up. When I heard that play in the huddle, I remember being so happy because I knew I was going to get a chance to make a play.
Sure enough, I was able to hit Chris Wienke and Jay Brooks picked up the ball and we scored a touchdown and went into halftime with a lead. I was on cloud nine; it was magical for so many reasons. First college game at a stadium I admired and almost emulating a guy I grew up thinking was the greatest thing ever in Lawrence Taylor."
"That red white and blue out, I have in my office a panoramic of the field. I cannot tell you the joy I get when I see that picture because the institution I went to and the family I’m a part of was able to coordinate and put together something that was so beautiful to the entire United States in a time of deep grief."
"Coach Sumlin is the type of coach you want to play for. As a player, when you see a coach that you and other players want to play for, it makes you excited about his potential. I am so glad we have him and no other institution does."
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