Exclusive: Spencer Nealy tells all in lead-up to 'Bama

Billy Liucci: Spencer, take me through the opening moments of the last two games. You go on the road to some of the most hostile environments you can go to, with the cowbells (at Mississippi State), the War Eagle and the 85,000 at Auburn. What's been the key for this football team? You guys have just overwhelmed the last two SEC West opponents on offense and defense. What's been the key for you guys?

Spencer Nealy: “Going into away games, they emphasize that we need to create our own energy. It's one of those things where our backs are against the wall and we have a certain amount of fans there but you can’t really hear them. We have the mentality of going out there, shutting them up and getting the heck out of there. We try to make it back in time to celebrate with the people that love us.

“Those cowbells were annoying, so we knew we had to get those quiet. Even at Auburn, they were loud. I remember standing there and thinking, ‘Dang, this is pretty real right now.’ We're like the little kid in the fight going out there, we are going to knock you in the face and if you swing back we are going to take it and keep going.”

BL: How good does it make you feel when you take a step back from it and say, “The reason these atmospheres are the way they are is because we're coming in as a good team and we have a national ranking by our name”? It took probably half of a quarter against Florida for you guys to get the respect of the SEC, and ever since then it has been really good football.

Nealy: “It starts at practice. Tuesdays are rough days but we like being out there. Right now we want to go out there and get better. You have guys staying in practice and the starters want to go out there and practice because our offense is what makes us better. We're not surprised by anything because we go against an offensive line that is incredible, we have a quarterback like Johnny (Manziel), good running backs and receivers.

“We're prepared and we all like each other. We don’t want to look over and be able to say that we let someone else down. That's a big thing and going in there is pretty sweet.”

BL: Sean (Porter) changed positions, Ryan (Swope) is in a new offense and Christine (Michael) struggled early. Those guys, I particularly look at Swope and Michael, the last several games, have been really turning it on. What does it mean for this team to have #25 producing like he is and to have that one-two punch that he and Mike Evans give you, especially now that Christine Michael and Ben Malena are teaming together to produce and just punish defenses?

Nealy: “I will always look at Christine and see him smiling now. Everyone has bought in. Swope has been my boy since freshman year, so I get pumped up personally when I see him catch a ball. He has a little bit of a tenacious attitude to him. I remember vs. Mississippi State when he was crossing field and I see him smiling at the guy and thinking, ‘This is awesome.’ I get pumped up. People probably think I’m mentally insane but it gets the defense pumped up, too.

“It's nice for the defense to get to sit down and not have to be like, ‘Come on, offense.' Instead it's like them saying, ‘Come on defense.’ Sean, I wouldn’t necessarily say he started off slow because his role is so incredible. He's played nickel, Mike, Sam, the dude plays it all. He also plays kickoff and punt. He has such a huge role that sometimes it's overshadowed. He may not make as many plays as he did last year, but he is having a phenomenal season.”

BL: Did you guys talk about that at all before the season? Fans and even media sit there and try to wonder about the inner workings of a team. During the offseason, were there any sitdowns with the seniors, or was this just something that came about naturally with such good leadership? You don’t see it very often in the first year of a new coach. A lot of times the seniors are the first ones that get pushed aside or remove themselves from it. It's been the exact opposite with you guys.

Nealy: “I think what makes a difference is that we were freshman when that happened. We had a lot of great guys and great players, but you could tell that they were still loyal to the old coach. We were like, 'Dude, you know in the end we are A&M football and it doesn’t matter who our coach is or who is behind us. We are all the same people and we wear the same numbers.’

“Coach Sumlin sat down with us one time and C-Mike asked us what the difference was. We all bought in right away. It's our senior year, we're in the SEC, let’s not be selfish. It's okay and stuff happens. It doesn’t matter, you have to brush it off and move on. I felt like that's what happened. We all looked at each other and thought, ‘Let’s do this, let’s create a legacy.’”

BL: It has been, and it's not over with yet. You guys have set up a showdown this weekend and you have been taking it one game at a time. I know there are no schedules downstairs in that building. It really has been a one-game-at-a-time thing. Now that this one game is here. As a competitor and athlete, what's the energy level been like in this building?

Nealy: “Well you know, it's only Tuesday. I had a class and the teacher talked about it. Everyone is just pumped up and I like that it isn’t one of those things where it’s like, 'We're proud of y’all.’ It's like, 'We're going in there and we're expecting to win.' There's going to be adversity because we are going into their hostile area and they want to be in the national championship.

“We're the busters, let’s do this. We've had two close games that have literally just stung, and it hurts. Now this is our time to get rid of that pain and do something. I'm excited. Another thing that I like is that one thing Coach Sumlin never does is make the seniors think we're it. He makes us feel like we are one team. Everyone's the exact same and that's how it should be.”

BL: I want to talk to you really quick before we go a couple questions about that defensive front, Mark Snyder and your own development this year. First off on the defensive line, just really quickly talk about the other three starters. I think Kirby Ennis might be the most underrated guy on the team. Then what Damontre (Moore) has done and then Julien (Obioha), as a true freshman.

Nealy: “Kirby is playing with so much pain every game and every practice. He practices and he is so technically sound. Patrick (Lewis) said his hands are phenomenal. People don’t give Kirby a lot of credit at nose tackle. I've kind of noticed that playing on the inside, you don’t make as many plays. Kirby's just fine doing his job, he'll lay down on Sunday on the training bench and he knows he did it. Me and Coach Price will joke around with him and say, ‘These are Kirby games.’ The slow pace, 50-play games, you just pound it.

Julien is rare. He catches on to things really quick and he over-analyzes. He sees things that freshmen usually don’t see, and I know I didn’t see. He works his butt off. In high school, you're used to playing ten games. But he's coming on strong. He's probably 240 pounds and a lot of people didn’t think he would be able to hold his own. He's not only been able to hold his own, but he has produced pretty well.

“That goes a lot to Coach Price. If you're in the mood where you're like, ‘Let’s just get through practice,’ you can’t because if you do it wrong you have to do it again. That's what has made us better players. Even Damontre has been working his butt off and he's been playing through injuries. My hat's off to those guys because they've been working their butts off. “

BL: Speaking of that, there is number 99 there in the middle. You're playing end and, a couple weeks into your season, they slide you over and say, “Gain as much weight as you want, you're staying there.” Talk about your adjustment — and is this something you ever envisioned coming out of high school? Is this you fulfilling what you felt you were going to do for yourself, or has this all been just a pleasant surprise for you in the way your career has played out?

Nealy: “It is funny because, coming out of high school, I remember talking to TCU and them saying, ‘Yeah, we could see you gaining a lot of weight and potentially playing offensive line.’ In high school I had always played nose tackle and I wanted to play end, but the way things worked, I had to play nose tackle for the team. I was just saying, ‘Wait until college, you’ll finally get your shot at playing end.’ That, in my opinion, is what I thought I was natural at.

“Things happen and we moved to a 3-4 and I had to put some weight on. It wasn’t the greatest weight, I’ll give you that. I got excited when we moved to the 4-3 because we have Kirby and (Jonathan) Mathis, so they weren’t going to move me inside. Coach (Terrell) Williams, back when he was here, said I was playing end and I was like, ‘It’s about time. It's finally working out.’ I had a good spring, but the way my athleticism is, I’m not exactly a dip-and-go type end. I didn’t realize that until this fall. I came out playing end and I got to 260, which is kind of unfortunate, when they moved me.

“I came in and going against Luke (Joeckel) and Jake (Matthews) is frustrating already as it is. I am trying to think of ways I can become a better pass rusher and what not. It became really frustrating and then I got moved to second string and I was looking for what I could work on. Then Kirby went down with an injury and I was thinking that I wanted to practice and get better and not get out of shape, so I went in there. The way I'm built athletically, I'm better in closer quarters and I’m a work hard guy.

“It ended up working out really well. I played nose tackle the whole fall and then they moved me to three and I was like, ‘I kind of want to play nose again.’ That was a lot easier. But it's worked out and I like it a lot. I like knowing that we're winning the game and that I've done my job because I could care less about the credit.”

BL: The defense has been — not to you guys, but to anyone who has been covering the team or trying to project how the team would do in the SEC — surprising for a lot of people. Has it been the unselfishness and the buy-in that is out weighing everything else right now?

Nealy: “I think so, because it is so easy to be unselfish. There are some times when I'm getting double teamed and I’m like, ‘I want to spin out’. It is frustrating, but let’s do it. It's more fun to celebrate with your teammates for when they do something good than celebrating by yourself. I would rather go out there and be double teamed and play every play than make a few plays. Damontre is my roommate, so I would call him Hollywood and I would give him some crap because that is just how it is.”

BL: You guys are an odd pairing, but kind of the same in some ways, too, personality-wise.

Nealy: “Scrappy. Not exactly what you look at and think, 'That is what I want my defense to look at.' We joke that we should put Alex Okafor and Damontre together, put their stats up and ask somebody who doesn’t know anything to pick. They would pick Damontre’s stats over Okafor. For me, it cracks me up because you look at him and you're like, ‘He does some incredible things.' And it is nice because we play on the same side.

“There were some struggles in the summer and in fall camp. You have tempers flaring. I've always known Damontre, and I've been his biggest fan. I've always known what he can do and he is a baller. A lot of people get frustrated and I’m like, ‘We're a team, we need him.’ They put us as roommates and we talk and stuff. It’s fun. It is nice to know we are on the same side. They take us out at the same time. Against Auburn, we were both trying to sneak our way back onto the field.”

BL: I have noticed that a couple times with you guys.

Nealy: “It is frustrating. It is like we’ve got them, let’s get these sacks ... but they take us out. We know that we've done our jobs and I love it. I make sure that he gets there on time and he is focused. He has been doing a really great job this year.”

BL: Really quickly, Kevin Sumlin: Describe in 60 seconds or less what it is about him that has made him such a great fit for this team and this university right now.

Nealy: “He is going to tell you how it is. He is not going to beat around the bush. He says we are going to win and we have to win. He says this is what we have to do, we have to practice, sorry about it but there is nothing we can do about it, and that is what I love about him. I tell people how it is too, and that is exactly how it has to be. If you are too soft to understand the truth, then what are you doing? Coach Sumlin is a cool dude and a cool cat. I will joke around with him.

“I am sad I’m a senior because him and Coach Jackson, all of them, are awesome. That is the first thing I was worried about because I was so close with the coaches last year. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to do that. I'm talking to these guys like I'm about to go out with them on a Friday night. They are awesome, they're like my friends. That's what is great about this whole thing. When you are having fun, things go well.”

BL: For it to go well this weekend, what do you guys have to do defensively?

Nealy: “For the defensive line, especially for Kirby and I, we have to hold our own. We have to clog the holes and let our linebackers free and do anything possible to get them through their holes so we can stop the run. Most of all, we have to stop the play-action and not let A.J. McCarron scramble and stuff. We stop that and we get after them early and play penalty free, I feel like we are going to do that.

“It starts now. We have to go against our offensive line and take a few more double teams than I would like to, but we have to do that. We know we have to do that to win. We have to hold it and play our blocks because they have some blocks and power scoops. I hate those, but if we play those well we will be alright.”