CINCINNATI – The first time Nick Temple heard who the new University of Cincinnati football coach was going to be, he smiled. There was no guessing about who Tommy Tuberville was. The first time the junior linebacker got to sit down and really talk with Tuberville only reinforced his initial feelings. Temple knew Tuberville’s background. He knew the Bearcats weren’t backing off their commitment to winning.
“There aren’t that many sayings going around. We know what we’ve got to do and he knows that we’re capable of doing things so, why not go out there and do your job?” said Temple. “Everybody loves coach Tubs. Everybody is buying into everything he says.”
Tommy Tuberville isn’t about flash. The Arkansas native isn’t so old school that he’s running the single-wing but Tuberville has a no-nonsense approach to football. No gimmicks, no catch-phrases or rah-rahing, just straight up football. It doesn’t have to be so difficult.
Tuberville’s first game coaching UC was a perfect example of his style. The Bearcats dominated Purdue, 42-7, in front of a heat-soaked Nippert Stadium record crowd of 36,007.
Don’t be fooled. Purdue is far from the best that the Big Ten has to offer but the final score wasn’t the impressive thing about the Bearcats Saturday afternoon. How they got there was. Forget the 425 yards of total offense while the defense held Purdue to 226. The temperature on the field hovered around 130 degrees. There hasn’t been much opportunity to practice in that type of condition this preseason, something that concerned Tuberville coming into the game.
The Bearcats committed just two penalties for minus-10 yards, the first penalty not coming until six minutes had passed in the third quarter. It was a false start, a mix-up in communication on the snap count. UC didn’t have many miscommunications Saturday. It was very much in-tune with the new coaching staff, something that couldn’t be said about the Boilermakers. Purdue had seven penalties and four turnovers. Five of Purdue’s penalties were for a delay of game or false start on offense, while the defense was called for an illegal substitution once.
“We grinded them in camp, and even this week running and lifting trying to get ready for this game and this weather,” said Tuberville. “We held up pretty good. It was pretty hot on the turf. The one thing you learn about that, you learn about focus. We didn’t have a penalty until (the third quarter). That means that somebody is listening, is concentrating, each and every play and not making the silly mistakes. That was a big lesson for our guys.”
Munchie Legaux got the start at quarterback for UC. There were only a few people at the start of preseason camp who thought that would be a possibility; Legaux, Tuberville, offensive coordinator Eddie Gran and quarterbacks coach Darin Hinshaw being chief among them.
When he first met with the players, as a group and in one-on-one sessions, Tuberville was straight with them about his expectations and the fact that nothing was carved in stone. He was learning all about them just as they were getting to know him. They all had clean slates.
Legaux’s first pass attempt was batted into the air by a defensive lineman and picked off. Not the kind of start a guy who was benched last season in large part because of his decision-making and propensity to turn the ball over wanted to have. Legaux shrugged off that first play and finished the game 13 of 20 for 145 yards and one touchdown passing while adding 55 yards and one touchdown rushing on six carries.
Legaux wasn’t looking over his shoulder.
“You don’t have somebody breathing down your back, pounding you, pounding you, just constantly on you,” said Legaux. “Here comes coach Tubs, just relaxed. You never think he’s there but he sees everything, he’s watching everything. He’s got experience and knows the ins and outs. We feed off of him.”
Legaux and Brendon Kay completed a total of 17 passes to 12 different receivers. Legaux has not won the quarterback job outright after one week. He and Kay will continue to compete for the job during practice each week. Whoever earns it that week will play that week. It’s an accountability thing. Tuberville may be relaxed in comparison to his predecessors Butch Jones and Brian Kelly but that doesn’t mean he’s not serious about his job.
“He’s laid back, especially from last year when everything was a big deal, we met a lot before game and a lot of slogans being said before the game but this year we’ve got free time. He gets in and gets out. He gets straight to the point,” said linebacker Greg Blair. “That’s his style. We just need Ws. All of that other stuff is irrelevant in his eyes. That’s how we practice. We don’t do extra things to stress that we have to do our job. He just tells us. He treats us like men.”
The Bearcats played like men, and their coach, on Saturday.
