Joey McGuire faces the pressure head on as fall camp starts
At local media day this past Tuesday, head coach Joey McGuire confronted the biggest topic on everyone’s mind: the pressure and challenges facing the program this season. With high expectations mounting, McGuire openly discussed how he embraces that pressure and the mindset he uses to manage the daily demands of leading the team through these testing times.
McGuire opened by referencing a book his linebacker Jacob Rodriguez recommended, The Mindset of a Champion by David Cook
“He’s talking about how people become successful, and part of that is being mentally tough,” McGuire said. “And part of being mentally tough is being able to handle the pressure. Right now, that’s kind of a big word, because you’ve got all these expectations of this roster and everything that is going on, and how do you handle that?”
“Well you embrace it. You’ve gotta embrace it like nothing has ever happened in any part of our lives, or any parts of an athletes life, to where you’ve reached greatness that you didn’t go through the fire. So we are going to embrace the pressure, and we are going to talk about how you deal with this, you control what you can control”
Developing champions who can perform under pressure
“There are going to be moments in practice where we try to create some chaos. There’ll be times on offense when I call a sack on a big play, and it might not even be close to a sack—just to see how Mack responds and how the other coaches react. Or there might be a play on defense where I call pass interference even if nobody is around.”
“It’s really important, especially during the first couple of scrimmages, that we get really physical and see how physical this football team is. Then, on days off, we’ll be able to take care of our bodies and everything like that.”
Simply put, he wants to create an environment of controlled chaos, stretching each player’s mental and physical capabilities to help them grow stronger as a unit. McGuire aims to start off physical and gauge how tough each side of the ball is willing to be. But when it’s all said and done, Joey McGuire emphasizes the importance of rest for his team. This is the secret: breaking down the body only to rebuild it stronger for the next day.
Should there be any concerns?
It’s easy to overthink and over-speculate about what the results should be, with the incoming transfers, the seniors who have stayed, and the depth at each position. However, Joey McGuire isn’t focused on what will happen 12 weeks from now; instead, he’s focused on the process it takes to achieve those results.
“I just want these guys to understand the process versus the results. We can’t get in our own way of feeling like the weight of the world is on our shoulders. Position wise I feel great, there is a lot of competition going on and I feel good about the coaching staff”
Players returning from injury this season
- Chapman Lewis – S
- Justin Horne – LB
- Ellis Davis – OT
- Cash Cleveland – IOL
- Macho Stevenson – CB
- Braylan McDonald – S
- A.J. McCarty – CB
- Terrell Tilmon – DE
The mindset moving forward
As fall camp gets underway, Joey McGuire has a clear vision for the season: embrace the pressure, trust the process, and stay committed to the daily grind. For McGuire, success won’t be defined by what happens months from now, but by the work being done in the present—through the discipline and unity his team builds each day. He knows championships aren’t built on talent alone, nor by avoiding adversity, but by running into the fire. And McGuire is prepared to meet those challenges head-on.
