Tight Shipp: OU d-line coach demands perfection
Published: 10/17/2007 2:16 PM
Last Modified: 10/17/2007 2:16 PM
Oklahoma's defensive line coach, Jackie Shipp, is an old-school guy.
The former Sooner defensive end/outside linebacker is as intense a coach as he ever was as a player, and he demands the same kind of perfection out of his players that he demanded of himself.
When sophomore DeMarcus Granger and redshirt freshman Gerald McCoy each came under Shipp's care, they had been ranked the No. 1 high school player in the country at their position, Granger in 2004 and McCoy in 2005.
But, to the dismay of the some microwave-generation fans, both redshirted. Seems they weren't the next Tommie Harris after all.
But Shipp was patient with each guy as a freshman, and now that patience is paying off. While neither was Harris – he had a quarterback sack on his first collegiate play, and now he's a perennial Pro Bowler – both have shown that they're impact players on the defensive line.
And now's the time that Shipp wants more.
"You come in the meeting room and you'll see us on Saturday and coach Shipp just says, 'Average,' " Granger said. "So as long as we have our coach, even though he can be a pain in the butt every now and then, it'll all pay off. You only get what you put into it. As long as we keep putting everything we have into it, we're going to get something out of it sooner or later."
Shipp isn't all criticism and no praise, though.
"When you do good, he'll let you know you did good," Granger said. "But when you did bad, you'll hear it longer.
"That's his motto. If you can do it perfect one time, you can do it every time. Nobody can be perfect, but there's no reason why you can't go 20-for-20 on technique. You can be perfect at something."
– John E. Hoover
Written by
Guerin Emig
Sports Writer
