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By request I have promised to rewrite/translate the interview with "The Great Dane", Andreas Knappe, from back in January, so here goes:
The national patriotism can run free, when our fellow countryman is doing an excellent job outside the Danish borders. As we could "break" back in December last year, have danish Hjalte Froholdt committed to Arkansas Razorbacks from the "powerhouse" SEC. But we already have a "Viking" in college football right now, and that is Andreas Knappe from UCONN Huskies.
#53, Andreas Knappe, Connecticut (UCONN) Huskies
We have been so lucky to get an interview with Knappe and you can listen to the interview in the video below (language: danish), or you can read it below. Enjoy.
With the fourth loss in a row in season 2013 was Paul Pasqualoni (former Head Coach) fired and T.J. Weist took over (interim HC), how did that affect the whole situation around the team?
It was both good and bad, everyone was really tired of losing so many games, and that the things did not work, and especially after a great game against Michigan [red. UCONN loss 24 - 21], was it really frustrating not to perform well against Buffalo the following week, that was extremely frustrating for both players and coaches. Pasqualoni was fired, and that was both good and bad, on a personal level I really liked him, and he had a lot to do with the defensive line and therefore had he also a lot to do with me and he taught me a lot, so personally I am a little bit sorry about the firing, but such a decision is completely out of your influence. Then came T.J. and made a really good work, and got the team together, because people was beginning to give up on each other, which is a really strenuous situation to be in. But T.J. came and made some changes in the structure in relation to training etc. and that helped immediately, you could feel that there was another and better energy, both at training and around the whole team.
With T.J. as Head Coach you had five games before finally getting a win against Temple, why did it take so long? Was the team so mentally down and unmotivated that the challenge of getting back on track should take so long?
There was not made a lot of changes, the changes was only related to some small things, like making people believe "we can do it", and that just takes some time, and that is obviously also a difficult task for him [red. T.J.] because he was thrown into a tough situation in a new role as Head Coach, coming from a job as offensive coordinator, so it was also a radical change for him to take the responsibility for the whole team, but changes takes time before you can see the effect. Just to get back and track, and be ready for the games takes time in such a situation, but it took longer time than we had hoped for. However, we finished the season with a small win streak which was great.
If we look towards the 2014 season, what do you, as a team, need to work most on in the off-season?
It is difficult to say what it is that lacks the most. We have a completely new coaching staff, with only one returning coach, and that has a huge affect. They have some new ideas of how things should be done. I am looking forward to start the off season practice, and to see what changes the new coaches has in mind, because it will be completely different from what we used to do. It is not like we have to start from scratch or rebuild the whole team, but there is something new, and a new view of how to do things, and I think that will make a huge different. As well as all the players and people around the team are 100% supportive to each other, and there is this sort of cohesiveness, that people is just completely align, no one is an individual outside the team, it is a team and it is a family, and that is one of the things that needed to be improved, which already has improved now.
What do you need to work on towards the 2014 season?
Everything. My flexibility is probably my disadvantage right now. But that is something we work on everyday, and I just need to work my ass of, and that is also the mentality I have brought with me from Denmark. I am coming from another country, and I have not played football nearly as long as any of my teammates, and that just means I have to work that much harder to achieve the same. But it is not like I need to work on one specific thing, it is more a combiation of maintaining my flexibility, if not improving the flexibility, and meanwhile build more strengh and bodymass, although I have reached a pretty good weight.
But it is that combination of weight, speed, agility and optimized strenght you try to reach for.
#53, Andreas Knappe on the field for the first time against Memphis Tigers
Has it become clear whether you have to play OL or DL?
Our coaches are recruiting right now, so it is not 100% clear right now, but I hope to get some information about it within the next week. I cannot do anything about it right now, beside of work, work and work. I do not have any influence on it, so there is not much I can do about it. Sometimes it is like "well, what do I have to play?", but there is about six weeks to spring ball so it is something in the future, so I am not concerned about it.
How do you assess your level compared with your teammates, they have more experience, but you come with your physics, which I assume matches your teammates?
There are always some freaks with incredible strength, but on strength I am doing well. When we had our last power scores, where speed, squat, bench pres etc. is evaluated into one big score, was I the 13th best on the team, so condition- and strenghthwise is there not a finger to put on. I do not think there is that big a difference footballwise either, I have been standing on the sideline I wanted to get on the field and show that I can do a proper job, and sometimes I have though "am I even good enough?", but now when I have tried it, I do not believe my level is lower than my teammates. I can also see on film from practice that I am not on a lower level, at least I do not think that.
Is that something your coaches give feedback on?
Yes, we get feedback doing practice. After every season is there setup a meeting with our position coach where we talk. Last year I was told by my position coach that he could see that I did as expected, and I did well, he just felt more safe to put the fifth year seniors on the field, so again that is something I cannot do anything about. But when I get the chance I just have to catch it, but the fact that I first got a chance in the last game cannot be changed.
#53, Andreas Knappe, UCONN Huskies
Smallwood (LB) has declared for the NFL Draft, who will be the new defensive star on the team?
Only time can tell. I believe that someone like Shamar [red. Sharmar Stephen, Defensive Tackle] was the one who did not get as much attention from the medias, but Sharmar could easily eat two to three blockers which makes the job easier for everyone else, so in a way, I think he was a little bit underrated. He [red. Sharmar] is a huge piece of meat, but he can still move, but I do not know who will replace them because it is not sure that our defense will be the same. Maybe we are going to play 3-4 defense or 4-3 we do not know it yet. We are in a period right now where we do not know much about what will happen, besides we have to do a lot of strength and conditioning, but that is something we have to take care of always anyway.
What is your expectations for the team in the coming season?
The team you had last season, will never be the same the following season. That is the nature of college football. However, I expect a better season next year, actually I expect a significant better season next year. It is also what we are working for, if we did not have any expectations would it not make sense to work so hard.
Bob Diaco (new Head Coach) is coming from a position as DC at Notre Dame, have you had some time to talk with him?
Yes I have meet him a couple of times already. He is very kind and very professional, and has an approach we have not seen before, and he is also a very outgoing and open person. He is not afraid to answer anything, and I am very excited to have Diaco as coach. In general he is a very kind person to talk to, it is not like you think "oh no, I have to talk with Coach Diaco" . He is also very good a staring a dialog between him and the players.
What do you dream about to accomplish at UCONN, are you dreaming about a "starting spot"?
Yes, obviously I am dreaming about being a starter. I might also even dream about becoming a captain one day. But I do not spend a lot of energy on long-term dreams, I like to focus on a day-to-day basis, it is also easier to measure and see if you reach the goals you set, for lets say a month, and if I do not reach a goal what do I then have to do different. I think short-term goals is more useful for me as a person, instead for the long-term goals. But Starter will always be a goal, I do not play to play behind a teammate, that is not my nature, I do definitely not play just to be back-up that is for sure.
#53 Andreas Knappe, #51 Tim Willman
Do you know the TV series "Blue Mountain State"?
Yes, I definitely do. I think most of the danish football fans knows the series very well.
Is there someone from UCONN that is just slightly like Thad Castle?
No there is not, not in the things Thad do and say. But we have some very funny guys on the team to be around, but not on the same level as Thad, he is too crazy.
What would you rather; meet a high ranked team with a high risk of getting beat badly, or meet a team where you are the favorites to win?
I would always rather meet ranked teams. If I had the opportunity, I would love to play against Alabama or Auburn. It is a huge experience, plus it is football and I do not think there is that bigger different, you could see how Louisville and Central Florida [red. UCF] was placed, and that is what I think is great about our conference, we had two top 25 teams, yet everyone could beat everyone. UCF won only with three points against Temple on a last second-field goal, where we shutdown Temple completely in the second half, so in a way is the conference completely open, so sometimes is the record sort of misleading. Qua Louisville and UCF have made a good job, I believe that other teams in our conference can do just as good a job. When we played against Michigan was the atmosphere at The Rent [red. Rentschler Field] amazing, that day was amazing and it is an experience I will never forget.
Beside of UCONN, which college team is your favorite?
When I lived in Denmark, and before I started to play football, was I a die hard Longhorns fan. So of course I cannot help but follow Longhorns a little bit, and I think it is funny that Charlie Strong, former Louisville Head Coach, has become Head Coach for Texas Longhorns. So I think that I will always follow Texas a little bit, but in general you follow a lot of teams here. In general I follow my own team [red. UCONN Huskies] because doing the autumn is everything football, no matter when you turn-on the TV there is football, and if there is not a live game there is replays of games or something about top 25 teams or Heismens, so there is always football one way or another. So you will always follow a lot of teams, but in general you follow your own team the most. But you do not like the teams you play against in the conference. Rutgers was our largest rival, but now they are moving to Big Ten, so we have to find some new die hard rivals, but we never like the teams we play against. When the game begins nobody like each other, but after the game can everyone shake hands and talk.
Super Bowl is coming, who will win?
Seahawks, there is no doubt in my mind.
Knappe makes sack-fumble on Scott McCummings doing Spring Game 2013
College Football DK thanks Andreas Knappe to take the time to talk to us and participate in the interview.
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