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Volume 5, No. 15
Editor’s Note: Sophomore linebacker Brian Gamble has emerged as a star in just his second season at A&M, leading the Aggies in tackles and becoming one of the leaders of the defense. Gamble sat down with 12th Man Magazine’s Rusty Burson recently to discuss the triumphs and tragedies of his first two years at A&M. Q: You really seemed to have shifted a couple of gears higher this year. Last year, was impressive, but this year, well, you are really playing well. Is that simply because of experience? Gamble: I feel real comfortable out there. It’s amazing what a difference a year makes. Last year, I went out there and played, but I don’t think I was really that comfortable. I worked hard through the spring and in the offseason, and when I came out this year I had a purpose in mind that I was going to be better. I’ve spent a lot of time with the guys and went out there and proved myself. The experience last year helped. I’m real relaxed and comfortable in the huddle and feel like I’ve taken on a leadership role on the field. It feels really good, and I hope to build on it each year. Q: Speaking of last year, the image of you that comes to my mind is from the Texas game. You’ve just come up with the game-clinching fumble, and you are on your knees and you’re looking toward heaven. Do you still get chills thinking about that? Gamble: It was an exciting moment for me, a huge moment for any freshman to come in to a university like A&M and play your biggest rival in a game that had so much meaning. To make a play like that was really exciting. I still go back and watch that game and smile, trying to make myself believe that’s really me out there doing it. Q: Approximately how many times do you think you’ve watched that game?
Gamble: I’ve watched it five or six times. A play like that is what you play college football for. I was just glad to be out there and have a chance to make the play. It was an unbelievable feeling, because there was so much at stake. Following the Bonfire collapse and the deaths of those students, this university – this community – needed a feel-good moment. I was so happy to have played a part in that. Q: A few months later, it was you who needed the emotional lift following the death of your mother in the car accident. I know you got a lot of support from the Aggie family. Did that help you cope? Gamble: It felt really good. A lot of people showed their support, especially the Aggie community, and my teammates really embraced me. But it was amazing how news traveled and people from all over the state that I had made connections with in the past were letting me know that they cared. It really meant a lot to me. It really helps. I got so many cards, like the one the 12th Man Foundation sent me, and I got a card from Phil Bennett up at K-State. There has been a lot of reaching out to me from a lot of people and from a lot of Aggies. It has really helped through the tough times. Q: I know he was gone long before you arrived here, but did you know Phil Bennett? And I guess that card must have been really meaningful since he went through the tragic death of his wife the summer before. Gamble: I came to football camp here, and (Bennett) was my coach at inside linebackers, and I think we made a connection. He left right after that year, and I never really saw him again. But in his note he said that he knew what I was going through. And he just encouraged me to be strong and keep my faith in the Lord, and things will turn out good. And I believe it coming from Coach Bennett with the things he had to go through. Q: Sometimes, when people go through the loss of someone so close to them their faith either strengthens or weakens. But you mentioned that your faith really helped you get through this. Could you tell me more about that? Gamble: Yes, I believe my faith grew through that. A lot of people question why God does some stuff or why things happen to them, but I never questioned it. I’ve always known that for some reason He wanted her up there, whatever it may be. I try to look at it like that, that one day I’ll be fortunate enough to go up there and join her there. It still hurts not having her and not being able to call her up. But dying is no longer something to be scared of me. My faith has grown, and it has really changed my outlook. And without my mother here, I’ve tried to take on responsibility with my brother and sister and keep us closer together. It is rough because we’re real busy. My brother is real involved in school at Stephen F. Austin, my dad is coaching at Alto, and my sister is really involved in athletics at Waco Midway High School. Q: Many people know that your father is a high school coach and that you grew up around the game. How much of a help has that been in you coming in here as a freshman and starting and then becoming the leading tackler as a sophomore? Gamble: It has been huge. I learned so much football under my dad. I think the only adjustment that I’ve had to make in college is the physical adjustment. I’ve got the mental side down because I know football. I catch on to things quickly and pick things up. A lot of guys it takes two or three years just to learn the system, and I picked it up in one year. What I got from my dad and what I did when I was little on working my way up has paid off enormously. Q: OK, big question. Is Lucky Gamble your father’s real name? Gamble: He changed it. It’s not his real name, but there are some factors that go into that. He enjoys and loves it and has some fun with it. It’s a name you don’t easily forget. Q: I recently spoke with Dat Nguyen, who was praising your play, and Jason Glenn says you are emerging as the next great linebacker here. How do comments like that – from people like that – make you feel? Gamble: I think those are the best comments you can get. The highest compliments are from your peers. From guys like Jason Glenn, who is a senior and going into the draft. From guys like Dat, the Lombardi Award winner playing for the Cowboys. And your teammates all around you. When you’re playing well enough to catch their attention, you know that you are playing well and doing good things. I’d like to continue to do that because that’s just the type of player I am. I want to go out there and excel and make my teammates around me excel, and I’ll do that any way I can. If it’s going out there and making a lot of tackles then so be it. If it’s running out there and hitting somebody and yelling at them… just whatever I can do. I want to make people around me excel and make us a better defense. I’m going to fault myself for earlier this year, because I don’t think I did as good a job at it as I could have. But I have definitely taken it upon myself now that whenever I’m out there I’m going to have everyone around me step up and be the best they can be. Q: I get the sense that you are really happy to be at Texas A&M. You fit in here on and off the field, don’t you? Gamble: Oh, yeah. This is definitely the place for me, not only football-wise but also the community and the students. It is just a great atmosphere. And the football is great here, people really care about it, and it’s Linebacker U. Any linebacker who wants to be great and wants to be the best-coached and wants to have a great shot at playing in the NFL, this is the place to be. Plus, I’m a small-town guy, a laid back country guy, and this is the place for me. I remember I went to a football camp at Texas and then I came to one here, and I loved it here. At Texas, I guess we were staying on campus, I don’t know because it looked like we were in the middle of the downtown. We are driving on a bus to go to the practice field and we stop at a red light. I look over to my left and there is a girl with purple spiked hair walking with leather on. She has a nose ring that connects to her belt loop. And I said this is not me, this is not where I want to be. It was hands down Texas A&M just for the atmosphere. The people in the community are great, and the students here are great.
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