Former Texas A&M RB Ben Malena joined us on Tuesday's edition of TexAgs Live to talk about his time and development while in Aggieland. Malena discussed how special the 2012 team was, playing alongside Johnny Manziel and his thoughts on A&M's upcoming season.
Key notes from Ben Malena interview
- I picked A&M because it was a dream opportunity. I came from the suburbs south of Dallas with a dream to play football after high school. A&M was a prestigious university. I never thought I would have that type of opportunity close to home with the network and other things A&M has to offer. For different dreams and goals you have as an athlete, you think about how many young men actually get an opportunity to further their playing career. I grabbed it the first opportunity I got.
- For me, I understood I had to come in and develop. I loved watching guys who came before me. Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray are, hopefully, two A&M Hall of Fame players. I was in the weight room and film room with them every day. When my chance came, I was ready mentally and physically for the different nuances of football and life. That all made the transition for me seamless.
- Everything you do, you have to develop. It doesn’t matter what it is, family or business, you have to take time. I see the culture of football now like a business. But it’s a big man’s game, so you'd better make sure you have time to get developed, get more in professional conditioning and sharpen your mind. You’ll play better.
- Before the last Texas game in 2011, we were suffering through the art of attrition. I was the next man up at the end of the season. It was a crazy season, if you remember 2011. We started top 10 and had all the talent in the world. It was exciting for me after waiting two years. It gave me a chance to show I could compete at a starter level. I wasn’t the best, but I knew I could execute. It was Texas. Even though we lost, it solidified to me that I could be an asset to the team.
- The first Johnny Manziel season, has there been a year like that since? A&M has had great success, especially with recruiting. The type of people coming in are a lot different today. But energy, making storylines, coming into the SEC... To this day, people always talk to me about some part of that team and season. Hopefully, I can experience that as an A&M fan now and what it did for them. But truly, it was once in a generation.
- I always say Duke was a good team, but that bowl game was just a crazy game. Most of our team was together for two years. The back and forth was like a video game. To slam dunk that era with that game and those players was the right way to send off that generation.
- I came last year to the all-black uniforms, LSU game. The level of talent now is a lot different than what it was. That’s what you need to compete today. There are caliber players at each position, and that’s what A&M had based on an eye test. The emotions of the season come after that — coaching, execution and player accountability — a lot goes into the season. A&M has the resources to control those things, and if they do, everyone will have a tough time with them.
