As McIntosh explained in another recent interview, “The mindset of DBU is to be the best. That means we have to prepare like we’re the best and we have to play like we’re the best. It’s a mindset that we’re going to be the best in the nation.”

“It means having high expectations and high standards,” agreed Rapp. “When I first got here, I was thrown into the fire (by first playing and later starting as a true freshman). That’s how we continue to keep being DBU. We hold the young guys up to our high standards and we also hold each other accountable. It’s about having the mindset of being the best.”

The man in charge of DBU is defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake. It is Lake, Rapp explained, who “holds us to the highest standards possible. He wants us to be the best and he knows we can be the best.

“If we’re not doing our job correctly, his job is to critique us. And he’s not soft on us. He gets into us because that’s his job. He definitely holds us to those high expectations and those high standards.”

“Coach Lake is a great coach and a great man off the field,” McIntosh added. “I’ve had conversations with him about stuff going on in my life outside of football, and he’s always been there for me. But on the field he’s very competitive. He’s the most competitive coach I’ve ever played for. He wants to win and his mindset is to win. It’s not to tie, it’s not to lose and it’s not to cut it close. He wants to dominate.”

On a daily basis, McIntosh went on, “he’s giving us the tools we need to be the best. He wants us to be the best and he preaches that. So when we go out there every Saturday, we want to play like we’re the best.”

By Rich Myhre

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