Forget about Weight Watchers, The South Beach Diet or NutriSystem. Do you really want to lose weight? Try this.

Go 0-11 your first season as the head football of North Carolina A&T, then get off to an 0-3 start in your second season before inviting your fiercest rival – North Carolina Central – to your stadium. At this point, have your offense march to the Eagles’ 6-yard line only to see your quarterback’s pass intercepted with 14 seconds remaining as you lose 27-22.

If you still need to lose more, wait two weeks and head to Baltimore. Take a 17-13 lead over Morgan State thanks to the longest play from scrimmage in school history (a 96-yard touchdown pass) only to see a 46-yard touchdown run with less than four minutes to go in the game end your chance of victory.

Still not looking your best? Wait another two weeks; hold a 27-15 lead with less than four minutes remaining before losing at Howard 35-27. The next week, carry a lead into the fourth quarter of your homecoming game and watch as Bethune-Cookman scores with less than a minute remaining to take the lead. Seconds later, feel your heart drop into your hands as your receiver comes close to making a spectacular catch to win the game.

To finish off the diet, head to Tallahassee the next week and watch in disbelief as your kicker misses a 25-yard field goal in the fourth quarter while the Florida A&M kicker boots a 33-yard field goal to win with 45 seconds remaining.

The diet plan can either be called the Lee Fobbs plan, the Aggies 2007 season or the full-proof diet because no one can have a healthy appetite after enduring what Fobbs went through last season.

For the second straight season, the Aggies finished the season 0-11 after having a legitimate shot at winning five games. Fobbs, who enters his third season as the Aggies head football coach, acknowledges that last season didn’t do wonders for his appetite. Sunday dinner didn’t taste the same and love ones wondered whether he was eating enough.

Perhaps a loss of appetite and worry is to be expected from a man still presiding over the longest losing streak in the nation – 27 games – and who watched five agonizing losses throughout the 2007 season. But don’t walk into Fobbs’ office expecting to see a frail, dieting and worrisome Lee Fobbs. He is cleaned shaven. He doesn’t look like a man who is fasting and he is as optimistic as any coach in the country as he enthusiastically talks about the 2008 season.

The thing that keeps him going from week to week, and the thing that keeps the Aggie players competitive from week to week is a voice he remembers well.  

“If I could call him, I’d know what he’d say,’’ said Fobbs about the late great former Grambling football coach Eddie Robinson for whom he played and worked for.

“He’d tell me to get off the phone and keep working,’’ Fobbs added. “It was the only way he knew, and it’s the only way I know how to turn things around. You have to keep working hard in every facet of your profession. If I stop working hard, the players will stop working hard. You’re never going to see that from me.”

Fobbs’ optimism isn’t without reason. He’s not putting on a happy face just to look good for fans. For the first time since arriving at N.C. A&T, he has a team made up of mostly juniors and seniors. The Aggies roster is littered with two-and-three-year starters, and Fobbs is coming off of his second straight strong recruiting class.

“Anyone would be upbeat if they saw how these young men have grown and matured as far as the game is concerned,’’ said Fobbs. “The thing I talked about when I got here was establishing a class. We wanted to establish classes and not bring in truck loads of transfers every year. We’ve taken our share of hard knocks, but this year we have 18 or 19 seniors. Next year we’ll have even more than that. So we’re excited about the foundation we’re building here.”

NEW PLAY CALLER

A part of making sure your hard work produces dividends is realizing what work needs delegating. With experience in place, Fobbs believed his team was mature enough to handle a change in offensive play calling. Fobbs, who served as the offensive coordinator over his first two seasons, decided to relinquish those duties to add a different perspective to the Aggies offense with someone who shares his overall philosophy. He also wanted someone who could develop his quarterbacks into solid collegiate signal callers.

Fobbs chose John McKenzie to accomplish these goals. McKenzie was a four-year starter at quarterback for Jackson State where he was a two-time All-Southwestern Athletic Conference performer. McKenzie has also been a productive offensive coordinator at Alcorn State and Alabama State. With those successful stops came the development of young quarterbacks, including Donald Carrie, who finished his career as Alcorn State’s No. 2 all-time leading passer behind former NFL MVP Steve McNair.

Behind a high-powered McKenzie offense that averaged 42.1 points per game in 1991, Alabama State went 11-0-1 and won its first-ever SWAC championship. There is room for that kind of improvement for the Aggies offense. Over the last two seasons, the Aggies offense has produced just 38 touchdowns. In contrast, Hampton scored 43 touchdowns in 2007 alone. In the last three seasons, the Aggies have thrown 41 interceptions against 26 touchdown passes. The last time the Aggies offense finished among the top four offenses in the MEAC was 2001.

 “I already see the growth in our quarterbacks,’’ said Fobbs. “I think you’re going to see them manage the game better.  I think you’re going to see those guys handle practice and the huddle much better. There are little facets of the game our quarterbacks will master and those things will make us a better football team.”

ANOTHER NEW COORDINATOR

McKenzie is not the only new coordinator on the Aggies staff. During the off-season, Demetrius Adams left his position as the Aggies defensive coordinator to take an assistant coaching job at Louisiana-Monroe. Fobbs decided to replace a young energetic defensive coordinator with another young enthusiastic defensive coordinator. Tayrone Odums, 32, spent the three previous seasons at Bethune-Cookman.

“When you talk to people around the coaching profession and the coaches he has worked for, they all feel like Tayrone has a very bright future ahead of him,’’ said Fobbs. “We wanted him here before he becomes too much in demand.”

The Aggies defense made progress from 2006 to 2007. The Aggies surrendered 7.0 yards per play in 2006, but reduced that average to 5.9 in 2007. They also gave up 35 fewer yards per game. Fobbs hopes with an experienced defense and Odums attacking style, the Aggies ‘D’ can elevate itself to a defense that forces opposing offense into mistakes that produces points for N.C. A&T.

“We’re not going to sit back on our heels with Tayrone as our defensive coordinator,’’ said Fobbs. “He likes to run that hard-nosed, aggressive, run to the football style of defense. He has the kind of attitude about playing defense that you want to rub off on your players.”

FORGET ABOUT THE COACHES, WHAT ABOUT THE TALENT

To assist Odums, Fobbs hired two more new coaches in defensive lineman coach Myron Jackson and outside linebacker coach Chris Robinson. But no one will arrive at Aggie Stadium looking to see the coaches play. What McKenzie and Odums have to work with in terms of talent is what matters most. 

Most of the talent this season for the Aggies will look familiar. Not surprising, the most recognizable player for the Aggies is on the offensive side of the ball in all-conference senior running back Michael Ferguson. The Durham native needs 906 yards to become the Aggies all-time leading rusher.

With the Aggies playing 12 games this season, Ferguson needs to rush for approximately 76 yards per game to surpass Maurice Hicks, a current member of the Minnesota Vikings. The belief is that under a McKenzie the Aggies will be prone to throw the football more this season thus cutting down on Ferguson’s rushing opportunities.

But three different offenses under McKenzie have led their respective conferences in rushing. Plus, Ferguson carried the ball less than 20 times per game in 2007 and still managed to become just the sixth Aggie back in school history to register a 1,000 yard season.

A year ago, Ferguson worked tirelessly in the weight room to improve his body mass so he could endure the bumps and bruises that comes along with a season of being the Aggies primary ball carrier. During this off-season, Ferguson concentrated on increasing his speed.

“Mike’s a special runner,’’ said Fobbs. “Is he a blazer? No. Will he go to the house in a moment’s notice? No. But I can tell you this; he can play in any offense because he has the knack for finding the hole.”

“He is as cunning as anybody can be at getting the ball up the field,’’ Fobbs added. “He makes no apologies about being a north/south runner. There are backs who have more speed than Mike who would love to have his vision. He is good at taking his strengths and using them to be the best back he can be.”

If Ferguson is the most recognizable name on the Aggies roster, quarterback Herb Miller ranks a close second. Although he has shared the quarterback duties the last two seasons with two different players, Miller brings a bit of pizzazz to the position because of his ability to make plays with his legs.

Also, over the last two years Miller has come into the season as the Aggies No. 1 quarterback. There is a good chance that will happen again this season. In 2006, he shared the quarterback spot with Wayne Campbell before an injury ended Miller’s season seven games into the season. Last season, Miller and Shelton Morgan took turns calling signals for the Aggies.

Fobbs believes with the assistance of McKenzie, Miller can take control of the position because he has the experience and the athletic ability to be the Aggies offensive leader. The hope is a smarter Miller means a healthier and more relaxed Miller. 

“We want Herb to realize he can’t play fullback and quarterback at the same time,’’ said Fobbs. “But that’s who Herb is. He wants that extra yard and is willing to do anything it takes to get that yard. He wants to take those shots and we certainly don’t want to simmer the fire that burns him, but we don’t want him to take those hits. When he realizes it is more important for him to be on the field rather than running through that linebacker for an extra yard, it will mean his understanding of the game is where it needs to be.”

While the Aggies receiving corps lacks familiar names, the Aggies offensive line does not. Perhaps the heart of the unit is three-year starter Juan Williams. Williams has played and can play every position along the offensive line. McKenzie and Fobbs acknowledge that if Miller and Ferguson are to be effective, the Aggies offensive line must be better in 2008.

Williams’ return to the Aggies interior portion of the offensive line should make the team stronger in the place where Ferguson likes to run the most.

“We expect Juan to lead because he’s one of those guys who knows where everybody’s supposed to go,’’ said offensive line coach Kenneth Ray. “We want him to fuel the passion we need upfront. He has to be the heart of soul of our unit.”

THE HEART OF THE DEFENSE

Fobbs believes there are a lot of leaders on his defense this season. The Aggies return eight starters to the defensive unit. Any talk of N.C. A&T’s defense begins with linebacker Andre Thornton. He has led the Aggies in tackles the last two seasons. If there is an opportunity to put Thornton on the field, the coaching staff will put him there, which is why he is also a fixture on the Aggies special teams. Two seasons ago Thornton became the first freshman to lead the Aggies in tackles.

Thornton has made 145 tackles over his first two seasons. A product of Independence High School in Charlotte, Thornton was never a part of a loss in high school. But in reverse, he’s not experienced a win on the collegiate level.

“He’s so effective because he’s a winner,’’ said Fobbs. “He is one of those kids who is not going to hang his head and make excuses. Andre is going to go after every play until he gets it right. He understands where we’re trying to take this program.”

Thornton has plenty of help in the leadership department according to Fobbs. With a number of players heading into their third season as starters, Fobbs had a list of defensive leaders. In the secondary, he pointed to Brandon Colbert. A legend in the Aggies weight room, Colbert had a career year in 2007. He had 63 tackles and eight tackles for loss, finishing behind Thornton in both categories.

Colbert also picked off two passes had some memorable jarring hits. Another defensive player with leadership expectation placed upon him is Tyre Glasper. Glasper showed signs of being a standout player in 2006 before a leg injury ended his season three games in. Watching Glasper’s 2007 season on film has the staff even more excited about what he can accomplish.

A year ago, he proved to be an excellent pass rusher as he led the team in quarterback hurries with six. He is also good at stopping the run and recorded six tackles behind the line of scrimmage. “We wanted him to reduce his body fat in the off-season and he’s done that,’’ said Fobbs. “Off the field, he’s the nicest guy you ever want to me. On the field, he has real mean streak to him.”

Names like defensive backs Brandon Croley, DaShaun Graham and Ihsan Shaheed return to the Aggies secondary, while linebackers Brandon Long, Tim Shropshire and Jamison Hedgepeth also return to the Aggies defense. Fobbs hopes an experienced defense and some offensive wrinkles will make for some enjoyable Sunday meals for all Aggie fans.

“There is no question it was difficult but necessary,’’ said Fobbs about the heartbreaking losses in 2007. “Everything is in place. We just have to stay the course. The fact that we were able to get back up the next week to fight another week in another close game told me we were getting where needed to be as a program. We were doing the right things.”