Sumlin hits burning questions at Brazos Coach's Night

Few things are more soothing to Aggie ears than the sound of the War Hymn.

One of those few things is Kevin Sumlin's speeches, which exude charismatic confidence. Those talents were on full display Monday night in the MSC ballroom.

Before Sumlin took the stage, the challenge was set to surpass Houston’s A&M club for the record bid of $14,000 for a Johnny Manziel helmet. A bid of $15,500 locked up the helmet and the record, bringing along with it an additional donation from Aggieland Outfitters.

Other items, like a round of golf with the man himself, brought in upwards of $5,000, and an LSU game package went for $2,600.

At the end of the evening, the Brazos Valley A&M club's annual Coach's Night gave Sumlin a chance to shed light on subjects fans were eager to hear, especially with a new season so close. While it is hard to have any doubts when listening to him preach, some questions did arise during Sumlin's 20-minute time at the podium.

A question regarding a possible change in offensive scheme to take some pressure off the defense was met in typical fashion: “Are you worried about that? A lot less worried than you were two years ago, aren’t you?

"We try to give our guys the best chance to win the game, and with the tools we have had the past few seasons that means scoring points," Sumlin added. "Plus, we want to have 106,000 in the stands. Y’all don’t want to sit through a 3-0 game, do you?”

Another curious spectator asked whether A&M had exceeded expectations on the recruiting front.

“Right now is an interesting time," Sumlin said. "Moving to the SEC was a big part of our success, but had we gone in and gotten our brains beat in like a lot of people expected, we would not be where we are right now. It is imperative that these parents see that we aren’t that far away.

"We’re getting really really close to being at the top of our league. If we do that, we’ve seen that sometimes it can be harder to win our league than it is to win a national title.”

On what he expects from the defense: “Last year we were plus-one on turnover margin, something we weren’t able to say a year (before that). So we are moving in the right direction. Being able to recruit guys like Myles Garrett that will have the chance to create their own pass rush goes a long way on putting pressure on the quarterback. We don’t look at a lot of services in recruiting, but when they rank a guy number one at his position, they usually don’t screw that up.”

As the team moves into the season, Sumlin emphasized the importance of building leadership.

“Leadership comes in two different stages: what to do and how to do it. Only when you reach that second stage can you help the guy next to you. That is how leadership is developed. Guys like Mike Matthews and Tra Carson, solid core guys have to continue to thrive in that and we have established a culture to do that.”

With a trip South Carolina less than a month away, some questions still remain. But rest assured, Ags — Kevin Sumlin has plenty of answers.