Aggies take lessons from Rice into SMU week

Kevin Sumlin

"Last week I thought was a great growing opportunity for our team. For the first couple weeks, particularly offensively, things went as planned or as scripted. It's always good that you can have a game where things do not go as planned or as scripted and still win by four touchdowns. Guys have to see some things they haven't seen, deal with some adversity, deal with getting off-script a little bit.

"This week we face a team with basically the same kind of operation. It's the second team in a row that will have a bye week before they play us. They have an opportunity to put in some things you haven't seen and do some things differently. That's what happened (against Rice), fortunately our guys responded.

"Defensively we played a lot of guys. We've been able to play a lot of guys the last three weeks, and here shortly in the next couple weeks, we'll have to settle on who that rotation is up front out of the four and who our linebackers are. We went through that game without Jordan Mastrogiovanni playing at all, without Mike Matthews playing at all, without Cam Clear playing at all. We've been without A.J. Hilliard and Shaan Washington all year. To go through a game like that the way we did and win is positive. To get those guys back over the course of the season, particularly over the next couple weeks, will help inject more athleticism and get us ready to go into conference and try to make a run at the West title."

On June Jones stepping down...

"You guys know how I feel about June. My first year as a head coach, I came into Conference-USA at the same time (as Jones). They won the West, we won the West a couple times, and David Bailiff won it the first year. It was just competitive — Todd Graham was at Tulsa at the time. I've known June for a while and I don't know everything around the situation but I know that's a difficult decision for any coach. Knowing the kind of competitor he is, there must have been other stuff going on.

"This is a team that's had a bye week and Tom Mason has coached a long time; they'll rally around him. You don't know what you're walking into here this weekend, to be honest with you. But based on the groundwork that's been laid there, it could be a pretty hostile environment from a player-coach standpoint because guys have a lot to play for and they've had a couple weeks to prepare."

On Armani Watts...

"It's something we talk about — there's a reason why we say guys have a nose for the ball. He's playing really hard, and if you heard what I said Saturday, I said he's making mistakes that you guys don't notice that we notice as coaches and we're correcting them. But the one thing you're not going to accuse Armani Watts of is not playing hard. He loves the game, he enjoys it. I asked him before we got to Columbia, 'You scared? You gonna be able to handle all this?' He said, 'Shoot, I've been waiting for this.' That's all talk for some guys, but he's a bit different.

"After that (field goal return) was all over with, he kept telling me he's a better punt returner than Speedy and all those guys. I told him to focus on playing safety."

On playing at SMU for the second time in three years...

"This is a contract that was done a long time ago. People ask about our schedule, I've heard other coaches talk about our schedule. Two things happened — one, we changed conferences and it became very hard to schedule games in the next one or two years when you drop down to an eight-game conference schedule. Another thing people really overlook is that one of our non-conference games used to be Arkansas. That's now a conference game.

"So, we're going to Dallas back-to-back weeks. I think it's a good thing for us in recruiting. Last time we were up there we had a huge contingency of fans. When we practiced for the Cotton Bowl we practiced at SMU in that first practice and there were a couple thousand people up there. I look for that to happen again, have a lot of Aggies up there; playing in the Metroplex is a good thing for us.

"The other thing that's interesting is we caught a break from a game-time schedule not just this week but next week. As a coaching staff we talked about the preparation this week should duplicate next week. Two game times at 2:30, two travel times on Friday, same bus trip. What we're looking for is the same type of preparation, approach Monday through Saturday, and the same type of performance and effort these next two weeks. Because very rarely in college football, if you're winning, do you get to duplicate the same situation from a travel and game-time standpoint. So I think we caught a break there."

On Speedy Noil...

"Speedy will probably not play this weekend. I'll update you next week. I'll say this: some of the questions I've gotten, reports about what's happened to him are completely false."

On Zaycoven Henderson and other injuries...

"Probable for Saturday. Zaycoven will play. Jake Matthews will play. (Reporter: You mean Mike?) Mike Matthews will play. I wish Jake was playing. (Laughter.) The Falcons do too. Jordan should play. Cam Clear, same."

On Rice winning the time-of-possession battle and A&M's offensive tempo...

"If I slowed the offense down (against Rice) we would've only had the ball for 10 minutes. So why would I do that? The question of whether I'm considering slowing down the offense, that's a no. Turnovers, we talk about all the time. We're minus-one for the year. Our turnover ratio is something we talk about every week as a team. We talk about third-down conversions offensively and defensively, which that was the poorest game we've played. Everything works hand in hand. Certainly, with what we did, if we didn't do what we did we wouldn't have scored 38 points in 16 minutes. So we're not going to go away from that."

On what he'd like to see this week...

"What we're doing is looking week-to-week. What I'm looking for is, the guys who are playing well, to be consistently playing well instead of spiking up and down. The guys we expect to play at an all-conference or all-American level, are you doing that every week regardless of opponent. The young guys in this program, guys like Armani Watts who have over 200 snaps in three weeks, that (being inexperienced) is over early.

"Our turnover margin is a thing we've talked about from day one. That's a team stat. That's not just a defensive takeaways or an offensive thing. That covers special teams too. You need to hang on to it, quarterbacks need to make good decisions and the defense has to create turnovers. Those are things we're constantly monitoring and I think there are numbers that can be put to that. We have a grading system for players, individually, that bears out whatever or however you handle that. Those are things we look at regardless of opponent, that players control.

"And penalties. This year the first game we played is our most-penalized game so far. We've gotten lower but we're still too high. And it's well-documented how I felt about that at halftime. I have to apologize again to my mother for what I said at halftime on national TV."

On having Ivan Robinson back in the lineup...

"I'll tell you what happened. Ivan was not supposed to play. I don't think anybody was counting on him playing. He was all taped up and ready to go. He was trying to play the last two weeks. With that Achilles, we gave him some time off. He was contemplating even playing anymore. Through the summer he didn't do a bunch. Then when he came back to play, I said, 'Are you going to play football or are you trying to be some kind of model?' He'd lost a lot of weight and was wearing tank tops. He was 265, 270.

"Over the course of camp he got to 290, 295, worked his way in there, then right before the season started he starts doing a lot and because he hadn't worked out a bunch he got a slight tear in his hamstring. He's kept that for three or four weeks, then we had somebody get dinged up Saturday and he said, 'I'm ready to go.' He goes right out on the field and starts throwing people around and making plays.

"He came off and said to the young guys, 'When you see this happen, this is what's going to happen to you.' I was like, 'Wow. That's what we've been needing.' We've got some talented guys but they haven't seen everything. He's been around. We're fortunate that he's come back and played this year."

On Myles Garrett...

"If you weren't at practice, you'd probably be surprised. If you watched him practice ... we've got two pretty good tackles in Germain Ifedi and Cedric; our line is pretty good. And for a guy to walk in here and have the success he had during fall camp — did he win all the time? No, but a lot of guys don't against those guys — he's had his moments with every guy on that offensive line. That's when you start getting respect from your teammates and people start whispering.

"Our challenge is to make sure that we are getting him in a position to help him be successful because he's going to start seeing some different blocking schemes — saw it the other night — and we're going to have to move him around. Jadeveon Clowney, as a freshman, only played 15, 20 snaps a game because those guys get tired and you're asking them to pass-rush and do a bunch of stuff. We've got to manage how much he's out there. We've got that with Daeshon Hall and the number of defensive ends we recruited last year.

"We've got a rotation that will allow him to not play 70, 80 snaps a game so he can be fresh and be at a high level. And he keeps other guys at a high level. He's certainly already tied the freshman sack record here at A&M and he's got as many sacks as we had last year as a team. I guess he's doing alright, huh? We've only played three games. We'll see what happens, but I think he's going to get better. He's starting to figure out what's going on.

"With that, just like anybody else who's a young player, people start figuring you out too. He's going to start seeing different things and how he reacts to that will be interesting. We'll have to be more creative than putting him on the open end and saying, 'Sic 'em.' Although there's something to that too."

On preparing for SMU...

"They've had a bye week. There's a lot of things happening there. The same way we do things every week, we worry about us. It's not an arrogant style — I think some people may take it that way, no matter who you play — but if you truly look within and try to fix the problems you had a week ago and the things that are going on right now, focus on the things you have to do every week to be successful regardless of opponent, then you have a chance to win. Our guys, over the course of time, understand that. They're starting to understand that now.

"That's why, whenever you play, that's the test for the week. This week's test is SMU. But the preparation for that test is what allows you to be successful. We don't do anything differently. We won't go to the stadium this week, we won't go next week, we didn't go to Williams-Brice (the night before)."

On Cedric Ogbuehi at left tackle...

"He's doing OK. He can probably play a little bit better — which is a good thing. I'm not being critical of Cedric; I'm always critical of him because he's very, very talented. He's probably tired of me always being on him. He missed some practice during fall camp, had a foot condition which set him back a bit not from a conditioning standpoint but because it's a different post foot from right to left. He's played in every game, he's been fine. The greatest compliment you can give to an offensive lineman is when people don't notice him.

"He's getting better. He's seeing different things and I think both our tackles, he and Germain Ifedi, have made the transition fairly well. I can see them continuing to improve. Although all those guys have played a lot of football, they're all at new positions except Mike Matthews. Saturday night we had five guys in there that were starting at new positions. Communication was good — you go into a game like that and don't have false start penalties, the line is communicating well. I don't think that's going to fall off.

"I'll say this: Ben Compton did a great job. When you put a new center in there, different things happen and you get miscommunication and false starts. That didn't happen. Ben would start at a lot of places. He's just behind a good center and two, three big ol' guys at guard. But he understands his role, he's unselfish, and for a guy to go in and play as many snaps as he played knowing that when Mike is healthy he'll come back, that tells you a lot about our team and how unselfish they are right now."

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Jake Spavital

On Ben Compton...

"I thought the offense moved exactly like it was supposed to. Ben is a veteran player and he's earned that position. It's unfortunate for Mike but it was good to see Ben take the field and operate it. I feel comfortable with the whole playbook with him running it and making points."

On Germain Ifedi's move to right tackle...

"The kid loves to play football, he's got a passion for the game, and he's a force. Once he gets his hands on you, he's tough to get around. He's getting better."

On what makes the passing game work so well and Kenny Hill's place in it...

"The pass game, we started off at South Carolina and we were very quick with our throws because there were a lot of uncertainties going into that game, we tried to take deep shots against Lamar and this week we worked on our intermediate game. Kenny is good at taking what they give him. Coach Beaty is getting better at knowing the routes and what we're trying to accomplish with each play. The players, they understand it as well now and they're executing. Kenny's (poise) rubs off on the other players."

On the offense without Speedy Noil...

"I don't think it's going to change anything. That's just another opportunity for a kid to step up and make plays. I'm very pleased with all the receivers we've got. It's unfortunate for Speedy this week but other kids will make plays. Ed Pope's going in this week and he's had a great start to the season. We're not going to change anything we do offensively."

On Kyle Allen and whether he's pressing when he's out there...

"I wouldn't say he's pressing. We did ten drives offensively and he comes in for the eleventh, the game's pretty out there at that point, you're trying to run the offense and a lot of starters are pulled at that point. He underthrew the post but a lot of that had to do with the play-call from me. He's going to keep working and he'll be a great quarterback for us."

On any changes with SMU's new coach...

"I don't think there'll be any changes offensively. Coach Mason has gone up against this offense seven years running, so he's familiar with what we do. They're a multiple defense, they'll do different looks, they'll prepare for anything and these kids are fired up and they'll come out firing bullets at us."

On Ricky Seals-Jones...

"He's had three really good games so far. He keeps getting better as well and he's learning the position and trying to master it. He's such a unique body type. He can stretch the field vertically and still have gaps in the run game, you've got to pick your poison on that. He'll keep improving; he's fun to watch; and he has a lot of fun when he's out there."

On Hill handling a bit of adversity against Rice...

"He was completely fine. Out of 31 balls he probably could have completed around 27 or so, I thought. He operated well. That's going to happen at times, you're going to face adversity."

On deciding who will start at running back...

"That is a good question because all three of them, even with James White in the mix, are talented running backs. A lot has to do with practice, a lot has to do with the play-call to start the game, and we try to get them in four-play rotations, get them out there and get their touches, then from there we roll with one guy. It's always a debate in that room, but then they come out and they practice well and try not to miss any reps because they know they're getting evaluated every week.

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Mark Snyder

On Nick Harvey...

"He did good. He did some good things. There's things Nick is very good at right now and things he's got to get better at. I've got to stay aware of when he's in the game so I can stay away from those things he's not so good at. He's very smooth and I feel comfortable putting him in man, but some of the run-support stuff he's (got to improve on)."

On not having Jordan Mastrogiovanni...

"It was a bit different. He's the quarterback of our defense and you've got our true frosh trying to run it. Josh got baptized a little bit. But that should help him in the future."

On SMU...

"Another team with another week off before us and a new coach. It'll be interesting. They've had two weeks to try different things. There'll be some adjusting going on through the first quarter, no doubt about that."

On when he realized Myles Garrett was this good...

"That came more from practice. About halfway through camp — and again, you didn't really know 'til we got to South Carolina and the guy he was going against was just SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week — boy, is he talented."

On what he liked on Saturday...

"When the ball got to the red zone and the field shrunk, it was really good to see (the kids) bow up a little bit."

On Tom Rossley...

"He was there before. There were some guys on his staff I'm tight with. We just want to get an idea. I'd like to have some semblance of, 'This is what he's done in his past. Can they get that done in two weeks?' That's for me to figure out."

On improvements...

"We need to be more physical; we need to press at the linebacker position a bit more. We need to get off blocks. The one guy I saw doing that was Ivan Robinson. We had eight third-and-shorts and it's hard to get off the field when you do that. Give credit to Rice, David Bailiff was patient and that's what he does. It was good to get that many runs as we get to the SEC."

On mobile QBs and seeing Driphus Jackson...

"Any time you have a guy who can run around, it creates problems for the defense. We saw that for two years here with Johnny. We emphasized not breaking out of coverage and that opened some lanes up for him."

On depth...

"We're still a work in progress. We'll have to settle on what the rotation's going to be, but until we get guys back that'll be hard to do. I feel good up front, we're able to stay fresh and that's really encouraging. I love seeing those freshmen D-linemen run out there, not necessarily with what they're doing during the play, but their enthusiasm and love for the game is contagious and I love that."

On Ivan Robinson's impact...

"He was over talking to the young guys, telling them what to do and what to look for. Then he was going out there and making plays."

On Jay Arnold...

"We've got to get Jay more on the field, no doubt about it. I agree with that. Again, once we get to this rotation and go against the Arkansas' of the world, we'll have to do some things with Ivan that'll increase Jay's role, if that makes sense."

On whether he's preparing to play with Mastro or Shaan Washington...

"I'll have a lot better feel after today's practice."

On Victor Davis...

"I thought he's played well. That's what he's got to understand as a young guy, when you put stuff on tape — the double move — that didn't hurt him against SC because Myles sacked the quarterback. Myles didn't sack the quarterback on the double move the last two weeks. When you put that on tape guys will attack it until you stop that. I think he got the message."