Story Poster
Kevin Sumlin
Jake Spavital
Mark Snyder
Kenny Hill
Cedric Ogbuehi
Malcome Kennedy
Germain Ifedi
Jordan Mastrogiovanni
Julien Obioha
Boone Niederhofer
Texas A&M Football

A&M coaches, players face Arkansas' challenge head-on

September 23, 2014
29,295

Kevin Sumlin

"I thought last week was great experience for our team. We were able to get through Saturday without Mike Matthews playing center and playing Jordan Mastrogiovanni a little bit in the first quarter. Held Ivan Robinson and got great experience for our young players. For us to operate in the way we did offensively, average almost nine, 10 yards a play, defensively to have our young guys come out and particularly up front play pretty well, get some guys the experience they needed, that's something we needed to do as we make this run through the SEC.

"We had a bunch of players who needed to show they could handle any situation. Justin Manning is one of those guys. I hope it wasn't because he was in Dallas — or maybe I do hope it was because he was in Dallas, since we're going back there on Saturday. Get Shaan Washington back, him have a couple sacks and play the way he did ... defensive depth is something we've talked about and tried to address here, and to get those guys on the field and have them play in any situation was good. To get them to Dallas and duplicate the scenario was important for preparation.

"There were a lot of positives out of that; getting to play everybody and only one significant injury, and that was Alex Sezer with a twisted ankle. We'll see."

On Arkansas' run game...
"It's the same challenge Arkansas presents everybody. They're the No. 1 rushing team right now in the country; we're the two top scoring teams in the league, two of the top three in the country, with really contrasting styles. The point total has become interesting to me based on who they've played because you can run the ball the way they run it, but where they've really improved is quarterback play. ... Brandon Allen has really improved as a passer and in being accurate and in the play-action game. You can't score that many points just running the ball all the time.

"Sure, they've scored a lot of rushing touchdowns, but they've gotten loose deep on people. They also lead the country in kickoff returns, giving themselves great field position, they're running the ball really well, and their play-action game has become much better. They're a much improved team over last year. I'd argue they should be ranked. You go on the road and beat a Big 12 team by three touchdowns, then come back and beat Northern Illinois, I'd argue they should be a top-25 team."

On Cam Clear and Speedy Noil's status...
"Cam played last week and we'll see about Speedy."

On the Razorbacks' OL play...
"There was no difference at Wisconsin. It's what you spend your time doing. I've said this, there's a million ways to skin a cat. How you do things, there's no arguing they're very good at what they do. That was Bret's deal at Wisconsin and he's stuck to his guns on that. That's what he believes in. When you do something enough, you know how to do it and the problems that come with it. There's no doubt they believe in it. They might've taken their lumps last year but it's evident right now that they're a very confident football team."

On defensive players he's waiting to see break out...
"We'd like for any defensive player to break out like that (like Myles Garrett). I don't care who it is. We've got a couple guys that have potential, but you never know. Shaan Washington has been overlooked last week. Just the fact that he came back and played the way he played shows that he's got the potential to be one of those guys. We have a number of guys like that, but until it happens like it's happened for those two, you don't really know. We'll see where we are after Saturday. It'll be a great test for us to really see, particularly in our front seven, where we are as a defensive front and where we are as a team."

On whether he likes the defensive matchup...
"What do you think? (Pause.) When you're playing against somebody who, that's what they do, we'll figure out after this game. Do I like that matchup? It's the matchup we've got, whether I like it or not."

On the WR corps' depth...
"We've completed balls to 14, 15 guys, something like that. From highly recruited guys to a guy named Boone Niederhofer, who nobody knew until last week. We've got confidence in those guys. When you play in a system like we play, you've got eight guys at least that will rotate. A lot of things are being said out there in recruiting like, 'Why would you go there and play receiver, they're loaded.' That isn't the case. But if you're scared, you don't need to play here. The best players play here, and we rotate through that.

"You've got guys like Boone, guys like Malcome Kennedy, Travis Labhart, we've got confidence in what we do and how we train our receivers. They earn that kind of confidence in practice. It's not just from Kenny (Hill), but guys like Boone and Jeremy Tabuyo who had big games last week, they earn that kind of respect in practice and in games. That respect is important for everybody at their position and the coaches. We've got some depth. If we stay healthy, we can be pretty good in that position. And that's what the rotation's all about."

On Arkansas' Trey Flowers...
"We've got to block him, I guess. Trey Flowers is second right now in active players in our league in sacks, defensive player of the week last week in the SEC. The way things are in the stretch we're about to get into, we're going to see that a lot. Trey is a very talented guy, very gifted. We're in the SEC West. The way this team is playing, we'll have to be at our best Saturday afternoon to win this game. I don't think that's going to change from this weekend to the rest of the year."

On whether they'll change their time-of-possession philosophy to face a ball-control Arkansas team...
"No."

On Jake Spavital as a play-caller...
"I think the guys we've had, we've got a foundation we believe in, and we've been fortunate to have a number of guys that were able to put their personality on the system. He's a guy that studies the game a lot, communicates well with our team and certainly the quarterback, and his demeanor is such that he gets the most out of the players. He's got a good feel for it, too. We've been in all kinds of games so far, but I think his big strength is the ability to go through the week and really have a plan that we can execute, not a plan that our coaches want to be able to execute, but a plan our players can execute, with a young quarterback and different people and not get crazy with it.

"A lot of times it's not what you think as a coach; people get caught up with coaching during the week and 'Did you make adjustments at halftime?' Sometimes players can't handle those adjustments. To give them a skill set or a toolbox that our players can adjust to, he does a great job of that in-game. We had a huge package for Cam Clear (in Columbia), then seven minutes in he was out. (Spavital) didn't panic, he just crossed it out and put something in there we could handle and moved on with the game plan. The communication with the staff and the players is a part of it, with B.J. Anderson and David Beaty and Clarence (McKinney), he understands as well as anybody I've been around."

On the depth of the division and the conference...
"You truly have to be one-week-at-a-time. Who knows. You play every week and then you try to get through it. First of all you try to win, then you try to stay healthy. That's hard to say in the fifth week of the season, but it's the truth. We've got a number of capable teams, which you've seen, step outside our league and play very well. Within the league, some games, some people have been surprised by and some people haven't. The focus, for us, it's really not coachspeak, it's on us. Every team we have in our league is capable of winning a lot of games and beating you. You can't look past what's going on this week. The preparation is more about you and this particular week than it is the whole season.

"What we've tried to do here is approach the whole season in the offseason by recruiting and player development, then get into the season and go week-to-week. We look at the whole schedule before the season starts, but then once you get into it, you just can't. Because of the real potential and strength of these teams you're going to play."

On Jeremy Tabuyo...
"He did make the effort tape, with two catches and 80 yards and two touchdowns. He's probably got the best points-per-catch of any receiver. He's a guy Brian Polian, when he was here, had some ties in Hawaii and we were actually recruiting a linebacker at his school that we did not get. But we did get Jeremy and he's a good player. He's a guy that played a little bit last year but has really come into his own, dropped some weight, understands from a strength standpoint what's going on, a guy that creates more depth.

"He plays more than people think. That's just the first time we've seen him with the ball in his hands doing some things. He's a young guy that we're looking for big things from in his career."

On Boone Niederhofer...
"It's a bit like Travis Labhart. He's a guy that goes over on the scout team, then comes over with us one day because we may need rest, and makes the most of his opportunity. It's hard on a backup player because you don't have the number of reps, the development a lot of guys do, and it's unfair at times because as coaches you stick them in there and they screw up and you send them back. Boone's been there, he understands it, he can block. We have confidence (in him); that confidence gets instilled in other players and coaches during practice. We know what we're doing before we stick them on the field.

"It certainly validates his effort when it happens in a game. Just like Jeremy, Boone has played quite a bit; you just haven't seen him with the ball. They've been on the perimeter blocking quite a bit, but they certainly took steps last week. You'll get guys as highly recruited as Ricky and Speedy, then you'll have a guy who practices with the women's basketball team and Boone Niederhofer out there. It says you have the right to play here if you earn it in practice, doesn't matter if you're highly recruited or you walk in off the street.

"Do the things we ask you to do, and you'll play here."

On coaching power football and his offensive philosophy...
"When we were at Purdue, we were not that. People told us we were nuts because we came from Wyoming and the weather was too cold, and playing with no running back and all those receivers on the field wouldn't work. Four years later, we went to the Rose Bowl. We all split up; Greg Olsen, who's the offensive coordinator with the Raiders, was the quarterback coach. Danny Hope was the line coach who eventually became the head coach. You evolve different styles. I came here as an assistant coach, came here and was involved in an I-formation attack, then got to some three-wides and then went to Oklahoma.

"We've all arrived as coaches, but one of the strengths Joe Tiller had as a head coach was he had vision and did some different things at that time to get Purdue to be a competitive program and get to the Rose Bowl, which was a big deal at that time and still would be if they could get back."

On the SEC West gauntlet, the SC victory and the schedule...
"People, I think, have forgotten that. I hear talk that we haven't played everybody, so maybe they forgot about the first week. You're only as good as what you've done recently, I get that. So you can't get consumed with the big picture in this league. We get to watch a lot of football in the last couple weeks. We played at 8:00, sat through a rain delay and saw other people, now we're starting to play at 2:30, 11:00. The great thing we talk about here is it's a privilege to be playing at the highest level you can in college football, with the expectations and venues and national exposure, because the games are big and there's something at stake every week.

"A lot of people can say that, but it's really not true. In the West, you've seen teams make dramatic improvement, and we're about to face one of them this weekend."

On Kenny Hill's first interception and whether he showed any emotion...
"Ricky didn't get the signal. Everybody was too busy yelling at Ricky at that point. He'll be mad about that. But that tell's you about (Hill's) anticipation and trust in his receivers. That was a team mistake and that communication may or may not be 'everybody yell's at Ricky,' but it's your responsibility too to make sure Ricky gets the signal. So it's a two-way street."

On his first impression of Hill and when in the recruiting process he came to believe in him...
"We actually recruited he and Kohl Stewart; people forgot about Kohl. He was back in the building the other day. He's doing good ... we'll keep the door open for him, if he's 25 and it doesn't work out...

"We had them both and we basically told (Hill) that Kohl may or may not come to school. He turned pro, was the fourth pick in the draft by the Twins, and we felt good about both those guys. We had guys leave the program, Matt Davis, so Kenny was a guy who at Southlake Carroll had been around the system. People argue being the QB at Southlake is as much pressure as there is because of the expectation to be a great quarterback and win it all. To watch him win it all as a junior was a big deal in our eyes, because one thing Joe Tiller used to put a premium on was, 'Yeah, there's a lot of talented quarterbacks out there, but recruit someone who wins in high school.' If he doesn't win, it's somebody else's fault. I listened to that.

"So you have guys like Kenny who come through your program and won a state championship. That doesn't happen by luck. Yeah, he had other great players, but the expectation is always there to play at a high level. Knowing what he was doing was a great fit for us and for him. He was comfortable with us. We had a junior day and he and Kohl were both here, and Kliff and I sat down with them and talked to them about both coming here and why we were recruiting both of them. We wanted them to understand that one might turn pro, so we might take two guys.

"Kenny never wavered with that. He was ready to compete whether Kohl was there or not. To me that says a lot about him as a person, his family, and his confidence level. Quarterbacks don't come places to sit on the bench. There's only one guy and they're used to being the man. For him to say, 'I'm coming,' we really liked that."



Jake Spavital

On Malcome Kennedy's importance...
"Malcome, going into the season, was the guy that played in big games and made big catches. But I really leaned on him on being the vocal leader. He's not just a leader of the receivers, he's a leader of the entire unit. Malcome's very important to the direction we're going."

On Malcome's position being conducive to high-catch numbers...
"It's not just the Y position. If you look back 20 years (in this offense), it fluctuates from the X to the Y to the H. It goes down to the quarterbacks and the quarterbacks' comfortability. Lately this offense has been where the Y receiver is getting the majority of the catches."

On Arkansas this year...
"The scheme is the same, it just goes down to personnel. We've got to get a feel for that in the first and second drive of the game and put the right people on the field."

On the biggest unknowns on offense right now...
"It's the start of conference play again and you've got to stay healthy from here on out. Those first four games were just figuring out who would step up and how we're going to proceed as an offense. You have to throw out whatever package you can, and whoever's on, you lean on that package. For me it's just about who's going to step up."

On Trey Flowers...
"He's a very good player and we'll definitely be targeting to him more often and have two hats on him at times, but we'll be one-on-one sometimes and our guy's got to block him. This four-man front is impressive and it will be a challenge for these offensive linemen."

On whether he likes to script plays to start...
"I try to script the first three plays of the game. It's not very many, but a lot of things can happen in those first two. If you don't have success on those first two you have to move into your third-down package and go from there. But I like to get very multiple on those first three and see how a team is going to play you. You've got to script for success and hopefully get the ball moving early (against a ball-control team)."

On whether the WR depth helps Kenny Hill...
"It really has. We have 10 to 12 receivers out there who can consistently make catches. Speedy's been out and other guys stepped up. Boone Niederhofer went in and played well. It was important for Kenny to build continuity with those guys. If you have backups you have confidence in, we can keep this offense moving consistently and not focus on certain receivers."

On Arkansas' defense...
"They keep everything in front of them, they play hard and try to create turnovers. It's all about keeping it in front and trying to get the ball back to their offense."

On Kliff Kingsbury having just faced the Hogs...
"I grew up with that guy in this tree and it's great to get ideas off of him in what he thought, where to attack and certain things, but we definitely have different personnel than Texas Tech. His insight is always helpful."

On Kyle Allen...
"Kyle did good. He operates the offense pretty well; at that point we did run the ball a bit more because we had guys in like Brandon Alexander at tight end that we're trying to (give experience), but he (Allen) did run the offense well. He operated it smoothly, it was pretty good for the kid. I thought he got better."

On Jarvis Harrison...
"Jarvis is definitely going to play. He had a great attitude, he was joking around on the sidelines. He loves to play football. He can play left tackle or all around the line; he's played in big games and done great things for us. You're definitely going to see Jarvis work his way back onto the field."

On lesser-known players' success putting pressure on highly recruited guys...
"Definitely. Competition brings out the best in everybody. If we keep recruiting like we're recruiting and bringing in other receivers, it's going to make guys push harder and not take anything for granted. The guys playing at the highest level will be the ones taking the field first and the ones we rely on in those money downs.

"A lot of these guys are not going to take plays off anymore because they know their job is up for grabs."

On Boone Niederhofer...
"I noticed him last year. He'd come in and make plays in a couple games, and I thought he had a great spring camp. What makes him so important is he can play all four positions. Coach Beaty and I try to train two positions, but he can play all four. He's an intelligent kid, learned all four, and in scrimmages when the ball came his way he capitalized on his opportunity. He's having fun, catching it, getting upfield and blocking, doing everything right. He's a guy these quarterbacks are comfortable with, which is always a positive."

On whether he's seen frustration from Hill...
"He's the same kid every day. He never gets too high, never gets too low. He shows emotion when he scores or when he threw the interception, but he's that guy that, 'When I get on the field I've got to capitalize and take advantage of this opportunity, get down the field and score. I can only control the things I can handle.'"



Mark Snyder

On the Arkansas rushing attack and his plan to defend it...
"We've been working on this for quite a while, through the spring and fall camp. Some of that recall's going to have to come back for some of our guys. This won't be the first offense we've faced that likes to run the ball. They're awfully good, there's no doubt. Bret knows what he's doing. I spent ten years in the Big Ten going against Coach Alvarez, that's where he got it from. We'll have to be strong up front and have great eyes on the back end."

On the depth they can battle the Hogs with...
"We watched last year's game and Alonzo, Obi, Gavin played the whole game. That's rough when you've got guys this big laying on you the entire game — and these guys are really big. The depth's going to help us some. We've got a nice rotation and we'll see how it stacks up."

On Shaan Washington...
"Shaan is still a work in progress. We moved him positions and it was more spread out Saturday, which played to his strengths. Inside is different than playing outside. But what he'll bring to the table is a physical presence. They've got three running backs, two are pretty big."

On his confidence in his young D-linemen...
"It's going to be fun to watch these guys play. I can't answer that right now, we'll know more come Saturday. Because they're going to play."

On Jay Arnold...
"Jay is really interesting. He's a high-energy guy that brings toughness and smarts to the defensive line. He reminds you of Spencer (Nealy), he really does. He's a bit limited athletically and he knows that, but he's smart and he plays with a high motor, which gives him a chance. He's there with those older guys. Alonzo's played a lot, Obi's played a lot, and you don't have time for a linebacker to line you up when they run up there with seven guys on the line; Jay's one of the guys that can get himself lined up."

On preparing the guys to pace themselves through the game and stay fresh against the big SEC West OLs...
"We've just got to roll them like we've been rolling them. This will be their first real test. They got in the game a bit against South Carolina, but we were smart about how we played them and we only played 62 snaps. To me, the young guys, this will be their first real test. It's the best conference in the country and it'll be a one-week playoff every week in the West."

On Arkansas' style/game plan...
"They're going to make you defend the run and try to defend the top, get behind you with the deep balls and keep the chains moving with the intermediate passing game. It's no secret what we're going to see Saturday."

On anything the Hogs present that's different from SC...
"No. Not really. South Carolina's passing game is a bit more intricate than what we're going to see, but the same plays we prepared for then in the run game are the same plays we're going to see now."

On Jordan Mastrogiovanni's importance...
"No doubt. All linebackers, the thing about this offense is that all 11 people on defense are going to have to tackle. End of story. He wants to get the ball to your corners and see your corners try to tackle his running backs. And he's had success so far this year."

On De'Vante Harris' return...
"We're happy to get De'Vante back. De'Vante's played a lot of football around here and played well in this game last year. It gives us some depth."

On Nick Harvey...
"Good. Nick's played well. He'll play some; I don't know that this is necessarily his type of game on defense now that we're getting De'Vante back. There'll be a lot of three-man rotations on the back end."

On playing the gauntlet in the division...
"It reminds me of a playoff situation. Every week is something real. I don't know how else to put it. You've got to bring your A-game every single week on our side, no doubt about that. The team that does that is the team that wins the game, and it's going to be like that every week for us. This west side of our conference is really good. I'd like to know what side of every conference was ever this deep."
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A&M coaches, players face Arkansas' challenge head-on

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