Story Poster
Trevor Knight
Kevin Sumlin
Noel Mazzone
John Chavis
Christian Kirk
Ricky Seals-Jones
James White
Armani Watts
Texas A&M Football

Texas A&M Football weekly press conference: UCLA

August 30, 2016
19,052

The following are live, paraphrased notes from Texas A&M's weekly press conference. Videos of the interviews will be added to the story as they are rendered.

Kevin Sumlin


• We've been working on different combinations along the offensive line. We've moved Jermaine Eluemunor to tackle. Erik McCoy has gotten a solid grasp of things and has continued to get better. Colton Prater was here early and is doing well. We've got a good gauge of where our tackles are because of who they're going against in Fall Camp. I'm not saying they're tearing the defensive ends up, but seeing them hold up has been a good sign. We feel good about where that is.

• We've spent a lot of time in the offseason talking about what we've done well in previous years and what we haven't done well. We're trying to address the struggles in the back half of the season. A few years ago, fans clamored about a boring opening weekend. They can't say that this year. There are a bunch of big games, and we're one of them. I think it's great for the fans and college football.

• Armani Watts played both ways in high school, and that has really benefited him. He hit a wall against Arkansas, and we benched him for a bit during his freshman year. He lost his confidence. He wasn't used to the preparation involved in going through a football season. He's matured as a young man and a football player and is one of the better players in the league, even though the All-SEC team didn't reflect that. He's a very unselfish player, and he'll do what we ask him to do on special teams. That says more about him as an overall player than it does about him playing a specific position on defense.

• We spend time looking at all of our opponents, whether they're ranked or unranked. We need to have a better record at home. Being settled in with the stadium finished and having guys in the same spot for a solid year will help.

• UCLA head coach Jim Mora and I are friends. There were some tough phone calls when we were going after Noel Mazzone. That's a courtesy thing. It's a tough phone call, but he called back. Jim is an excellent football coach. We came into our programs at about the same time and have about the same record. He's been successful wherever he's been, and they're looking to take that next step with their program.

• Noel Mazzone's familiarity with UCLA won't affect the game. If there's any advantage, I'd give it to UCLA. We don't have anything on their new offensive coordinator. I don't think it will affect the game.

• I hope Armani makes every tackle he can. I'm not going to put a number on it. He's going to play multiple positions in the secondary at times. I don't want him to miss tackles.

• Every year since we've been here, we've been fortunate to give some scholarships to some deserving walk-ons. They work hard and go through a long process. We weed some guys out. The scholarship is validation that they belong and can contribute. If you look at the three guys we just put on scholarship, they are all going to play. They are all going to be contributors at their positions. All three have gone through practice and established themselves as role players. the scholarship guys are here all summer working out and practicing, and the guys that are paying their own way are doing all that with summer school. The scholarship guys are happy for these guys. They respect and understand how much they put into the team. It gives them a sense of perspective, as well. We're happy for these guys, and they'll all play Saturday.

• We'll announce this year's 12th Man on Friday. We'll let him know before we let y'all know.

• We're going to play at multiple tempos. We have the ability to go fast, and we can slow it down. We'll do what we're comfortable with. We practice really quickly, but you can't turn things up if you haven't practiced them. We'll slow down if we need to. Every offense wants to dictate the tempo. We'll do what we're comfortable with.

• The big part of Trevor Knight's impact was how he entered the situation. He became a teammate first. He created friendships quickly with the quarterback room and the rest of the team. You never really know how a guy is going to fit in with everyone else. That helped his growth and the team's growth. It was an added plus that he brought.



John Chavis

• I'm excited about my second year here. We've worked hard, and that's what we need to do. We made some improvements last year, and we've continued that this offseason. We have some of the best defensive players in the country, especially up front. We're bigger and stronger.

• Josh Rosen is a very talented young man. He's got a great arm and is surrounded by talented players. He works hard, but he's gifted too. That talent shows.

• I'm very pleased with our situation at corner. Nick Harvey has been great. Priest Willis can be very, very good. There's a possibility that Donovan Wilson could play some corner. He's one of the best 11 guys we have. We have to find ways to get him on the field.

• The one thing we have to do is stop the run. We'll worry about rushing the passer after that. We will be better at that this year. We're a much-improved run defense. You can affect the quarterback in a number of ways. The receivers will see press coverage. Hopefully that will help the pass rush.

• We haven't had a chance to see UCLA, but they're going to use the tight end more than we're used to. We'll see more big sets and heavy personnel. They want to run the ball and take pressure off of Rosen. Not having seen the new coordinator call plays before, we'll be very flexible with what we take into the game. We'll have to adjust in-game.

• I've been around a few teams where the leading tackler was the safety. I don't think it's a bad thing. It's probably more bad than good, to be honest. There were ball carriers that got into the secondary last year that shouldn't have. The fact that Armani Watts did make those tackles last year was good for him and us as a team.

• As a pair, we have the best two defensive ends in the country. They backed me up last year, and they'll do the same this year. They're outstanding young men and great players. They can play the run and rush the passer. I wouldn't trade them.

• When the guys enjoy playing football, they enjoy the process and the work. They're willing to prepare and study, so we love watching them have success. We have a lot of guys like that. Last year, we had a group of guys that were trying to figure out what to do. Now we have older guys that are teaching the younger guys. That's when you see a team and a defense grow. That's what Armani Watts is doing. He's tutoring them and getting them ready more quickly than they would without him.

• The departure of Josh Walker is an opportunity for the other guys. The next man has to step up.

• We have some freshman that fit well in our depth chart, and we expect some to play Saturday.

• You don't know how good you'll be until you play. We see areas where we're improved. You don't really see it until the games, however. We'll know more after the game in terms of how much we've improved.

• You don't just go out there and do what Josh Rosen does without being a very talented guy. He's got a chance to be a great quarterback. He's got a strong arm and understands the game. He'll check at the line to get them into the right play. It's his talent and football IQ that make him very good. He did it as a freshman. He's a mature young man for his age.




Noel Mazzone


• Erik McCoy is a freshman? Oh my gosh! Could you have waited until Sunday to tell me that? (Laughs). He's come a long way from when I got here. It's going to be fun to watch him play his first game. I have no apprehension about that. I'm ready to seem him block some guys in a game-setting.

• The center handles the protection in the box, and the quarterback handles everything outside of the box. He's got to make more pre-snap decisions, whereas the quarterback handles post-snap decisions.

• UCLA gave up some rushing yards last year, but they lost three of their best players on that defense. Eddie Vanderdoes is the guy we really have to keep an eye on. He scored about 6 touchdowns for me over the past few year. Every offseason you work on your weaknesses and expand on your strengths. It will be a battle.

• Josh Rosen could have gone wherever he wanted. We were lucky to get him at UCLA. He's one of the great natural arms out there. He's intelligent. His stats as a true freshman were impressive.

• The Pac-12 is known for being more spread out, but there are some great football coaches there – just like in the SEC. Everyone has good schemes. The big difference, week-in and week-out, is the size of the offensive and defensive lines, but some Pac-12 teams have big lines. I think they're very comparable leagues.

• I want those guys at UCLA to have successful careers. I coached them for a few years and recruited some of them. That said, I want to beat them Saturday.

• At the end of the day, plays are plays and schemes are schemes. People have to make plays. We're not changing what we're doing because they are familiar with it. I don't think there's an advantage to either side.

• Trevor Knight has been awesome. I'm excited for him. He's been everything we've asked him to be. If he plays like himself, we'll be just fine.

• The biggest adjustment coming from UCLA to A&M – it's a little bit farther to the beach. There's more humidity. No, I feel a lot of chemistry with this staff. I knew some of them coming in. You're coming into the SEC, but I just left a good conference. It's been a fun adventure, but I don't think there was a huge adjustment. I've done this before. I went from Arizona State to Ole Miss at one point.

• The last time I was in the SEC was 2003 or earlier. I have yet to experience Kyle Field on game day. It's big-time football. I think Texas A&M led the SEC in attendance last year. We're sitting in a high school football hotbed. We play top teams every week. This is a good conference.

Discussion from...

Texas A&M Football weekly press conference: UCLA

9,348 Views | 4 Replies | Last: 7 yr ago by DKS2814V
texag86
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AG
Love the focus Chavis has on stopping the run. Can't wait to see who will be named the 12th man--Sam Mueller will be difficult to follow!
AgOutsideAustin
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AG
Get that dip ready Chief!
Sbisa04
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AG
Liked hearing about speed of offense from White! I also liked how he indicated that our offense and chemistry is much different/better than last year.
DKS2814V
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AG
"It's not pressure....it's opportunity." - Chavis

...**** yeah. Just listening to Chief gets me amped up for the season.
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