Former A&M WR Ryan Swope discusses UCLA match up

Key quotes from Ryan Swope's comments

“Saturday can’t be here soon enough.  I think from an overall standpoint of what I have been reading and hearing about, our defense has had a great three weeks of practice and obviously our offense is doing some really good things and there is some great leadership going on with Trevor Knight and all of those seniors that are taking charge.  It sounds like the whole team is really focused and the ultimate goal is to win championships.  From everything I am hearing it sounds like it should be a good year.”
 
“I didn’t play with any of the current receivers.  I am an old guy now.  It’s crazy.  You hit it on the spot.  Trevor Knight, from everything that I am hearing, is great and I am curious to see when the game lights come on if he can distribute the football.  We saw what Johnny did, and we knew that he was a player but we had no idea that he was ever capable of winning a Heisman.  Then the receivers like you said, I can count four receivers that I see getting drafted in NFL Draft.  You could look at every one of them and make that argument.  It is crazy.  There is a lot of talent and Coach Sumlin has done a great job of getting some athletes to College Station.  They just need to put it all together now and trust one another and trust the coaching staff, and from what I’ve been hearing, has been really good.  They have had a really good spring and two-a-days.  It is time to turn it on and flip that switch.”
 
“I think Christian Kirk is just an explosive player,.  He has great vision and is a smart football player.  As a true freshman, he came in and was able to read defenses, and that usually takes some time and maturity.  He has just done a great job of trusting his quarterback, trusting his players, and he has done a great job of blocking.  You can tell that he wants to win and I hope he can grab all of those other receivers and hold them up to that.  Also, what helps him is that he played running back in high school.  You can see that when he gets the ball and takes off.  He gets the ball and is so dominant and explosive.  He runs routes, but when he catches the ball his running back instincts kick in and take over.”
 
“From what I have seen from these guy so far, it should be a special year.  I talked to Conner McQueen and he told me that the guys are the most focused that he has seen since 2012.  I was really excited to hear that.  I can’t wait until Saturday and there is no better way to open it up than with UCLA.”
 
“I think the more talent you have around you in practice, the better you are going to be throughout the season.  You look back to when Von Miller and Luke Joeckel were battling in practice every day, and they ways that they were making each other better.  That relates to the receiving end as well, with the receiving corps and the defensive backs battling every day and getting exposed and when you feel like you get exposed, that is not a good feeling.  It is just great to compete in practice and that transfers over to game mode for these guys.  You also have to put in the extra time on the practice field and go study film and get familiar with the coverages and shifts that they will make.  That just comes down to doing the little things outside of football that ultimately win football games and it sounds like a lot of these guys are doing it.  They are doing extra weights, catching balls after practice, and doing everything that they need to do.  Now it is time to go out there and perform.  No better way to do it than on Kyle Field with UCLA.  I wish I could throw on some pads and go catch a couple of balls.”
 
“They had a lot of talent at LSU, and Coach Chavis has a nose for talent.  Those defensive lines and secondaries that we were going against when he coached at LSU were so full of talent.  You could just see it.  He also develops talent well.  You put those things hand in hand and that is tough to beat.  Now, I am glad that guy is on our side now.  The other thing is that he is just a good schemer.  They could be playing cover-two the week before and then completely change coverages the next week and never know.  I think that he does a good job of mixing it up and kind of keeping everyone on their toes.  When I played against his defense I noticed they did a lot of different things, with a lot of NFL level talent.  That makes it that much harder to perform.  I am seeing that level of talent with the Aggie defense now too.  We are certainly on our way and I think the numbers speak volumes for themselves if you look at the past couple of years.”
 
“My prediction is 28-21, the good guys, Aggies win.”